Simply From Scratch

Simply From Scratch by Alicia Bessette started out slowly for me. Even though I have had additional reading time these past two days - stuck at home in a blizzard- I have also had three children who have talked at me a lot. (This is not bad; it just makes reading difficult).

Finally last night after bedtime for the girls and this morning before they are awake I was able to really get into this story, enjoying it a great deal.

Rose Ellen Roy has lost her husband Nick just over a year ago in an accident that occurred when he was on a mission trip to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Zell, as she is called, is having a hard time moving on. She writes emails to Nick and re-reads the letters he sent her when he was gone. There is also the present that is discovered in her oven (Nick's hiding place) over a year later. When Ingrid, Zell's nine year old neighbor girl and her father Garrett get involved in Zell's life, providing some friendship and laughter, Zell's life seems to be moving on. However, Zell, Nick's father, and Nick's friends are still looking for closure - planning a memorial for Nick. Meanwhile Zell and Ingrid enter a cooking contest, trying to win a spot on Polly Pinch Live and win the $20,000 prize money to donate to the City of New Orleans.

This is one book that ended with just not enough closure for me. I want to know if Zell and Garrett embark on a romantic relationship. Is Ahab, Zell's dog, ever return after running off? What happens with EJ, a mutual friend of Nick and Zell's, and Charlotte, a woman he met in New Orleans? While there are times I don't mind imagining what may have happened, this time I just wanted more.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes, and once I was allowed some time to get into the book, I wanted to keep reading. In my mind I imagine Zell happy with Garrett and Ingrid, able to move on in her life and continue living.