A review by juliannewarren12
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I enjoyed the structure of the book. Having each chapter be a story of a different person in Eva’s life throughout different time periods was very uniquely done. However, I didn’t like most of the characters. Eva seemed nice but her character felt so impersonable the older she got as if we didnt really know much about her personality after she was 11. I enjoyed Lars the most but of course

he dies right away.

I hatedddd Barque but at the same time that chapter from her college days was my favorite. I felt like that was the only chapter that we truly learned about Eva. 

There were a lot of loose ends that I wish were tied up better, especially with the ending of Pat Praeger’s chapter. This didn’t bother me too much because I think the ending did a good job giving closure for all of the main characters mentioned throughout. 

Overall, this book didn’t make me feel emotional in any way but it was still a nice read. I would recommend this to others as i’m sure many others would enjoy it better than I did.