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    Lasagna Means I Love You
    Lasagna Means I Love You
    Lasagna Means I Love You
    Audiobook7 hours

    Lasagna Means I Love You

    Written by Kate O'Shaughnessy

    Narrated by Annie Q

    4.5/5

    ()

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    About this audiobook

    What are the essential ingredients that make a family? Eleven-year-old Mo is making up her own recipe in this unforgettable story that's a little sweet, a little sour, and totally delicious.

    Nan was all the family Mo ever needed. But suddenly she’s gone, and Mo finds herself in foster care after her uncle decides she’s not worth sticking around for.
         Nan left her a notebook and advised her to get a hobby, like ferret racing or palm reading.
         But how could a hobby fix anything in her newly topsy-turvy life?
    Then Mo finds a handmade cookbook filled with someone else’s family recipes. Even though Nan never cooked, Mo can’t tear her eyes away. Not so much from the recipes, but the stories attached to them. Though, when she makes herself a pot of soup, it is every bit as comforting as the recipe notes said.
         Soon Mo finds herself asking everyone she meets for their family recipes. Teaching herself to make them. Collecting the stories behind them. Building a website to share them. And, okay, secretly hoping that a long-lost relative will find her and give her a family recipe all her own.
         But when everything starts to unravel again, Mo realizes that if she wants a family recipe—or a real family—she’s going to have to make it up herself.

    This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF that contains recipes and photos from the book.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
    Release dateFeb 21, 2023
    ISBN9780593666784

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    Reviews for Lasagna Means I Love You

    4.5/5

    7 ratings2 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This book had some buzz from other readers.
      I picked it up and the main character, Mo, was a powerhouse of the kid. After the death of her grandma, she needs someone to step in to be the adult caregiver in her life. Her uncle is not in the position to do that and she goes into foster care. She realizes, for the difficulties she faces, her experiences are privileged because she's white and this sticks with her throughout the book.
      She ends of placed with a very affluent couple who support her in her project to collect family recipes in the hopes of being connected to more family of her own.
      The comment of the therapist at the end about some people being bridges who are in your life a short time to bring you to people and places you need to be was such an on point way to describe the story and the complexities of life.
      The characters were richly developed and Mo was one of those people who had drive and the ability to connect with folks.
      It was a touching, enjoyable read all told in letters to her grandma.
    • 3/5
      First sentence: Dear Nan,
      You died on a Tuesday.
      Given how much you hated Tuesdays, it makes sense it would cement its place in history as the worst day ever.

      Premise/plot: Mo Gallagher keeps a private journal in which she writes to her grandma. Mo is in for a tough time. Her Nan has died. Her Uncle Bill--who's in the military--is refusing to become her guardian. Mo is entering the foster care system. She's mourning the loss of just about everything. Everything seems to be in a constant state of change, change, and more change. But one thing Mo is holding onto with both hands is this idea of learning to cook, not only learning to cook, but learning to cook FAMILY recipes. It starts with a book she finds. She wants strangers near and far to share family recipes with her. She has a TikTok channel where she shares her cooking journey. She would love to find members of the Gallagher family to share *her* own *family* recipes.

      My thoughts: I wanted to like this one more than I liked it. It could just be my own head space. I liked it more than I disliked it. I can't really say why this was an 'almost' for me. I like how Mo uses cooking to cope with all the many challenges she's facing. I like how Mo is persistent. When a recipe proves tricky or difficult, she keeps trying and trying and trying until she's made something edible at least. It's a life skill for sure. This hobby is definitely shaping her character for the better. While Mo definitely has an easy time being successful and gaining followers and fans, Mo has a more realistic struggle with forming attachments in real life. I'm glad that not every single thing was 'easy' for her. There wasn't a case of instant-love when it comes to finding adoptive parents, foster parents, etc.