Delicious! by Ruth Reichl

Billie Breslin leaves college early to move to New York City for work. She lands a job as assistant to the editor of a food magazine called Delicious!, housed in an old mansion. Gradually the reader learns that Billie doesn’t like to cook, even though used to have a cake-baking business with her older sister, Genie. Billie is befriended by a cook, an older travel writer, and the owner of a cheese shop. Later, she finds a secret room behind the magazine’s long-closed library, full of letters from the magazine’s readers, including several written during World War II by a young girl, Lulu, to famous chef James Beard. Through Lulu’s letters Billie learns about life in Akron, Ohio during World War II and wonders how her life turned out, while reluctant to go home and face her own family. This was a fast read for me, as I kept turning the pages to find out what would happen to Billie and Lulu. I can almost smell Billie’s famous gingerbread cake, which is one of several recipes included in this book.
Brenda