Julia's Kitchen

When Cara Segal looses her mother and younger sister in a house fire, she questions her belief in God, struggles with her relationship with her father, and tries to find ways to hold onto her memories of her family before the fire. With the support of her best friend, her grandparents, and the school social worker, Cara finds fulfillment in continuing her mother's baking business and donating the profits to the local firefighters. She also finds meaning in hanging mezuzot on the doors of her new apartment and realizes that "God works his magic by giving us the strength to handle just about anything that comes our way. And for what we can't handle alone, he gives us friends and family." (p. 148) Like Confessions of a Closet Catholic by Sarah Darer Littman (2005), Birdland by Tracy Mack (2003), and Understanding Buddy by Marc Kornblatt (2001), Julia's Kitchen tackles the difficult issue of death of a loved one and explores how Jewish identity and spirituality helps the character to cope. First-time author Brenda Ferber, winner of the 2004 Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award, authentically captures the voice of a contemporary 11-year-old and despite the tragic premise manages to keep the book up-beat, refreshing, and inspiring.

Just to let you know I am actually 14 I just don't want to put in my email address. I picked up this book at the library one day just looking at the cover thinking it would be a book about a girl that enjoys baking, but when I brougnt it home I couldn't put it down read it all in one night. It is a sad story and i was almost in tears at some parts, but I receieved a very strong theme from this story: Appreciate what you have and try to move on when you lose something important to you. I defnitely recommend that anyone who loves to read will love this book.

Julia's Kitchen is an amazing book! It is written for middle grade readers but is just as appealing to adults. Don't let the heavy subject matter fool you. This book is beautifully written and full of hope (although I have to admit- I cried my eyes out!). I'm telling you- you won't be able to put it down! I can't recommend it more.

I have read JULIA'S KITCHEN a number of times, and each time I am moved, heartbroken and healed by this story. It is the carefully and beautifully written story of Cara, who must rely to a great extent on her own internal resources when a sudden and unpredictable tragedy strikes her family. JULIA'S KITCHEN will take readers into the depths of Cara's feelings - sadness, anger, confusion, and hope - and offer a rich story of her confusion about her faith, her tenuous relationship with her grieving father, and her questions about how to hold on to the memories of her mother and sister and still move forward in life. It is a powerful reading experience for the child who wants to be touched and changed by a story, but it is also an opportunity for children, together, to discuss the multitude of issues dealt with in the course of the book - the unpredictability of the world, the unevenness of adults who do not always have children's best interests at heart, the importance of good friendship, the sometimes-confusing nature of faith, and the beauty and importance of inner resilience and hope. JULIA'S KITCHEN should not be mistaken for a book "about grief". It is a story about the unfortunate, but real, ways children's lives can be shaken - and the exquisite resiliency of the human spirit.

I received an advanced reader's copy of Julia's Kitchen and read it in one evening, unable to put it down. Julia's Kitchen is a touching portrayal of grief and mourning and rediscovering your personal strength. Given the other topics that young adults and adolescents are reading these days, I hardly think this will be too hard for them to handle. While the subject matter is incredibly painful, and I found myself often weeping, it's a beautiful, well-written story and I can't recommend it highly enough.