The sipping of orange juice, in quantum amounts, done so to taste the flavor of the liquid to its entirety, supplies a short almost tantalizing second of sweetness, followed by crude bitterness that holds the drinker by the tongue and seduces him to want more; “The Kitchen Daughter” is much like this. Through my reading of “The Kitchen Daughter” my mood toward it oscillated quite often—like does a wavelength powered by a frequency. I began not giving much importance to the novel nor the characters at its start but later grew to find them much more tangible, as I realized the conflict of the story was interesting. Ginny, with her many anomalies, throughout the novel battles with herself in the many conditions and new circumstances she faces as she matures further. Additionally, Ginny has Asperger’s syndrome, a condition which segregates one from the rest as they hold unique properties, usually including strange repeating habits, anxiety, unusual body language, social awkwardness, and more related symptoms which ultimately illustrate a perfect portrait of Ginny. The story begins with the death of Ginny’s parents, which render Ginny solitary, as the strong and loving grip of her parents had been lost at sea. The then endures conflicts with her sister Amanda, who wishes to sell their parent’s house and have Ginny live at her house. Ginny, in this conflict holds her position still and defends it with an iron fist so that the house is not sold and Ginny can remain in it at peace. Another major conflict in the novel was Ginny’s magic ability to make the ghosts of recipes appear. Ginny at first feel trepidation at her ability but then became accustomed to it and used it for advice. I found this aspect of the book interesting although a bit goofy—one would not think cooking with ghosts. I also never exactly came to a conclusion as to whether the apparitions were only a figure of her imagination; I could think this because in the end no-one but her saw them, and that just seems a bit too suspicious. The rest of the conflicts Ginny faces include her ongoing debate whether she is normal or not—which she resolves as there is no normal therefore she, and all else are normal—provided to her by the normal book, David and his death. The conflicts Ginny faces throughout the novel actually created change within her, proving her to be a dynamic character. Ginny grew from a scared, reticent, insecure girl to a girl with purpose found in life. The story as a whole is the maturing of Ginny. Furthermore, the conflict of the book, if it has not been apparent is man vs. self, since Ginny throughout the novel comes across obstacles she must overcome internally then externally. The theme of the book was also change versus tradition I believed, since Ginny was so use to and molded to a certain lifestyle and had to vacate it and improve following the death of her parents. The author’s attitude towards the theme, I believed was reinforcing, since through the great adversity Ginny faced she kept pushing through and improving as a person. This theme introduced me to the idea that change could be good ad I will certainly look for it in other places from now on. Additionally, a few literary devices the author used to effectively convey the message of the book are characterization, Foil, imagery, metaphor, mood and plot. I believe the author uses every one of these properly and generously as they provide for an entertaining read. A quote I feel illustrates the writing style of the author is “to keep the faces of the mourners from troubling me in my sleep, I lose myself in the feel of sriracha, trying to remember every last note, to wipe everything else away. The burn of the chili heat, sharp and round. The soft garlicky not in the back. The particular feel of the pain, not like a pinprick, or a knife cut, but both blunter and sharper a pencil eraser pressed hard against the soft meat of the tongue like a cattle band. A taste that is somewhat painful and positive. A riddle of chemical compounds, not human emotions. The only king I know I can solve” (McHenry 152). The writing style of this quote is breathtaking, it utilizes a perfect blend of imagery and characterization as it also provides as a great example of Ginny’s personality. Now, the conducting of the book I have some problems with. As I introduced this review I stated that the book was sweet but its sweetness did not last as no part of the book dwelved too deeply into its sections, I felt I could have been told more about each of the characters, but the book was cut off short and the conclusion rushed. All in all “The Kitchen Daughter” is an entertaining read and I would recommend it to all that have spare time and find fictional writing fun. I gave this book three stars because it is a good book. It is not exceptionally well, but it is not a terrible book either. There are times when I wanted to close the book and stop reading, but there are also times when it kept me going. There are two things that I find most interesting in this book. One is how the protagonist, Ginny, calms herself and keeps her equanimity through depictions of food in her mind. It would be quite fascinating if someone actually used this method to calm their mind. Another thing that I find is Ginny's Asperger syndrome. There were chills down my spine when I read the part the revealed Ginny's disease. Personally, I find it quite erratic that Ginny has such syndrome. The only character development that is most apparent to me is Ginny's. Before she even knew that she has Asperger's syndrome, Ginny always keeps to herself and is quite anti-social. But as the story progresses, Ginny tried her best to overcome the disease and tried to not let it define who she is. The cause for this change is due to an accidental finding of a letter from her father asking her mother for forgiveness because Ginny has inherited the syndrome from him. Ginny misunderstood it thinking that she is a disappointment. Thus the main conflict in this novel became man vs. self. The theme is to not let a disease stop you from improving yourself. The letter of her father asking her mother for forgiveness was definitely a symbol that helped convey the theme. The follow quote describes the author's writing style: "Panic, panic, can't panic. Think of food. Think of sugar. I am a sugar cube in cold water. I won't dissolve. Precise edges. Made up of tiny, regular, secure parts. If the water were hotter I would worry, but it's cold. I stay together. Precise. Clean. Surrounded, but whole." The author frequently relate to food to relieve whenever there is high tension. She uses short, and choppy sentences to depict how the characters process emotions and the situation. Since the book about cooking, this type of sentence is quite appropriate and goes very well throughout the book. All in all, I would recommend this book for young adults because they would not give up on it so easily. Young-adults would understand the situation and can make better connection with the book.
What do You think about De Keukendochter (2011)?
I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a loooong time. I hope Jael McHenry plans to write more books!
—aquamay14
I didn't want it to end. Learned an important difference between autism and Aspergers.
—Hungergamesfan
To disjointed in the beginning to get connected. I did not want to finish.
—annasandy
