Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two sides to every story, June 25, 2009
Samantha Stark has spent years picking at the emotional scabs of her life, reflecting on her parents, family and her life; at what's gone wrong and why. Sam analyzes her emotional turmoil through conversations with her brother, Steven, a character who it's easy to forget is dead. And she tries to face the most crucial questions of her mother's relationship with Steven and why no-one else has spoken of him for over 20 years.
As Sam tells stories of her childhood & relationships, and also wonders how much she might have messed up her own son Simon, I think many readers could find themselves relating to some of the stories. "My mom did that," or, "Have I said that to my child?!" Or maybe that's just mothers heaping on the self-guilt, wondering am I doing enough? Am I doing too much?
"It's Not About The Cookies" is a very moving story, not only because of these reflections but because the reader begins to miss Sam's brother Steven just as much as she does. And as she begins to resolve her issues - and learns that memories play one-sided tricks - will she be able to forgive her family or herself for her own failings?
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You. Or, someone you know., April 2, 2009
Interesting tale about life, as lived by a family. You will recognize, or be, one of these people. And yes, once in awhile, it IS about the cookies. Heart warming story.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Realistic insight into a family through one member, June 25, 2009
It's Not About the Cookies is different than things I usually read; it is more character and dialogue driven than anything I've read in awhile. Yet, I was able to identify with the main character, Sam, since I too have felt that I was different just because I didn't have that feminine obsession to be trendy.
I rated this book as 4 stars because based on Amazon's system, "I liked it." I would rate it as 3 ½, but since there is no half rating for books here, I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. Like I said, this book isn't my usual genre (hence the bump up), but I would have liked a little more development in the settings of the story.
However, the characters and events in this book are very realistic. Sam is exploring her childhood by dealing with her feelings about how she was raised. In opening up and talking about her memories about how things happened, she starts a dialogue with her family that makes her realize that her point of view was not always perfect. I enjoyed this story mainly because there is hope that the future can be better than the past if the characters are willing to have the hard conversations.
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