Lasagna Means I Love You (Hardcover)
Staff Reviews
"Kate O’Shaughnessy puts the ‘comfort’ in comfort food in this tender coming-of-age story.
Hoping to maintain a connection to her grandmother after her death, eleven-year-old Mo
Gallagher writes a letter to her every day. The novel’s epistolary structure forges a profound
intimacy with Mo as she reports on the vagaries of foster care while navigating grief and
girlhood. However, everything changes when Mo discovers a homemade cookbook, fueling an
online recipe project of her own. If you consider food a love language or grew up in a family
where food was the ultimate expression of love and nourishment, this book will feel like a warm
hug."--Reviewed by Cristina
What are the essential ingredients that make a family? Eleven-year-old Mo is making up her own recipe in this unforgettable story that's a little sweet, a little sour, and totally delicious.
Nan was all the family Mo ever needed. But suddenly she’s gone, and Mo finds herself in foster care after her uncle decides she’s not worth sticking around for.
Nan left her a notebook and advised her to get a hobby, like ferret racing or palm reading.
But how could a hobby fix anything in her newly topsy-turvy life?
Then Mo finds a handmade cookbook filled with someone else’s family recipes. Even though Nan never cooked, Mo can’t tear her eyes away. Not so much from the recipes, but the stories attached to them. Though, when she makes herself a pot of soup, it is every bit as comforting as the recipe notes said.
Soon Mo finds herself asking everyone she meets for their family recipes. Teaching herself to make them. Collecting the stories behind them. Building a website to share them. And, okay, secretly hoping that a long-lost relative will find her and give her a family recipe all her own.
But when everything starts to unravel again, Mo realizes that if she wants a family recipe—or a real family—she’s going to have to make it up herself.
Nan was all the family Mo ever needed. But suddenly she’s gone, and Mo finds herself in foster care after her uncle decides she’s not worth sticking around for.
Nan left her a notebook and advised her to get a hobby, like ferret racing or palm reading.
But how could a hobby fix anything in her newly topsy-turvy life?
Then Mo finds a handmade cookbook filled with someone else’s family recipes. Even though Nan never cooked, Mo can’t tear her eyes away. Not so much from the recipes, but the stories attached to them. Though, when she makes herself a pot of soup, it is every bit as comforting as the recipe notes said.
Soon Mo finds herself asking everyone she meets for their family recipes. Teaching herself to make them. Collecting the stories behind them. Building a website to share them. And, okay, secretly hoping that a long-lost relative will find her and give her a family recipe all her own.
But when everything starts to unravel again, Mo realizes that if she wants a family recipe—or a real family—she’s going to have to make it up herself.
KATE O’SHAUGHNESSY is a book nerd, animal lover, former chef, and an outdoor enthusiast. When she’s not writing, you can find Kate pottering in her garden, eating good food, hiking with her dog, and chronically mispronouncing words she’s read but never heard said aloud. She lives in California with her family.
Kate’s first book was The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane.
Kate’s first book was The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane.
★ "Readers will laugh, cry, and embrace Mo completely.... Deeply moving and tender." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ "[An] 11-year-old in mourning navigates foster care and seeks connection by collecting families’ recipes and stories in this tenderly rendered, character-driven novel.... Extremely satisfying." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Mo, imperfections and all, is a winning heroine. To be read with snacks at hand, and perhaps also some tissues." —The Horn Book
"Will pull at the heart strings of all readers." —School Library Journal
★ "[An] 11-year-old in mourning navigates foster care and seeks connection by collecting families’ recipes and stories in this tenderly rendered, character-driven novel.... Extremely satisfying." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Mo, imperfections and all, is a winning heroine. To be read with snacks at hand, and perhaps also some tissues." —The Horn Book
"Will pull at the heart strings of all readers." —School Library Journal