Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Julia's Child

by Sarah Pinneo (Goodreads Author)

3.23 of 5 stars 3.23 · rating details · 343 ratings · 93 reviews

A delectable comedy for every woman who's ever wondered if buying that six-dollar box of organic crackers makes her a hero or a sucker.

Julia Bailey is a mompreneur with too many principles and too little time. Her fledgling company, Julia's Child, makes organic toddler meals like Gentle Lentil and Give Peas a Chance. But turning a profit while saving the world proves tri...more

Paperback, 279 pages

Published January 31st 2012 by Plume

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

Foodie Novels

17th out of 77 books — 65 voters

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Novels about Motherhood

27th out of 116 books — 77 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 897)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 21, 2013 Tanya Eby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: narrated

This is a Cinderella tale for working moms. Struggling entrepeneur working mom is trying to get her business "Julia's Child" more than off the ground...she wants it to float into every food aisle of Whole Foods. While I didn't really personally connect with Julia and where she's at in her life, I did enjoy visiting her world of upper-incom Manhattanites who dream green and dream big. Pinneo's writing is vibrant and clear, easy to read, and the book is filled with a lot of behind-the-scenes info...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 01, 2012 LAURA KAY A Novel Review rated it 4 of 5 stars

http://anovelreview.blogspot.com/2012...

Crunchy momma, Julia Bailey, has taken her love for making healthy foods for her children and turned it into her own small business, Julia’s Child. Julia’s Child is all about making healthy snacks for toddlers and Julia dreams of the day when she can get Whole Foods to sell them in their stores. After a chance meeting, Julia’s Child begins to really take off. Great right? Well, as the business grows so does the debt while the time she can spend with her fa...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 06, 2012 Kim Justice rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

My Review:

To start my review for Julia's Child, I will state that at first it took me a little while to get into the book. Then after I started to get into it, Julia's Child lost my attention again. My daughter loaned it to me thinking that I would like it. I did finish it, but just because of her.

The story to me was kinda slow. Mostly was about Julia getting over her fears of almost every thing she was trying to do. I know we all do think about like this when there is something big we are tryi...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 28, 2012 Nikki rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I received Julia's Child in a Goodreads Giveaway. I was really looking forward to reading it and it did not disappoint me. I am a mother of 3 young children and although I am not struggling to start my own business as well as raise my children, I was able to relate to Julia. This is a very "green" book, but I did not feel that it was overdone. It was very informative and contains quite a few healthy recipes. Julia had the same concerns for her children and for their health as I do for my childre...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 04, 2013 Loralee rated it 4 of 5 stars

When Julia Bailey launches a line of organic Muffet snacks for children, she has a whole new world to deal with. Like product presentations to rooms full of mothers and screaming infants, trade shows that exclude her because her company's too small, and offers from corporations she's not sure she can trust. Plus she's got all the problems of a working mother, with a vanishing nanny, angry notes about kiddie snacks from fellow tenants, kids who barge in to interrupt when she's cooking, and a cell...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 29, 2012 Nicky rated it 3 of 5 stars

I find books about entreprenuers interesting, because it clashes with my own somewhat cautious nature. This was in some places the story of a gutsy woman pursueing a personal mission, but had some holes and turns that made it less than effective.
I liked her descriptions of how a small business start up works, renting commercial kitchen space, using creative community storage, working with other small business owners, personal connections, and the trade show. Holes- I found it very very odd that...more

like · see review

Aug 25, 2012 Nathalie S rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read through this book pretty quickly. When Julia becomes a mother, she decides she needs to do everything green and organic to a pretty obsessive degree (which she freely admits) in order to save her children and the earth. She develops some toddler organic recipes (included in the book) , particularly, the "muffet" and decides to start up her own company producing these for other mothers. She borrows against their savings, hires a helper (at 40,000 a year), buys an organic farm in Vermont (a...more I read through this book pretty quickly. When Julia becomes a mother, she decides she needs to do everything green and organic to a pretty obsessive degree (which she freely admits) in order to save her children and the earth. She develops some toddler organic recipes (included in the book) , particularly, the "muffet" and decides to start up her own company producing these for other mothers. She borrows against their savings, hires a helper (at 40,000 a year), buys an organic farm in Vermont (at 50,000+ plus hires the owner's hippie grown kids to "farm" organically)---btw , Julia and hubs already owned a little home there already ($$$). So when Julia worries about the bottom line, which she should really, I didn't feel quite as sorry for her as I was meant to be because she's already more loaded than I'll probably ever be. And don't forget the Scottish live-in nanny she hired so she could devote herself to her little venture. Still, I pretty much enjoyed reading the book obviously. All ends well (spoiler alert) when her fledgeling company is bought out by a big corporate giant which retains her at 100,000 a year plus bennies and her single-mother off-welfare employee Marta(just in time since she discovers a lump in her breast wouldn't you know). The price is that Julia does have to travel a lot, toe the corporate party line and be away from her kids (formerly she'd at least be home late a night). So what is the lesson here---it's all a matter of choices and what you are willing to live with. A lot of food for thought, no pun intended... p.s. I did enjoy the Halloween scenes where Julia is horrified to see her less enlightened neighbors hand out candy to her kids which they relish eating under the table. I can relate as I would limit the yearly candy orgy gby getting rid of the nasty cheap candy and chucking out what was left after a week! I would hijack the baaaags of on-sale candy my mother-in-law would unload on me for the kids---funny thing, she didn't let her kids gorge on candy when they were little lol!(less)

like · see review

Jul 23, 2012 JoyfulK rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: womens-lives-good-reads

Julia, a "can I have it all" mom, leaves her job on Wall Street to start an small business in Brooklyn, marketing organic, toddler-friendly foods. At a small business incubator, she meets Marta, and together they try to keep the business afloat. Can they achieve solvency, get the product onto the shelves of Whole Foods Market, while managing their multiple family responsibilities?

This book is a light frothy read with a lot of humor---and some delicious-looking recipes---but the dilemmas Julia an...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 15, 2012 Connie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: with-reviews

3.5 Stars

Thanks so much to Laura for the book! :)

Cute, enjoyable, and fluffy, and finished in a flash. From the first page, you just want Julia to succeed with her toddler health-food venture. The narrator has a great voice, and as the reader, I would probably want her to succeed in just about anything she attempted--even if that venture wasn't as cute and likable as a line of all-natural foods.

The main reason I didn't rate the book higher is that I felt that the author and narrator were essen...more

like · see review

Mar 07, 2012 Viviane Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Julia Bailey is a stay-at-home Mom who takes the topic of her children's nutrition quite seriously, but her kids are slow to get the point and frequently pose comical and crazy questions that challenge Julia on a daily basis - very funny often! But Julia's trying to start a new business with an organic food company named Julia's Child! What's the focus - healthy eating - cheese and vegetables into the most unusual products like pancakes and muffins. It may not be such a new idea now but it's sti...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 18, 2012 Danielle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: chicklit, ebook, for-review

When successful entrepreneur and mom Julia Bailey goes into business for herself she pores every ounce available into it, including the time she once spent with her family. Opening her new business “Julia’s Child” only became a dream after the birth of her two children, but her business sense came long before that. With a team consisting of only her and her new friend Marta, Julia develops an organic line of food for toddlers that quickly has them both working around the clock. In a matter of a...more When successful entrepreneur and mom Julia Bailey goes into business for herself she pores every ounce available into it, including the time she once spent with her family. Opening her new business “Julia’s Child” only became a dream after the birth of her two children, but her business sense came long before that. With a team consisting of only her and her new friend Marta, Julia develops an organic line of food for toddlers that quickly has them both working around the clock. In a matter of a few months her life is quickly turned upside down and she’s left wondering if what everyone else feeds their children is really that important.

Julia’s Child was such a pleasure to read. Not only was it based on a topic that is close to my heart, but the writing was superb. Within pages Sarah Pinneo’s writing had me caught up in Julia Bailey’s life & new found business and I couldn’t help but want to keep reading until the very last pages were finished. Sarah’s characters were fantastic and I especially loved her husband Luke. Now, Julia could actually become a bit annoying at times but thankfully another great character emerged in her new business partner Marta who helped balance her out. There was even more to it than that including a mother that couldn’t be more different, a nanny who gets herself into her own bit of snafus, and her two adorable little kiddos. Overall the entire cast of characters coupled with the writing made for a spectacular read and one I won’t soon forget.

Speaking to the actual subject matter of the story I’ll say I was pleasantly surprised. I’m actually quite fortunate in that I live in an area on the coast of California known for it’s abundance of fresh locally grown organic produce as well as numerous farmer’s markets weekly. It’s something I value about living here and enjoy a great deal, but I’ve also lived in other places around the country where it’s incredibly difficult to get access to organic fresh produce. So the idea of putting a struggling organic toddler food business in the heart of New York City was intriguing and worked incredibly well to move the story forward. It was easy to see how Julia would have struggled to find a packaging plant as well as local fresh produce to put in her recipes. Now add that to the fact that she may have had a saboteur in her midst made it even more interesting.

What I valued more than anything about the story were the various relationships Julia had. As I mentioned I especially appreciated the role her husband Luke took on. It’s not often that you read a novel as of late that has a strong, attractive, genuinely kind and supportive husband who doesn’t end up sleeping around on his wife. This was a huge breathe of fresh air! Because of this, their relationship became something that supported the story rather than worked as some sort of twisted plot device that I would have detested. It also lent itself to delving deeper into Julia’s relationship with her children, her motivation for the business as well as her relationship with Marta who I absolutely adored. Marta was hilarious and exactly the voice of reason that Julia needed almost one hundred percent of the time. Her sass was also something I looked forward to in nearly every scene she was in, often because I was so tired of Julia’s uptight behavior. All of these relationships were what to me truly made the story shine.

Julia’s Child was a marvelous debut novel for author Sarah Pinneo! Her characters stood out as some of my all-time favorites and the way in which they interacted with Julia became a driving force behind the story. Now I have to say before I’m finished that I love the play on “Julia Child” with the title Julia’s Child. Having grown up in a home with a chef and now food blogger/foodie it was fun to see this nod to such an innovator of her time which I’m certain also plays a part in Julia Bailey’s own trend setting ways. This would absolutely be the perfect afternoon read for food lovers, but also anyone who simply loves a well written story full of delightful characters. Congratulations goes to Sarah Pinneo for a wonderful new novel! I’ll certainly be looking out for her next novel and our readers should as well!

Originally reviewed and copyrighted at my site Chick Lit Reviews and News.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 10, 2012 Alis Bookshelf rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-tour

I love stories like this one, stories about a strong woman that tries so hard to hold everything together. A woman who tries to and does an amazing job of juggling her own business and her family at the same time, even with its really tough not seeing her family all the time.

Julia's Child is a book that will surprise you though. Inside its pages you will not only find an incrediable story, but also some great recipe's.

Julia is a very inspiring character. Like I said above she stands up for wha...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 23, 2012 Samantha Robey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Julia Bailey is a true mompreneur, a wife and mother of two boys who is desperately trying to get her business off the ground. After having her first son and actually thinking about what food and fillers she was putting into his system, she knew she wanted to do better. And Julia’s Child was born – a company that makes organic toddler meals, showing young kids that vegetables deserve a chance. But how much will Julia sacrifice to see her products on Whole Foods shelves? Her husband is missing he...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 20, 2012 Jencey/ rated it 3 of 5 stars

What would you do if you suddenly decided to start your own business? How would you provide for product development and the staffing to get tasks accomplished?

Julia Bailey runs a business Julia’s Child which makes food for toddlers and older. She has been working with her business associate Marta who helped her develops the business from the ground up. Julia’s goal is to make her product reach Whole Foods shelves. Will she be successful? In addition to starting her own business she has two child...more

like · see review

Feb 18, 2012 Colleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Julia is a New York City mom with two young boys who is running a fledgling business creating healthy meals for toddlers. She is desperately trying to balance it all and make good on the investment her husband made in her business but despite long hours and some great ideas (Give Peas a Chance), Julia is just barely holding it all together. When an appearance on a morning television show brings unexpected attention and opportunities to Julia and her business, success is within striking distance....more

1 like · like · see review

May 25, 2012 Maya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, debut, first-person, food-related, north-america, womens-fiction

Pro:
- clever title
- easy to sympathize with the protagonist and want her to "win", and liked it that in the end, she recognized that moms are generally all just trying to do their best at a difficult job, and there is no need for us to be judgmental with each other
- easily recognizable frustrations/urban landscape for many readers

Con:
- felt like this couldn't quite decide what it wanted to be: novel? how-to-feed-your-child instruction manual? cookbook? healthy eating manifesto? As a result it so...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 17, 2012 Karen White rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: won-it

REVIEW JULIA’S CHILD

From the Publisher:
“A delectable comedy for every woman who has ever wondered if buying that $6 box of organic crackers makes her a hero or a sucker.
Julia Bailey is a mompreneur with too many principles and too little time. Her fledgling company, Julia’s Child, makes organic toddler meals with names like Gentle Lentil and Give Peas a Chance. But before she realizes her dream of seeing them on the shelves of Whole Foods, she will have to make peace between her professional asp...more REVIEW JULIA’S CHILD

From the Publisher:
“A delectable comedy for every woman who has ever wondered if buying that $6 box of organic crackers makes her a hero or a sucker.
Julia Bailey is a mompreneur with too many principles and too little time. Her fledgling company, Julia’s Child, makes organic toddler meals with names like Gentle Lentil and Give Peas a Chance. But before she realizes her dream of seeing them on the shelves of Whole Foods, she will have to make peace between her professional aspirations and her toughest food critics: the two little boys waiting at home. Is it possible to save the world while turning a profit?
JULIA’S CHILD is a warmhearted, laugh-out-loud story about motherhood’s choices: organic vs. local, paper vs. plastic, staying at home vs. risking it all.”

Though my kids are out of their toddler years (they’re now ages 9 & 12), Sarah Pinneo is preaching to the choir with me. I am of the generation of moms concerned about the damage that chemical/hormone/antibiotic- filled foods might be doing to our children. I’m in Los Angeles, not Manhattan, but West-side moms are the same in both cities. So I know Sarah knows of whom and what she speaks when she writes of the high-powered, wealthy, educated and very neurotic mom species.

Julia of JULIA’S CHILD is a prickly woman. It took me awhile to warm pulling a real woman out of a stereotype. Just when I’d think, “God she’s one of those women who is such a perfect mom you can’t stand her,” her kids will say, “Mommy’s always in a rush” or she’s caught talking on the cell phone while her toddler climbs the fence of the animal enclosure in the petting zoo. Although it’s hard to feel anything but envy for a woman who has a great husband and adorable kids as well as owns a nice apartment in Manhattan AND a home in Vermont, I did grow to appreciate her risk-taking and passion to spread the word about the value of feeding real food to kids. I also thought Pinneo dealt well with the inherent conflicts of the organic food business start-up. It starts with an impulse to help busy people serve their families whole and healthy foods – but with success comes the temptation to compromise.

The other main characters in the tale are warm and lovable: the aforementioned long suffering husband, the quirky live-in nanny, the employee pulling herself up by the bootstraps. Like Julia, they and smaller characters are often given surprising traits that make them well-rounded. Julia’s relationship with Marta, her intuitively PR-saavy employee cum business partner, is especially complex, as they negotiate the bounds of friendship and work relationship.

JULIA’S CHILD is an interesting combo of a light, entertaining story of a woman finding her voice by pursuing a career she is passionate about, with a book that seeks to get out real information about our country’s industrial food production and eating habits. There are even recipes, which I look forward to trying out. It’s obvious that Sarah Pinneo shares Julia’s passion to wake us all up to the facts about what it is we are choosing to eat. It’s a passion I share, and am relatively knowledgable about. I’m going to try and give it to friends who might not know so much about this subject, as I’m curious to hear what they’ll think. How about you?
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 08, 2012 Mary Mccarthy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book.... It made me constantly think of "Comfy Bummy Diapers" days :). But I didn't have the luxury of a nanny, so I probably have even more laughable stories to share :). Love the granola moms vs. "Emily" type of moms. And in the end, I liked how she showed that every mom has their "ick" factor in parenting, whether that be food, nannies, etc. I also ended up selling my business after six years, and I loved the part about Julia negotiating the sale!! Just a very real book...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 08, 2012 Vera rated it 4 of 5 stars

Check out more of my reviews at LuxuryReading.com

There were several secondary story lines that had abrupt endings instead of being fleshed out, and not for the lack of page space; the book could have easily been longer (it’s a very quick read). At times, it felt as if the plot too conveniently revolved around Julia and Julia alone, with everything and everyone else falling by the wayside. Despite these minor pitfalls, I enjoyed every page and my mouth dropped every time I read about something li...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 09, 2012 Barb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Light fiction about a young mom with a dream: to market her organic-but-tasty baby food. She puts a lot on the line to realize her dream, jeopardizing relationships with her husband, kids, and babysitter; taking financial risks; taking advantage of her one employee. There are a few parallels to the movie "Baby Boom" with Diane Keaton. It's an enjoyable novel and there are even a few recipes included. In some ways I think the author stopped JUST short of a hilarious satire with this one. A fun re...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 27, 2012 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: cooking-food

Like many other parents, Julia really started thinking about the food she put on her family's table after her first child was born. While other parents struggled to get their children to eat anything healthy Julia's son loved her healthy food, so she decided to create Julia's Child, an organic toddler food brand. Julia and her family believe in this so much that she borrows a large chunk of their savings to start out, but quickly realize that it takes a LOT of money to get a small business off t...more

like · see review

May 16, 2012 Julia rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't realize we'd be jumping right into the story, Julia Bailey is already set up with her organic food for toddlers business, selling to small local markets in Brooklyn. Now, she's trying to decide if she should take the next step and grow her business even more. Without her co-worker, Marta, I don't think Julia would have succeeded as well. When a chance to be interviewed on a morning tv show arises, it's Marta that preps Julia to face the audience. There were some great characters in this...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 06, 2012 Kim marked it as to-read

Recommended by Alice Bradley of finslippy:
"Julia's Child is, simply, a delightful romp. In fact I used the phrase "delightful romp" in the blurb I was asked to write for it, but then the author was all maybe you should read it first? And I was like, what? I haven't blurbed before, I mean, shut up, fine. And guess what I WAS RIGHT it was. DELIGHTFUL. ROMPY. I didn't put that in the blurb, though, because really. I did add that I missed my subway stop because I was so absorbed in reading the book,...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 14, 2012 Lucie Simone rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-won

Many bloggers had raved about this book, and I was lucky enough to win a copy from The Chick Lit Bee (thanks!), but it just didn't wow me like I'd hoped. It is well written and I could totally relate to Julia's struggle to manage her small business (I own a small press and often wonder what the hell I got myself into), but I felt the story lacked real drama. I also found it fairly preachy at times and rather self-indulgent, and I was regularly really irritated with Julia's obsessiveness about or...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 19, 2012 Christi rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

This book was just ok. As a non-earthy/crunchy type, I was glad the main character wasn't too preachy about being green and all that. But seriously, she's all against "processed foods" but that's what she's doing. Making food for other people to buy. Duh.

Julia was just so scatter brained it was amazing that she ever got anything done in the book. And truly, she rarely does without tons of help from her nanny, her employee, her husband. She's not self-reliant, independent or entrepreneurial. I t...more

like · see review

Sep 17, 2012 Michelle rated it 2 of 5 stars

I don't remember where I heard about this book exactly. All I can remember is that I read about it on a blog somewhere and marked it as to-read; something about it must have caught my attention. I've recently started going through my to-read list to check if our library carries the books. Its mostly been a frustrating process, lots of dead ends. Then lo and behold, the library actually had a book!

Julia's Child is a first person narrative of a mother and struggling organic entrepreneur. Its an e...more I don't remember where I heard about this book exactly. All I can remember is that I read about it on a blog somewhere and marked it as to-read; something about it must have caught my attention. I've recently started going through my to-read list to check if our library carries the books. Its mostly been a frustrating process, lots of dead ends. Then lo and behold, the library actually had a book!

Julia's Child is a first person narrative of a mother and struggling organic entrepreneur. Its an easy and light read, nothing heavy. Unlike many of the other books I seem to read, she's an ordinary privileged New Yorker trying to break even with her business and while trying to stay committed to her ecological values. I didn't break down into tears and I wasn't sitting on the edge of my seat. I was drawn in by a familiar character. She's kind of like me and most of the other moms I know, her day to day struggles were the same struggles I talk about with friends. So sometimes there was a part of me that was wondering why I was reading it in the first place, I like to read to take me to another place or experience. This was like touring my own backyard.

The main character, Julia, makes and sells healthy toddler foods. One thing I really liked about the book was that it included some recipes. I haven't tried any yet but I am very curious to try out the muffets the book primarily talks about. Also, the mac and cheese recipe looks interesting. The book did inspire me to get creative about how to include vegetables in my picky toddler's meals. Lately, he's been picking out anything that is green from his plate. So, I shredded carrots and zucchini into the Mexican rice I made the other day and he ate it without hesitation!

I think a more interesting story would have been that of Marta, Julia's welfare to work assistant. In fact, it seems its Marta who has all the ideas and gets them their big break. Its Marta who keeps the show running and in the end, I think its Marta who gets the short end of the deal when it comes to salary. I won't give away the ending, but I will say that it all wraps up a little bit too nice and neat. I don't know, I guess the story felt very safe so it left me feeling the same. It isn't a bad novel, its a nice, light read, but it didn't particularly inspire or move me either.(less)

like · see review

Dec 17, 2011 Leah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, for-review, netgalley, books-read-2011, favorites

When you see a novel titled Julia’s Child you’re going to assume it’s going to be a) about food and b) perhaps somehow related to the real Julia Child, a chef and television personality. Julia’s Child is indeed about food, but not as I expected it as rather than being about the type of food Julia Child herself produced, it’s instead a novel about children’s food, as Julia Bailey cooks organic treats and snacks for children. It wasn’t necessarily what I expected and when I saw it was a novel abou...more When you see a novel titled Julia’s Child you’re going to assume it’s going to be a) about food and b) perhaps somehow related to the real Julia Child, a chef and television personality. Julia’s Child is indeed about food, but not as I expected it as rather than being about the type of food Julia Child herself produced, it’s instead a novel about children’s food, as Julia Bailey cooks organic treats and snacks for children. It wasn’t necessarily what I expected and when I saw it was a novel about a mother who’s a bit of an eco-warrior, I was terrified I’d hate it. I’m not a big fan of baby novels – I like them well enough, but sometimes they can be a bit over the top and as I’m not yet a mother I can’t exactly understand the craziness. Secondly, I am the worst eco/green person in the world. That’s probably not something I should admit out loud, but it’s true. So eco novels always set me on edge, always make me feel as if I’m not doing enough (though I’m not) and they come across as preachy.

As soon as I knew Julia’s Child was about the two things I really can never seem to get on board with, I was scared, but I persevered. Because it is possible for me to change my mind and I’m pleased to say Julia’s Child did indeed prove me wrong. Yes, Julia Bailey is a mother (a somewhat neurotic one, at times) and sure, she’s trying to make the world a greener place with the way she lives, the way she makes her products for children, but it’s a nice mix of the two. It isn’t over the top, it isn’t preachy and I actually thoroughly enjoyed it. It wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny as the blurb suggests, but it was warm-hearted, it was fun, and it was an interesting tug of war between Julia having a successful business and Julia keeping her family in tact. I was pleasantly surprised and I’m glad I hadn’t read the blurb before hand because I probably wouldn’t have read it then and I’d have missed out massively.

This is really a special debut novel, and I enjoyed every page. I even stayed up past midnight to finish it because I wanted to know what Julia was going to do with her company, whether it was going to survive. It’s not a typical Chick Lit novel, there’s no relationship drama (huzzah, there CAN be happy marriages in Chick Lit! Although there was a slight moment where I thought it was going to all pear-shaped… However that was quickly resolved), it’s not overly focused on Julia’s family, either – she’s not weighted down by guilt, spending pages and pages feeling bad about how busy she is. Instead, it’s a novel about a woman starting her own business and trying to make it work. The family stuff is there, obviously, but it’s not OTT and it didn’t make me angry, as mother novels are wont to do sometimes. I loved Julia’s business savvy, I loved reading about her struggles because she was just so passionate about her muffets, about making her business succeed when all around the world companies and businesses are failing exponentially.

The characters, particularly Marta, Julia’s partner in Julia’s Child who was awesome; the writing; the plot… It was all just one big, happy, warm novel. It has its ups and downs, of course it does – Julia’s Child isn’t a perfect business and a lot of time is spect as Julia tries to drum up business, but overall it’s warm and happy. I loved reading it, I loved racing to the finish and wondering how it would all pan out. Sarah Pinneo has written a very engaging debut novel, one that will resonate with mothers everywhere who struggle every day to make sure their kids eat the right foods, but it’s also one single people can enjoy, people who don’t have kids, because it’s not all about being a mother, and I was able to understand Julia’s issues, understand why Julia was so passionate about Julia’s Child. I totally recommend the novel, and I can’t wait for Sarah Pinneo’s second novel, because Julia’s Child is a triumph!(less)

like · see review

Mar 28, 2012 Tracy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit

Cute book about a Brooklyn mother (Julia) who owns a company that makes healthy convenience food for kids. The books central conflict is that she is overworked and can't make the business profitable, so the reasons for having a company (flexibility, more time with her two young kids) do not apply as she tries to grow the company. The book was interesting in terms of watching her business struggles, but it was pretty light overall. Enjoyable, but not particularly realistic.

1 like · like · see review

May 20, 2012 Amanda Wheet rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Ugh. Part of me didn't even want to finish this. Julia is not a character I can even remotely relate to, mostly because I'm not an overprivileged, organic Nazi, who acts entitled. What is supposed to be a story about a mom who creates a business, struggles and makes it, is actually a story of someone who cares only about herself and her own needs. Pinneo's writing is laborious, as if she took a summer creative writing course and has now decided this is her calling. Two stars and that's pushing i...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 11, 2012 Liana rated it 2 of 5 stars

Simply and straightforwardly written. Yet another book set in New York City, which I have a falling interest in. Somewhat intresting, yet superficial, look into the world of organic packaged foods made by small purveyors. The rest didn't enthrall me, especially when one of the characters dismisses cloth diapers as an option in today's world (and misrepresents their method of use at the same time). I can only imagine how many readers would be turned off to the idea of cloth diapering after readin...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 29 30 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Book Giveaways: Win a copy of Julia's Child by Sarah Pinneo!	1	7	Feb 27, 2012 10:15am
Book Giveaways: Closet Cleaning Giveaway - Win 3 Books!	1	18	Jan 26, 2012 02:16pm

combine
Other Editions (4)

Genres

Womens Fiction > Chick Lit

14 users

Contemporary

3 users

Adult

2 users

Book Club

2 users

Food And Drink > Food

2 users

Food And Drink > Cooking

2 users

Womens Fiction

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Sarah Pinneo

The Ski House Cookbook: Warm Winter Dishes for Cold Weather Fun

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Julia's Child

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Julia's Child

“In Park Slope, even the play dough was whole grain.” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Julia's Child
avg rating	preview: Julia's Child Goodreads rating: 3.23 (343 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11847171-julia-s-child?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327880571l/11847171.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11847171-julia-s-child?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Julia's Child by Sarah Pinneo[/url]

Julia's Child

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website