Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

When it came to choose something blue, I found myself in the mood for something fun; I opted for Sarah Weeks’ Pie because it looked like it fit the bill.  And it did, really.  Sarah Weeks is perhaps not quite the writer I’d like her to be, but her storytelling makes up the difference.  There are laugh-out-loud moments in Pie as well as poignant ones.  (There are also recipes, some of which I’d quite like to try.)  I did have a hard time with Alice’s mother–she’s terribly unlikable for two-thirds of the book–but given the direction of the plot and the different ways in which we express grief, it all works out believably .  I almost died laughing at the Newbery Medal parody running through the book, and the scene with the principal was a beauty and a joy forever.  The ending wasn’t actually what I expected, though.  (Perhaps that was just me missing clues–you’ll have to tell me what YOU think!)  All in all, this is a fun middle grade novel which balances humor and sentiment in a bit of a madcap way.  Give it–and the pies–a try.