The Recipe Box

My library, the Romeo (Michigan) District Library, has a program they hold every year called "Romeo Reads" in which a book is chosen to be read librarywide, and events around the book's subject matter are planned for two months, ending with an author appearance. This year's book is THE RECIPE BOX by Viola Shipman, the pen name for Wade Rouse. (Viola Shipman is his grandmother's name.) If not for Romeo Reads, I would never have read this book because this author's writing is not for me.

Sam (for Samantha) has always lived in northern Michigan. Her family owns a cherry and apple orchard (with donuts and cider and pies) there. When she is in her 20s, she moves to New York and goes to school there to become a chef. When she finds that life show more far from home is not as fulfilling as she expected it to be, she comes back.

Shipman is popular with many readers but certainly is not with me. I find his writing too simplistic and his dialogue unrealistic and syrupy. The writing style reminds me of what I read when I was 12 years old.

For that reason, I would have rated the book with two stars. But I give it three because of its saving graces that are probably the reasons my library chose this book: it describes the beauty of Michigan throughout, and the story celebrates life on an orchard/cider mill, which is so like what we have here in Romeo.

If you like easy reading with no thrills and especially if you are from Michigan, you might want to give this book a try. My three-star rating is for my taste and not necessarily for yours. show less

The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman is set in Bayview Points, Michigan. Samantha "Sam" Nelson is working at Dimples Bakery in New York when her boss, Chef Dimples goes too far and she quits. She has had enough of his attitude and taking credit for her work. Sam grew up in Bayview Points on her families' orchard, Mullins Pie Pantry and U-Pick. The orchard is having its hundredth birthday this summer and her grandmother, Willo is turning seventy-five. There will be a big party in honor of the two events. Sam heads home for the summer and works in the pie pantry alongside her mother, Deana and grandmother. When Sam was thirteen, she was given a handcrafted recipe box that matches grandmother's and her mother's. Inside are the family recipes show more that have been passed down from mother to daughter. While working alongside them and using the family recipes, she learns about their past, her family history, how the orchard came to be and her love for baking. She also learns that the right man that will complement her has been there all along if she just opens her heart. Join Sam on a journey through the past that will help her have a bright, happy future.

The Recipe Box is a charming novel. I thought it was well-written and had a steady pace. Ms. Shipman has a conversational writing style that has an ease to it (makes for an easy to read story that is engaging). The author provided beautiful descriptions of the area, the orchard, the people and the baked goods (recipes included). I loved the characters in the story with Willo being my favorite. I appreciated the strong, intelligent female characters. There are great interactions between the women. Life lessons are included in The Recipe Box which include know yourself and be true to yourself. It is important to live a life without regrets. The Recipe Box is a feel-good novel. There is a predictable element, but it did not hinder my enjoyment. I like a book that gives me a good, heartwarming feeling inside and leaves me with a smile on my face when I am done reading it. I look forward to this author's next book. show less

I enjoyed Viola Shipman's first two books and knew that I was in for a treat when I won a copy of The Recipe Box at goodreads. I wasn't disappointed - this was a wonderful book about family and love and relationships between mothers and daughters.

Sam Mullins felt like there was too much to explore in the world and didn't want to stay at her family's orchard and pie shop in Michigan. She went to NY, to go to culinary school and got a job at a famous bakery that was often filmed for Good Morning America. She finally had her fill of the pretentious baker who ran the bakery and quit to go home to Michigan to see if she could figure out what she wanted to do with her life. Sam felt like a failure when she got home but as she works along with show more her family - especially her grandmother, she begins to see what is important in life but is unsure if she will be able follow her dream.

Along with being a book about love between the generations of a family the author provides recipes at the end of each section. If you weren't hungry when you started the book, you will be as soon as you start reading these recipes. The family constantly bakes for each other and the deserts that they make are so well written that you can almost taste the apple turnovers and apple crisp. One other thing that I really enjoyed is that this book is a love letter to my native state of Michigan. I have always felt that the Michigan shoreline along Lake Michigan is one of the most beautiful places in the world and this book describes it so well that I feel like I've been on a mini-vacation. show less

Shipman's stories always remind me of childhood. This one reminds me of the orchards we used to visit every fall. Its a comfort read and you know how the story is going to end before it begins. This isn't my favorite of Shipman's books, but I still liked it. I definitely want to try some of the recipes in the book!

The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 3/5 stars

Sam Mullins has spent her life dreaming of becoming a world-class baker. From her small northern Michigan apple orchard to the bright lights and competitive world of New York City, Sam has earned her culinary school degree, has a tremendously crappy job, and the feeling she still isn’t where she’s meant to be. After an unsettling episode at work, Sam packs her bags and heads for home.

In an effort to sort out her life, Sam returns to the loving embrace of her family and their century-old apple orchard. The orchard holds so many happy and some very conflicting memories for Sam. There is the ever-present love and support of her family, the orchard, and the pie shop show more where Sam first discovered her love of baking. At mother and grandmother’s sides, Sam learned how to mix and create, to bake and to love, and to share her creations with her family and community. The recipes she learned as a child are both simple and comforting and have brought Sam great pleasure throughout her life. In her current state, however, Sam is beginning to question if her fancy culinary degree was a way to cover her embarrassment over the very provincial nature of her family’s recipes and cooking.

Over the days she’s at home, Sam not only reconnects with her love of her family recipes, but with the women who made her love and opportunities possible. Sam’s formidable grandmother, Willo reminds Sam, through stories of their past how the orchard and pie shop came to be, how both have sustained the family though the long years, and how a history such as theirs is as much a foundation as a piece of architecture. Slowly, and after much baking, Sam begins to realize her fancy culinary degree isn’t at all about embarrassment or shame, but about wanting to make her own unique mark on the world outside of the long shadow of her family.

The Bottom Line: If it weren’t for one very large issue, The Recipe Box would have scored so much higher with me! I am a smart and attentive reader which means I don’t need an author to constantly remind me of certain themes and/or issues in their books. In The Recipe Box, the themes of history, shared history, and foundations are repeated so often they become almost comical. Almost! I got to the point where I began skipping over the excessive passage related to these themes and moved on to the far more interesting business. I did enjoy Willo a great deal and her shared stories of the Mullins family and their past. Willo builds a strong connection between the past and the present which allows Sam to understand her place in the family as well as in the world. There are some really touching moments in this read a TON of yummy recipes which will appeal to many readers. If you don’t mind the repetition, The Recipe Box may be just the read for you 😊 show less

Viola Shipman has a formula - and it works. The books are always about the value and the ties of family, appreciating family traditions, and what they mean to us.
This particular book is about a family who owns orchards in Michigan. Each generation has handed down recipes through the years and also passed on a love of the orchards. The family has fed multiple families who have visited the orchards in the summer months.
Sam is a pastry chef and is trying to make her way in NYC. However, she is working for a nasty boss and suddenly quits. She returns to Michigan to ground herself and get a rest from the weariness of losing her job. She is lost and needs to be found. Her mother and grandmother gently tell her the stories of her ancestors show more and their baking. Angelo, a deliveryman from NYC, has formed an attraction to Sam, and comes to Michigan to visit her. But, Sam keeps pushing him away as she doesn't know herself and is confused as to what she wants.
This is a sweet story about family and tradition, made sweeter by all the wonderful treasured recipes.
#TheRecipeBox #ViolaShipman show less

audiobook
Excellent narration
Recipes excellent
Sweet, heartwarming this book brought back so many fond memories of my youth in upper Michigan. This is a book with strong family ties, great relationships, honesty and courage, not game playing. I felt good, peaceful and happy while reading it. A fabulous summer feel good read.
I loved this tale of upper an Upper Michigan woman/pastry chef and the orchard her family owns. She was raised on her family's orchard, a multi generation owned business. She wants to make her own mark on the world so she leaves and goes to NY to work under a famous pastry chef. Things happen, life changes, and she finds herself heading home for some thinking and her grandmother's 75th birthday celebration. Once there show more she is drawn into the power of family and food, and re-centers her life and her heart.
Pie, pie, pie, oh the pies in this book ! There are recipes, good ones I've tried three so far. The only downfall to the audio version is that I had to write them down while play pause/play pause it took some time. I ordered the hard copy so I'll have them soon. show less