The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold

 

Nikki Werner is just finishing up teaching literature for the school year when she struggles with her parent's divorce. She is so shook up that she just isn't herself and she isn't even sure who she is anymore. In The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold, the reader follows Nikki through a summer of personal growth as she comes to terms with the family issues of today and those in her roots. 

As her summer off from school begins, Nikki has reached a breaking point with her parents' divorce. She is upset with her dad for running off with another woman and getting married--which she has just found out about the wedding on social media. She aches for her mom. She struggles with her boyfriend, Isaac, and isn't sure how to move forward with the relationship. So she runs. She runs to the farm her father grew up on and stays there for the summer helping her uncle remodel a house. In that house, she finds a hand-written recipe book from her great-grandmother and decides to make the recipes. Wise sayings are also sprinkled in with the recipes.

I especially enjoyed the recipes and the wise sayings in The Divine Proverb of Streusel. I expected this to be a bit more lighthearted than it was. This book deals with some family issues and hard topics--although Nikki's new friend,Joyce, and her Aunt Emma lightened things up at times. I enjoyed most of the characters in this character-driven novel. The plot doesn't move along very fast and the slowness about lost me in the middle of the book. Most of the characters have some issues that they are working through--and like real life, I didn't always agree with their choices. However, I did love it when Aunt Emma chimed in. Maybe we shouldn't have favorite characters, but she was mine anyway. 

As The Divine Proverb of Streusel wrapped up, I struggled with some of the resolutions. I also struggled with Nikki and Isaac's relationship--or lack of one for the summer. There is no romance in this book. I thought that their relationship wrapped up a bit too neatly. I also couldn't really understand why Isaac couldn't see that Nikki was hurting and that is why she ran away and struggled to talk about her parents' divorce. It is an interesting book, but as someone who came from some dysfunctional family dynamics of my own, I am not sure I agree with all of the conclusions or the way they were handled. But that is likely true to life--we all handle things differently. 

However, as I said, I did truly enjoy the homemade recipe book and reflections in The Divine Proverb of Streusel. Complete recipes are in the book although I did not try to make any of them. As someone who has lived in the Midwest almost all my life, I thought the background and the descriptions of small town and farm life were entirely accurate. There is also a Christian theme of forgiveness and redemption throughout the book. I am glad that I read it.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Interviews and Reviews. All opinions are my own.