Crazy as Chocolate

Crazy as Chocolates is about two sister and their father, whose wife and mother has committed suicide by sitting herself in her car in the garage. The story is written in first person, by Izzy telling the story of all that happened while her mother was "ill" and then to her final demise by suicide. The book has many flashbacks, of the crazy and strange behavior of the mother over the years of Izzy's life. Some of the things that her mother has done is quite odd, but I guess is fitting with someone who is mental unstable. Izzy grows up and marries. One weekend for her birthday, 41 the same birthday her mother died, her father and sister Ellie come for a visit. The father is a passivist and nothing ever bothers him, so Izzy has trouble trying to find where he "was" during her childhood, her sister Ellie is starting to show signs of strange things, just like her mother. I would have like to read alittle bit more about what happens to her father and sister after their visit, and the sister's upcoming divorce from her husband due to the strange things she has done, but the author decided the end the book after the birthday weekend, and then add an epilogue, what happens to her for her next birthday. Overall I did enjoy this book, I think it was entertaining despite the sadness of the subject. I would recommend it to anyone.

Definitely a book that you can become very involved with for the couple of hours it takes to read it. The main character (Izzy) was very believable, torn between needing to take care of everyone in her family and needing to heal her own emotional wounds. However, the really cliched epilogue almost ruins the magic--if only the author had stopped five pages earlier!

I agree with the other reviews that this is a quick read. Ms. Hyde is an adept writer and the story flows with no unusual jumps or manuevers. I felt for the main character, Izzy, but grew tired of the sister's character. I think sometimes there is a tendency when writing about people with mental illness to make their behaviors and outlandish acts funny and quirky so that they seem outwardly charming. I can tell you that it ain't that much fun to live with a mentally ill parent. But this is a fine enough book. My chief complaint is that everything ends up very happy and perfect in the end, which to me is too easy and a borderline cop-out.

Izzy is about to celebrate her 41st birthday... her mother had committed suicide on her 41st birthday. Izzy's older sister, Ellie is 43 and is just as flamboyant has her mother was. Their mother was someone I would have considered to be a cool mother if you had subtracted the mental illness part. Some of the antics that "Mom" pulled were so wonderful, it would be enough to satisfy most children, it would strengthen forever the bond between mother and daughter and teach the child to be an individual, but when the realization that Mom was crazy set in, it is painfully described in heart-wrenching detail. You feel the pain of each and every character in the book.This story is about Isabel's struggle to find her adult path in her remaining family, which includes her maybe/maybe not so stable sister, her loving father, and her husband and the baggage between them. It is excellently written and you can easily visualize Izzy's childhood adoration of her mother, as well as feel her adult contempt at being abandoned by her.It is a short book, plan on spending about four to six hours where you can shut off the phone and enter this world. You'll get a great return on your investment.

I read this book in two days of intense bedtime reading. It drew me in and kept me thinking all day about the characters, their strengths, and their problems. All of the main "family" characters are well developed, multi-faceted, and interesting people. The book had the power to make me feel real pain for the characters, and had the dexterity to surprise me as a reader from time to time.