(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Twenty-five years ago, Valerie Rudman and Lily Stone swore they'd be best friends forever. They traded letters, swapped recipes, ranted about their parents, dissected first kisses, shared everything, and vowed to let nothing come between them. Now, two and half decades later, the thought of contacting Lily makes Val sweat. She wants to reconnect, especially when she sees an obituary for Lily's father, the enigmatic Dr. Stone, in the newspaper, but the last thing she wants is to reopen the wound that drove the friends apart in the first place. Has Lily matured enough to accept her renewed effort at friendship? Has Val? Will their shared past bond them together again? Or has it formed a chasm that can never be crossed?

The Recipe Club by Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel is an epistolary novel that uses emails, letters, recipes and other scrapbook-y bits to tell the story of a friendship. It begins with two very different girls, one studious, one showy. It grows as the two mature, one slowly, one swiftly. It solidifies as they pull each other through the murk of adolesence, cracks when their paths diverge, and disintegrates completely when their families' secrets entwine in a devastating way. Years later, as Val and Lily reach out to one another once again, they'll discover that the secrets their parents leaked are nothing compared to those they kept and the truth that wrecked the women's friendship might be the very thing that glues it back together.

Although I didn't love, love, love this feel-good novel, I liked it a lot more than I expected to. Its format makes it a fast read, while the inclusion of recipes gives it a light-hearted tone that provides a nice counterpoint to the more serious plot twists. The story lacks a certain freshness, although it does take a few turns that surprised me. I was disappointed that, despite the book's intimate format, the characters never really come into their own voices. I kept having to look at the signatures to remind myself who was who. The ending also made me want to hurl with its cheesiness, even though I have to admit that it felt right somehow. That, coupled with some big plot holes, kept me from really devouring the book. Still, I found it to be a quick, enjoyable story that's surprisingly affecting.

(Readalikes: It actually reminded me a lot of the movie Beaches, but I can't think of a similar book. Can you?)

Grade: B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language, sexual content and depictions of underrage drinking/smoking/drug use

To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of The Recipe Club from the generous folks at TLC Book Tours, which is facilitating the authors' book tour. My review was written as part of the tour, but reflects my own, (very) honest opinions. You can visit the other tour stops by clicking here.

I hadn't planned to post again today, but my husband's at work, my older kids are at school, my baby's at Grandma's and my house is quiet as a tomb. It seemed like the perfect time to sneak down and play on the computer. I still have to be careful about spreading my radioactive germs around, so I can't do housework or cook or anything (hurt me, hurt me bad), but my eyes need a break from reading. Who knew absorbing six books in three days would leave my peepers this bloodshot and sore? I will, of course, wipe everything down so well that not even Grissolm and his CSIs could find evidence of my being here (yes, I know Grissolm left the show - guess who's not quite over it yet?). It's just nice to leave my bedroom. And, I have to say that not being able to take care of my family for a week, even by doing little things like folding socks, makes me even more eager to kick cancer to the curb and get everything back to normal.

'Course, I'm so behind on life now that I seriously will never catch up. I know reviews are posting automatically, so you can't even tell how behind I am. Oh well. I'll get 'em written when I get 'em written, but I have to tell you that I may have just finished my favorite book of the year: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. It's similar to James Dashner's The Maze Runner, just with more complexity and depth (literally). And originality. It's reminiscent of The Hunger Games, too, but still its own thing. Hard to describe. Anyway, I loved it. The only problem is the sequel, Sapphique, doesn't come out until the end of December. I'm pretty sure I can't wait that long. My first-born may be available to the first person who can get me an ARC (well, he's pretty sweet - maybe my second-born or third- ...). Seriously, anyone have a copy??

Did I forgot to mention that my review of Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden appeared in the Fall 2010 issue of Latter-Day Woman magazine. Check it out here.

I'm looking foward to a quiet weekend - more resting, more reading, more taking three showers a day and flushing twice every time I use the toilet ... Things should be back to normal by Tuesday, when my body will have expelled enough radiation that I can hug my kids again and get back to the grind that I have somehow missed this week.

Happy Friday, everybody!

Oh, and just because I'm skipping out on the Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday this week, doesn't mean you should. It's a great way to find new blogs, drive traffic to your own, and strengthen this big, fun book blogging community. Enjoy :)