Welcome back to another month of the RAD Reading Challenge, RPL style! If you missed my prior posts, you can find them all linked at the bottom of this post.
Do I have any readers that are also foodies? If so, this month is for you! In month four of a RAD Reading Challenge, Rachel has prompted us to read a book about food. One thing I love about Rachel’s reading challenge prompts is that there are always tons of books to choose from! This month I went with a book of short stories. I don’t always gravitate toward story collections but you all know I love challenging myself to read outside of my comfort zone so I went with it!
Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love by Jared Reck is a sweet romantic comedy about two teens who are complete opposites and the food truck that brings them together.
Oscar Olsson hates school. It’s his senior year but instead of enjoying all his “lasts” he’d rather be helping on his grandfather’s food truck full-time. Mary Louise (Lou for short) Messinger is smart, driven, and maybe a little “much” for most people. Oscar and Lou’s paths cross when Lou has an idea to save the planet by rescuing all the school’s uneaten apples before they reach the landfill. She need’s Oscars help (and his culinary skills) to put these apples to good use.
What ensues is a funny, and sometimes heartbreaking, story of give and take, finding one’s path, and falling in love for the first time.
This book gave me so many feels. I especially loved the secondary story of Oscar’s grandfather Farfar. I don’t want to give too much away but his backstory will have you in tears. The descriptions of food throughout were also a joy to read. Warning: do not read this book while you are hungry! My only qualm with the book is that I felt the two main characters read a little immature for their age. But, it’s been awhile since I’ve been a high school senior so what do I know?!
If you’d like some other recommendations for YA books about food, checkout these:
Kisses and Croissants by Anne Sophie Jouhanneau
The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
Bloom by Kevin Panetta
Looking for more foodie book recommendations for this prompt? Head on over to Rachel’s blog and check out the food-themed books she recommends for teens and adults!
If you missed any of the previous RAD Reading Challenge blog posts, check them out here:
1- 2022 RAD Reading Challenge for Teens!
4- Read a Book With a One-World Title
The links in this blog post are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by Richmond Public Library of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organization or individual. Richmond Public Library bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.
