AT THE CHINESE TABLE -- Carolyn Phillips

This utterly delightful book combines memoir with recipes. The memoir portion consists of a fascinating account of the author’s years in Taiwan sparked by mouthwatering descriptions of the food she eats as she learns Mandarin and falls in love with the country, the cuisines of China and J H Huang. Along the way we are introduced to her imperious future mother-in-law who is won over with a time consuming, challenging recipe for a treat that hadn’t been tasted in 40 years by her now blissful MIL. Because I love to cook as much as I love to read and eat, I tried several of the recipes. Because I live in a city with a thriving Chinatown I was able to find most of the authentic ingredients. The recipes cover everything from beverages to main dishes to side dishes and condiments to even an odd “dessert” of “Coffee Gelee.” Simple strong coffee gelled with Knox unflavored gelatin and then coated with sweetened condensed milk became an odd favorite of my family. Not so simple but equally appreciated were Strange-Flavor Peanuts, Chilled Winter Melon and Bear Paw Doufu. The recipes were easy to follow once the ingredients were obtained. I highly recommend this book both as memoir and as cookbook. 5 of 5 stars

THE GUNCLE by Steven Rowley

THE GUNCLE by Steven Rowley Patrick, or GUP, or gay Uncle Patrick, becomes guardian to Masie, his 9 year old niece, and Grant, his 6 year old nephew, when their mother dies and their father enters rehab. This laugh out loud funny novel has great depth of empathy for grief and loss. In between the laughs you will find serious takes on family, love, neighbors, friends, enemies, hate, love, success, and a host of other life situations. Well written and empathetic but never preachy, this is a good novel for book groups with a wealth of topics for discussion. 5 of 5 stars

CODE ORANGE by Carolyn B Cooney

CODE ORANGE by Carolyn B Cooney Mitty is a typical slacker high schooler with a crush on the school brainiac. Mitty and Olivia need to research a biology paper. Olivia chooses typhoid fever, Mitty chooses smallpox. In his research Mitty happens on old envelope that says it contains smallpox scabs. Mitty, of course, opens and then smells and crumbles the scabs. Is he infected? Will he infect others? Who else is interested in smallpox, a disease that no longer exists – or does it? Mitty is well developed as is Olivia. The other characters are less well developed and are incidental to the plot. The plot is intricate and after a slow start is heart poundingly detailed. Good information on smallpox is given and is necessary for plot development. Teens will love this novel by a noted writer of YA books. Adults (and teens) will remember their high school days and identify with either Mitty or Olivia. 5 of 5 stars