These were both library reads.  Serving Crazy with Curry is a book about Devi, an Asian Indian young woman who attempts suicide and is saved by chance.  The effects of Devi’s suicide attempt ripple through her family and each member deals with it in their own way depending upon their  circumstances.  Devi’s path to recovery begins in her mother’s kitchen as she starts to cook and prepare meals unlike the food her family has eaten before.  There was a lot to enjoy about this book in the cooking sequences and Devi’s thoughts about recovering, however the big “secret” behind Devi’s suicide attempt became obvious rather early on and is not something I sympathize with.  I also did not find her sister’s reaction to the reveal realistic at all.

Britt-Marie Was Here is a charming slice of life story with a fanciful feel.  Britt-Marie is looking for a job after years as a homemaker and lands a job at a soon to be closed rec center in a run down town.  The move here changes her in ways she can’t begin to imagine  and she is not sure if she will enjoy those changes.  The people of Borg, welcome Britt-Marie with open arms and soccer balls and things will never be the same again, for Britt-Marie or for Borg.

The character of Britt-Marie is really interesting.  She begins as the typical grumpy old lady, very set in her ways.  Her experiences in Borg change her and that leads naturally to the ending the book has.    This is a well written book, with  great characters, an interesting original storyline and a great ending.