White Jacket Required follows the uber-popular food blogger Jenna Weber, who writes daily on Eat, Live, Run. We follow Jenna as she graduates from college and wonders what to do next. She decides to pursue one of her passions and enrolls in culinary school – but to become a food writer, not a chef of any type. She conquers the rigorous program, gets her first job waking up in the wee hours of the morning to bake bread, is hit head on with an unexpected family member passing and finds love.
This type of book is definitely a first here on Chick Lit Plus but I have been such a fan of Jenna and her blog that I definitely wanted to write about my experience whilst reading her book. Now, let me be up front first and foremost, I have been reading Jenna’s blog for at least two to three years now and already knew most of these things about her, so the book didn’t have too many secrets for me. But, I absolutely loved her honesty and her story telling. I loved watching her pursue her dreams in culinary school and I loved when she recounts her early mornings at her first job. I was also heart broken when she spoke about her brother and his passing. Like I said, I already knew this about her from her blog, but this was told in such a different light and with such intimate honesty that I felt like I was right there with her. While reading, I often wished that we had been friends so that I could have held her hand during those hard times, or smiled right along with her during many of the positive moments in her life. Overall, this coming-of-age story is a really great read – especially if you are into food, because lucky for you, there are recipes found at the end of every chapter, many of which are delicious! A really fantastic read filled with real charm. I highly recommend it.
[Rating: 4.5/5]
