One afternoon, Julia Evarts and her five-year-old daughter, Gracie, arrive home to find an unexpected gift on the front porch: a homemade loaf of Amish Friendship Bread and a simple note: I hope you enjoy it. Also included are a bag of starter, instructions on how to make the bread herself, and a request to share it with others.
Still reeling from a personal tragedy that left her estranged from the sister who was once her best friend, Julia remains at a loss as to how to move on with her life. She’d just as soon toss the anonymous gift, but to make Gracie happy, she agrees to bake the bread.
When Julia meets two newcomers to the small town of Avalon, Illinois, she sparks a connection by offering them her extra bread starter. Widow Madeline Davis is laboring to keep her tea salon afloat while Hannah Wang de Brisay, a famed concert cellist, is at a crossroads, her career and marriage having come to an abrupt end. In the warm kitchen of Madeline’s tea salon, the three women forge a friendship that will change their lives forever.
In no time, everyone in Avalon is baking Amish Friendship Bread. But even as the town unites for a benevolent cause and Julia becomes ever closer to her new friends, she realizes the profound necessity of confronting the painful past she shares with her sister.
About life and loss, friendship and community, food and family, Friendship Bread
tells the uplifting story of what endures when even the unthinkable happens.My Take on the Book
This book was a fresh look at friendship and provider the reader with some great ideas for pulling people together to help them become even better.
Though the book was a bit more geared toward women, I will say that the author did an amazing job at building her characters up, allowing us to truly know the characters on a deep level.
In today's society there is nothing like getting friends together for food and conversation. This book takes the best of this idea and turns it into a story that you just want to continue reading. Also, due to the deep character development, you are drawn into the character's lives, and not just the story.
Overall, after reading this book, I can definitely see this as a book that would be great for a book club or other small group that already brings people together as this is the overall idea of the book anyway.
This post was written for Family Review Network & Mia King who provided the complimentary book for review in exchange for my honest opinions
All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
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Thank you for the review, Chris! :-)
ReplyDeletebest,
Darien