Jo Ann Caplin

Disappointed. It didn’t feel genuine ( note I was a chem major). The writing was stiff and brittle (like the main character, so maybe done purposely, but made the reading itself thing and brittle. And the TV production plot was the same as Julia Child’s. Overall, plot twists and turns were quite good, using the dog as a thinking character, wonderful, naming her daughter Mad, because she was upset, “ mad” and that’s what ended up on the birth certificate. Some fun moments. If only the writing itself could be enjoyed on its own as well. The feminism in the book slapped the reader (and the main character) in the face too many times. I know every neurodiverse personality is its own, most of them are special in their own ways. But for the most part they are not as strident and off- putting as this one. Hence I found the book and the writing itself strident and off-putting. —JC Lecturer in Excellence in Writing, University of Pennsylvania.