The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

I do not particularily find enjoyment in cooking, so I am always a little leary of reading a book about cooking. I cook at home simply because I have to eat and feed my family. I have always been impressed by the people who truly enjoy it though.

This book is set in World War 2 (1942) in Fenley Village, England. The Kitchen Front is the name of a radio show that suggests recipes for cooking with wartime rations. The host of the radio show is male (Ambrose) and it is decided that the show needs a female host as well. So they decide to have a cooking contest and the winner of the contest will be the new female host.

There are four women who enter the contest, and three of them are well-known to each other. Two are estranged sisters (Gwendoline and Audrey) and one (Nell) is Gwendoline's cook. (I am simplifying here since it's a bit more complicated than that, but in the end, it's Nell competing in the contest.) The fourth woman is a chef from London named Zelda. She is single and pregnant, which is taboo in the 1940's of course, so she hides her pregnancy for as long as possible while competing.

The lives of these four women are diverse and each has an important reason for needing to win the contest. Initially, Audrey and Nell are the two that I had the most sympathy for. They are both talented in the kitchen and very kind to others, so I definitely wanted one of them to win. As their stories unfold however, and they become friends, it becomes more of a story of "sisterhood" and friendship. All four women have experienced hardships in their lives and each is trying to overcome them while making a better life for themselves.

The cooking with rations - and substitutions - was actually incredibly fascinating. These are very creative cooks! Every recipe for each item they cooked for the contest (they each cooked a starter, a main course and a dessert over a three month period) is included in the book. I not only enjoyed reading about how they came up with their recipe ideas for the contest, but also about their life stories. It was a very enjoyable read with a nice, if predictable, ending. :)

Wendy's Rating: ****

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

Ishmael Beah writes about his childhood in the war-torn country of Sierra Leone. Ishmael lived with his father and older brother while his mother and younger brother lived in a different home. His pre-teen life was spent attending school and hanging out with his friends and older brother, like most kids that age. One day the rebels attacked his village when he was 12 years old. He is then separated from his family members (who are presumed dead initially) and he is left to fend for himself with a group of his friends. Their days & nights are spend running from the rebels, scrounging for food and attempting to find a safe place to get some sleep. By the time he is 13 years old, he is recruited as a soldier. Violence becomes a way of life for him. The children who are recruited are given drugs, which they quickly become adicted to. 

While totally immersed in his world of violence and drugs, he is chosen, along with several other boys, to leave his current life to attend a school. The chosen boys, including Ishmael, do not see this as a positive thing. This is understandable of course since they all experience significant withdrawal symptoms upon first arriving at their new school. These once youthful friendly boys, who were turned into drug-addicted killers, now have to adjust again to being clean (from drugs), educated boys. Ishmael's ability to adjust to each new challenge in his young life is remarkable. What I love most about Ishmael is his will to survive, how fast he thinks on his feet, and his ability to adapt to each situation.

Although Ishmael's mother, father and brothers do end up being killed by the rebels (just later than he originally thought), he never does get to see them again. Once he is at the school however, they are able to connect him to an uncle. Ishmael is able to meet his uncle and his uncle's family and actually goes to live with them for awhile, until tragedy strikes again. War and death followed Ishmael wherever he went. Ishmael loses his "family" again and again. 

After Ishmael's uncle dies, he knows he needs to get out of the country. His goal is the United States. Ishmael's escape from Sierra Leone is truly remarkable. This part of his story shows how smart he is. "Street smarts" and natural intelligence. Ishmael ends up being adopted by a woman in America (which he met previously) and finds yet another new "family" in America.

I highly recommend this book to all middle-school age children through adulthood. It is very well written and a good eye-opening experience for our (spoiled) youth in America.

Wendy's Rating: *****