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Gli Ingredienti Della Felicità (2000)

by Katy Cannon(Favorite Author)

4.02 of 5 Votes: 4

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review 1: "Love, Lies and Lemon Pies" o "Gli ingredienti della felicità" (i titoli tradotti non rendono mai giustizia).Dopo la morte di suo padre, Lottie non è più la stessa persona. Nonostante la sua giovanissima età, si trova a far fronte a problemi più grandi di lei, con una madre che non si è mai ripresa e che soffre di un disturbo ossessivo complusivo che non permette alle due di avere una vita normale e sociale. Dopo il dolore della perdita, Lottie si trova quindi ad affrontare la vergogna e la sofferenza di un segreto che tiene nascosto, per paura che a scuola tutti sappiano e che le portino via l'unico genitore rimasto. Lottie allontana da sé i suoi amici e le persone che le vogliono bene, per evitare che vengano a conoscenza della verità. Ma i suoi voti a scuola peg... moregiorano e gli insegnanti la esortano a prendere parte alle attività scolastiche e a interagire con i suoi compagni, così decide di iscriversi al Bake Club, un corso dopo scuola in cui imparare a preparare dolci, sua grande passione fin da bambina, passione condivisa con suo padre.Nonostante cerchi di tenersi alla larga da tutti evitando la socializzazione, Lottie comincia suo malgrado ad avvicinarsi ai membri del club e a stringere nuove amicizie, soprattutto con Mac, suo compagno di tavolo e di ricette. Un ragazzo bellissimo, ovviamente, ma con una reputazione tutt'altro che raccomandabile, anche se non tutto è sempre come sembra. Un libro davvero carino, devo ammetterlo, non pensavo mi sarebbe piaciuto. Forse più adatto ai giovanissimi, per via dell'età dei personaggi, ma leggibile e godibile anche per un lettore più adulto. In esso ci sono tutti gli elementi principali per una buona trama: i personaggi carismatici e problematici, l'amicizia, l'amore che nasce poco a poco, le incomprensioni, l'allontanamento e l'evento scatenante che ci mette di fronte alla realtà, che ci aiuterà a prendere la giusta decisione. Inoltre c'è l'elemento cucina, da non sottovalutare, con tanto di ricette da poter sperimentare, il che mi sembra proprio una buona idea, diciamo la ciliegina sulla torta per un libro riuscito.I personaggi sono stati ben delineati: oltre ai due pricipali, Lottie e Mac, ci sono gli amici del Club, ognuno con la sua personalità ben distinta e la sua situazione familiare. Tutti diversi tra loro ma che s'incastrano intelligentemente nella trama.La psicologia dei personaggi viene snodata mano a mano che si va avanti nella lettura, fino a farci amare e odiare le loro scelte e le loro implicazioni. Non si tratta di un romanzo passionale e tormentato, ma dolce e delicato, che ti lascia con un sorriso e la sensazione di non aver perso tempo nella lettura.Alcuni aspetti forse sono stati trattati un po' velocemente e con un tantino di superficialtà, soprattutto sulla parte finale, che si decide nelle ultimissime pagine, ma devo dire che alla fine dei conti non è proprio un male, dato che ho letto alcuni romanzi in cui davvero si sarebbero potute tagliare 200 pagine di inutili tira e molla, di incomprensioni e di lotte interiori ripetute fino allo stremo. Direi un romanzo essenziale, semplice e lineare, delicato e talvolta un po' ingenuo (ma non in senso negativo), da leggere in una serata tranquilla con una tazza di té.Volevo dare tre stelle, però mi sbilanco e ne do quattro proprio per premiare la spontaneità e la naturalezza della scrittura e anche per ringraziare l'autrice di avermi risparmiato una serie di improponibili risvolti, guidandomi senza ansie verso un finale che mi ha soddisfatta sicuramente. "Love, Lies and Lemon Pies"After the death of her father, Lottie is no longer the same person. Despite her young age, is faced with the biggest problems for her, with a mother who has never been shot and who suffers from an obsessive compulsive disorder that does not allow the two to have a social life. After the pain of loss, Lottie is therefore to face the shame and suffering of a secret that keeps hidden, for fear that at school everyone can know and move away from the only remaining parent. Lottie pull out from her life her friends and the people who love her, so that they are aware of the truth. But at school teachers are worried about her situation and suggest her to take part in school activities, so she decides to join the Bake Club, an after school club in which to learn to make cakes, her great passion shared with her father. Despite trying to keep away from all avoiding socializing, Lottie starts against her will to approach the members of the club and make new friends, especially with Mac, a beautiful guy, obviously, but with a reputation far recommended, although not everything is always as it seems. A book really cute, I must admit, I did not think I would liked it. Perhaps more suited to the young, because of the age of the characters, but readable and enjoyable even for a more adult reader. In it are all key elements for a good plot: the colorful characters and problematic, the friendship, the love that comes little by little, the misunderstandings, the removal and the triggering event that confronts us with the reality, that will help us make the right decision. In addition, there is the element of the kitchen, not to be underestimated, with lots of recipes you can experiment, which seems a very good idea.The characters were well defined: in addition to the two main, Lottie and Mac, there are the friends of the Club, each with its own distinct personality and his family situation. All different but which fit very well in the plot. The psychology of the characters is articulated as we go forward in reading, until we love and hate their choices and their implications. This is not a tormented and passionate novel, but sweet and delicate, that leaves you with a smile and the feeling of not having lost time in reading. Some aspects have been treated perhaps a bit faster, especially on the final, which will decide in the last few pages, but I have to say that is not really a bad thing, since I've read a few novels in which really could have been cut 200 pages of useless back and forth, misunderstandings and inner struggles repeated until exhaustion. I would say an essential novel, simple and straightforward, sensitive and perhaps a bit naive (but not in a bad way) to read in a quiet evening with a cup of tea. I wanted to give three stars, but I'll give four to thank the author for having saved me a series of preposterous implications, guiding without anxiety towards an ending that I enjoyed for sure.
review 2: I absolutely adored Love, Lies and Lemon Pies. It was everything you could ever want from a contemp, and I already know that I'll be picking up whatever Katy Cannon writes next.I loved the main character, Lottie. Her dad died a year ago, and a result, she had stopped talking to her friends, stopped participating in school...generally just stopped doing anything. The staff at her school were worried about her and wanted to talk with her mum, but Lottie's mum wasn't exactly dealing with her grief very well, and to stop anyone investigating any further, Lottie joined the Bake Club at school. And little by little, even though she really only joined as a distraction, Lottie started making friends again, met Jasper and Ella and Mac, took part in competitions...I loved watching her character grow. She really cared about her new friends (and I have to say, I loved her friendship with Jasper in particular, he really made me laugh) and was starting to realise that no-one was without their own problems - even Grace, the girl she thought had a perfect life. It was easy to relate to Lottie; it can be really hard to try at things when there's nothing to motivate you. So reading about her finding things worth trying for and seeing her character develop was just so great. She also had a fab sense of humour and I remember laughing at a lot of her internal thoughts.Mac was a character with his own issues, hiding his own secrets, and I liked how we slowly got to know him more throughout the course of the book. His relationship with Lottie was interesting because he seemed to be able to get through to her in a way that no-one else could, and even though they fought about stuff, and were rivals when it came to baking, they were so great together. Mac was more than just the rumours about him, in the same way Lottie was more than "the girl whose dad died" and they both had their problems but eventually were able to start to work them out together.The book was mainly about Lottie trying to keep everyone from finding out her secret, while also trying to fit in at Bake Club and think more seriously about a future in baking. I liked how every Bake Club character sort of got their own mini storyline about the problems in their lives, and how Lottie recognised with each one that nobody's life was perfect. Lottie kept feeling guilty for continuing to lie to everyone even as they had gotten a lot closer, and when her secret finally came out, I really liked the way everyone reacted (especially Jasper) and how things worked out in the end. The whole baking idea as well was just fantastic, and as I do enjoy baking, I will definitely be trying out some of the recipes included in the book! The way baking tied in with everything was awesome and it was nice to see Lottie remember how much she loved baking, before when she used to bake with her dad, and get back into it again.Overall, Love, Lies and Lemon Pies was a really lovely contemp and touched on a range of issues whilst being funny and cute. Recommended. less

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