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Book Review of The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street

The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street
reviewed on + 403 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


I loved this book for several reasons. One is I was raised in New York and this book brought back some memories of my early childhood - the horse-drawn carts of household items and veggies, cold-water flats, and Jewish friends we had as well as so many other ethnicities and having little but carrying on. I love the main character who was flawed but indomitable. She took lemons and made lemonade and owned up to her flaws and foibles of which she had a few. From nothing she, the somewhat ugly duckling built a life with a handsome man, built an empire from nothing, and was, admittedly, a bit imperfect. She was imperfect enough to be human and real. She is abandoned by her father, her mother is so distraught from losing children due to polio and being left by her husband she loses her mind and ends up admitted to a crazy house, yet this young girl carries on and on and on with spirit, determination, and determination. Best book I've read in a while.