Amanda Panitch

This Top Chef-inspired story about 20-something Sadie Rosen is a fun read! If you like cooking shows, you’ll like the scrumptious details thrown in to describe the mouthwatering dishes. If you’re a klutz (or know that this word has Yiddish origins), you’ll appreciate Sadie a bit more personally.

Bringing toxic restaurant culture to light - from Sadie’s past - and worthy but under-celebrated cuisines - Appalachian, Southern, Korean, and, of course, Jewish - to the forefront of your show more culinary worldview, you may walk away, like me, with a greater appreciation for your local restaurants and your own family’s culinary roots.

My favorite part about this book? That there are 4 Joes, and none of them matter all that much. Vanilla Joe, Bald Joe, Old Joe, and Kangaroo Joe don’t even get last names. Who cares? This is Sadie’s story.

While marketed as a romcom, the love arc is further in the clouds, more wistful than present. A lot is hinted, but not a lot is shared on the page. This perspective likely contributes to some mixed reviews here…

Sadie is funny and lovable. Her love interest, Luke, is perfectly imperfect, as the best leading literary men tend to be.

I binge-read this book in two days, laughed out loud, and was delighted. Is it the best book I’ve ever read? No, but hey, it’s fun! And worth it if that’s what you’re looking for. But don’t read hungry - you’ll end up eating your whole fridge. Enjoy! show less

I really enjoyed this one. It's written in the first person from the perspective of Abby, one of our leads. It's very hard for me to get into hearing from a person who is so closed off but Elliot gives just the right mix of self-awareness to bring us into her world and understand her choices without getting irritated by them. Seth is a great match for her - patient and kind. This is a grumpy/sunshine book and I do love that trope. I also really enjoyed Abby's journey of rediscovering her show more Jewishness despite the trauma she had growing up and moving to creating community after starting off as a lone wolf at the beginning of the book. I do enjoy a good Hanukkah romance and this one delivers. show less

Flipping awesome, incredible- what an original, witty, twisted and heartbreaking story!
Told in an engaging, Jersey girl, no nonsense voice, Panitch pulled you under and didn't let you up. The characters give the label 'sociopath' a whole new meaning, yet Panitch unveiled and detailed them so well, you couldn't help but at least feel some sympathy for them.
Then, the plot twist...OMG - genius! Although I felt a niggling throughout the book that something wasn't quite adding up, I never show more expected the sum to result in THAT! Fabulous, fabulous, roller coaster ride of a story that will have you screaming and flinging your hands in the air in disbelief. show less

Damage done is the twisted debut novel from Amanda Panitch and it is frickin' strange reading bliss.
I had the pleasure of reading Damage Done without a lot of preconceived notions, and that allowed me to be caught unawares a few times over. We come into Julia's life as she is dealing with the aftermath of a deadly school shooting at the hands of her twin brother, Ryan. From the very beginning the story unfolds at a nice pace, keeping back enough to allow for speculation on the part of the show more reader.
The beginning of the story had me thinking that this was more of a realistic based novel, but after about half way through I started to see a different story unfold, one more suspense driven. The stretch of reality is completely forgivable in my mind, as it is an essential part to the crazy twists. The only complaint that I have in this area is that while I am open to accepting the unlikely in my fiction, I would like to have the author stick to more believable details where it didn't effect the story. Example: the police responding to a potential deadly situation and then letting all of the teenagers go their own separate way without notifying parents, and things of that nature. I am still giving it 4.5-stars because I can, because I loved it, and because as much as I love picking apart crap that drives me crazy, I can't justify making a major deal over it.
The writing was pretty terrific. The story is told from Julia's perspective, and I couldn't have felt it more. Also, the psychologist has brief moments of telling his story through occasional journal entries. I loved hearing from the two of them and they both added to the endless possibilities of how the story would play out.
NOW!...Can we please stop here? Right now this is a standalone, and there is no cliffhanger, but things are not tied up so tightly that there isn't room for a sequel. For the love of God, no! Please let it stop here. There is enough growth of a major character to soften my heart where I wouldn't expect it, and there is an ending that rocked my socks. I don't want to see this turned into a series. I would just like to hold on to this moment...Thank you very much, Amanda Panitch. I promise to gladly try something else of yours if you promise to leave things where you left them in Damage Done.
Update: Panitch confirmed DD as a standalone. :) show less