Review: Finding Freedom

 About the Book:

From Erin French, owner and chef of the critically acclaimed The Lost Kitchen, a TIME world dining destination, a life-affirming memoir about survival, renewal, and finding a community to lift her up

Long before The Lost Kitchen became a world dining destination with every seating filled the day the reservation book opens each spring, Erin French was a girl roaming barefoot on a 25-acre farm, a teenager falling in love with food while working the line at her dad's diner and a young woman finding her calling as a professional chef at her tiny restaurant tucked into a 19th century mill. This singular memoir--a classic American story--invites readers to Erin's corner of her beloved Maine to share the real person behind the "girl from Freedom" fairytale, and the not-so-picture-perfect struggles that have taken every ounce of her strength to overcome, and that make Erin's life triumphant.

In Finding Freedom, Erin opens up to the challenges, stumbles, and victories that have led her to the exact place she was ever meant to be, telling stories of multiple rock-bottoms, of darkness and anxiety, of survival as a jobless single mother, of pills that promised release but delivered addiction, of a man who seemed to offer salvation but in the end ripped away her very sense of self. And of the beautiful son who was her guiding light as she slowly rebuilt her personal and culinary life around the solace she found in food--as a source of comfort, a sense of place, as a way of bringing goodness into the world. Erin's experiences with deep loss and abiding hope, told with both honesty and humor, will resonate with women everywhere who are determined to find their voices, create community, grow stronger and discover their best-selves despite seemingly impossible odds. Set against the backdrop of rural Maine and its lushly intense, bountiful seasons, Erin reveals the passion and courage needed to invent oneself anew, and the poignant, timeless connections between food and generosity, renewal and freedom.

My Review:

Thank you to Celadon for sending me an arc of this book in exchange for a review.

I normally don't read memoirs, but because I won a copy of Finding Freedom in a giveaway, I thought I would give it a go! Finding Freedom was such an unexpected read that I really ended up enjoying. I will say that I was very hungry reading all the descriptions of food, so have a snack handy if you decide to pick it up.

Things I liked:
- I loved learning about Erin's journey of becoming the renoundchef she is today. You really see her strength and her vulnerability, which made the book feel really raw at times. I can't help but admire her strength and tenacity and hope to find myself. Her journey with her mental health/addiction was an unexpected turn of the book that I really appreciated. She is very honest and forthcoming of her struggles throughout this book, and that inly added to my admiration for her.
- I'm not a big foodie, but after this book I think I might be one now! I adored all descriptions of the food. From the set up/decor of the restaurant, to the many dishes they serve, it was all so vivid. Like I mentioned before, I would really recommend having a snack handy when reading this book.

My only complaint was that there was so much description at times that I had a hard time paying attention. It wasn't uncommon to turn the page and see giant blocks of text without paragraph breaks.

Review: Firekeeper's Daughter

 Hello friends! I'm back with another review of one of my highly anticipated reads of the year.

About the Book:

Debut author Angeline Boulley crafts a groundbreaking YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community, for readers of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange.

As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother.

The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, certain details don’t add up and she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation.

Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, but secretly pursues her own investigation, tracking down the criminals with her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicine. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home.

Now, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she'll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.

Review:

Firekeeper’s Daughter struck a place close to home that I didn’t expect. Daunis, the main character is biracial (half white and half indigenous). As a biracial reader, I really related to her experience of limbo between two cultures she cares deeply for, and struggling to belong to both. I’m not Indigenous, but I’m half Chinese and I think the biracial representation is pretty universal. 

This book is heavier than I expected as it tackles some heavy subject matter including racism, sexual violence, violence against women, drug/alcohol addiction, and grief. It was hard for me to read at around the 70% mark because of the sexual violence and the off-page rape scene, so I think it’s important for reader to know about the content matter before diving into this book. 

My only criticism was the pacing of the book, sometimes it felt like so much was happening that it was hard to keep up, and other times it dragged a bit. But overall, I think Firekeeper’s Daughter is an amazing crime thriller combined with a coming of age story that is filled with rich traditions and customs of the Ojibwe tribe. 

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Every Last Fear Review

 Every last Fear:

I didn’t really know what to expect when I went into this book because I don’t read a ton of thrillers. I was a bit intimidated, but I really enjoyed this book!

My favorite thing about Every Last Fear was the characters. Most of them were extremely smart and deeply flawed, but still likable to an extent. I adored Agent Sarah Keller and her husband Bob. Evan and Bob are devoted husbands and fathers and in the thriller genre that is very unusual but so very refreshing. Even Matt's friends were a devoted and loyal group and provided him a support system he so desperately needed. The characters were all given clear and concise voices. 

Another thing i really enjoyed was the writing! The writing and storyline flowed easily, and it was full of suspense! 

This was a fabulous introduction to an author I’m confident we’ll be seeing more of in the future.