All Four Stars by Tara Dairman

9.6/10

Tara Dairman's SITE    

YUMMY!!  All Four Stars was deliciously surprising.  Really, I didn't realize what I was reading about until I started the book.  It is full of figurative language and cause/effect.  It is simply written, but effective!  Ms. Dairman has entwined the culinary world magnificently into the pages of this story.  Recipes at that back are a tempting treat.

Sensory Details

Loaded of course! It is an especially fantastic place for finding examples of smell and taste, duh?!  It is in 1st person, so Gladys takes us on a foodie journey.

Taste:  "Gladys took a bite of her brownie, and a slew of flavors flooded her tastebuds.  The sweet melty butterscotch offset the bitterness of the chocolate and the hint of nutmeg gave the whole thing a kick."
             "Gladys tasted the pancake and thought it was delicious---the perfect combination of fluffy and crunchy, sweet and savory."
             "It tasted like pesto, like fresh thin-crusted pizza straight our of the oven, like summer."
Touch:  "...following Sandy back down the hall, staggering under the weight of the huge cookbook."
Sight:  "In the casserole dish was a misshapen, gray lump of meat covered with a mound of pale, quivering gloop..."
Sound:  "The bell rang, and the conversation was replaced by rustling coats and clomping boots."
Smell:  "...to smell something fresh and grassy-not the bitterness of coffee."
            "...Gladys was momentarily sidetracked by the scrumptious scents rising from her mug."
            "The Sighs' house was filled with warm spicy aromas."


THEME???
     Regular parents, except for the fact that they are horrible cooks (microwaved meatloaf?) probably why they prefer fast food restaurants to fresh, home-cooked meals.  Gladys is out of place with her gifted pallet and odd sensibilities.  Her struggle, not a hurricane or detrimental odds...realizing her dream and passion to cook and critique culinary chef-d'oeuvre. ( I had to look that one up!)