Cute, silly, sweet read about a 6th-grade foodie who must hide her passion (and her cooking skills) from her fast-food parents while possibly accidentally becoming a food critic for a major newspaper.

Liked: The character of Gladys, her friends, and the food.

Didn't like: Gladys sucks up to and uses another classmate in order to get invited to the restaurant she needs to review. I kept waiting for some resolution or self-awareness about the troubling aspects of this or the potential for hurt feelings (even if the other girl was a snooty queen bee), but nothing happened.

I picked this book up because I'd seen it on several "best of" lists, but it wasn't for me. It was really creepy and even though my guess is that if I read it again and thought about the story I'd "get it" a bit more, I absolutely don't want to.

"...well, sometimes a good person makes a bad decision." I could not put this book down. I loved the author's descriptions and voices. The characters, even the minor ones, seem fleshed-out in a way you don't often see. Everyone seems to be broken in some way, and it's wonderful to watch them find grace and redemption together. Note: There are definitely some themes and language that I think put this in the "older teens" category.

Aaaaaannnd I'm crying. Again. Some more.

This is the book I wish I could give to everyone. Of course, not everyone would be willing to READ it, but still. I highlighted the crap out of the thing, while saying words like, "Yes! THIS."

Neylan McBaine spends the first half of the book explaining what she sees as the tensions within the Church based on the different ways that women and men experience Church culture, doctrine, and policies. Her thesis is that inequalities DO exist, and that they cause pain for many women. She asserts that if members of our community are in pain, that's something we should all care about, try to understand, and work to alleviate if it's within our power. The second half of the book has a more practical approach as she discusses procedural adaptations she has seen within wards and stakes to better meet the needs and utilize the talents of the sisters. The result of these (sometimes quite small) changes is that women are better heard, better seen, and better included, particularly in decision-making forums (which is where women start getting scarce the higher up you go).

Neylan McBaine walks the difficult line of a faithful moderate. Conservative members of the Church may think she's going too far, and feminist members may think she's not going far enough. (I personally had some moments where I wish she'd been more bold and less deferential, but I understand that she wants to be effective rather than divisive.)

I would give this book to anyone who says, "I honestly do not get it. I do not understand where these women are coming from." And to anyone who says, "What problem?" And to anyone who says, "If you really understood the gospel you would see that Everything is Awesome," except I would maybe hand it to them in the face. And I'd give it to anyone who HAS experienced frustrations, large or small, and would be thrilled to see them so well-articulated.