Review of THE DIVINE PROVERB OF STREUSEL by Sara Brunsvold

ABOUT THE BOOK

ISBN-13:9780800742997

Publication date:01/16/2024

Pages:336

Shaken by her parents’ divorce and discouraged by the growing chasm between herself and her serious boyfriend, Nikki Werner seeks solace at her uncle’s farm in a small Missouri hamlet. She’ll spend the summer there, picking up the pieces of her shattered present so she can plan a better future. But what awaits her at the ancestral farm is a past she barely knows.

Among her late grandmother’s belongings, Nikki finds an old notebook filled with handwritten German recipes and wise sayings pulled from the book of Proverbs. With each recipe she makes, she invites locals to the family table to hear their stories about the town’s history, her ancestors—and her estranged father.

What started as a cathartic way to connect to her heritage soon becomes the means through which she learns how the women before her endured—with the help of their cooking prowess. Nikki realizes how delicious streusel with a healthy dollop of faith can serve as a guide to heal wounds of the past.

My Thoughts

This book is like a primer on establishing relationships with the past and improving current ones. Nikki Werner flees to her Uncle Wes’s property in rural Missouri when her father’s leaving her mom breaks her heart, followed by a her boyfriend not being someone she can count on right now. At Uncle Wes’s farm, Nikki finds an old notebook that belonged to her grandmother and that contains handwritten recipes along with proverbs. As Nikki lovingly prepares the old recipes, she learns to put heart into her cooking as she thinks about all of the challenges in life that she is now facing. She meets new people, makes new friends and gets insight into what she is facing and how to face it. During the reading of this book, I was challenged to think about my own past and its effect on my present and apply God’s truth to what has happened and is happening. This is a book that teaches lessons about redemption, forgiveness, looking for the path God wants for you and not accepting less than God’s peace and His best in your life. I loved all of the characters, especially Aunt Emma who dispensed wisdom as well as unconditional love. The plot was well-paced and totally engrossing as Nikki invites one person after another and learns a lot about her past from each of them, all while pondering in her mind about what to do about her father and her boyfriend. The recipes are fascinating, too, making me want to try a few of them like the pancakes and the streusel. I am impressed with the author’s story within a story and the depth of her research. All in all, this is a wonderful book with a story clamoring to be read again and again and enjoyed by book clubs as they discuss the recipes, the importance of connection to the past and forgiving even when it’s hard.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell, the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertisng.”