-
Access Our
Best Book Club
Books of 2025!
It's 1944, W.W. II is raging. Jayna's big brother Rob is her only family. When Rob is called to duty on a destroyer, Jayna is left in their small town in upstate New York with their cranky landlady. But right before he leaves, Rob tells Jayna a secret: they may have a grandmother in Brooklyn. Rob found a little blue recipe book with her name and an address for a bakery. When Jayna learns that Rob is missing in action, she's devastated. Along with her turtle Theresa, the recipe book, and an encouraging, ghostly voice as her guide, Jayna sets out for Brooklyn in hopes of finding the family she so desperately needs.
"Starred Review. Giff is one of few writers who can entwine an odd lot of characters, set them in Brooklyn during World War II, flavor the story with soup recipes, add a ghost and infuse the plot with a longing for family—and make it all believable." - Kirkus
This information about Gingersnap was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo © Tim Keating
As a reading teacher for 20 years, the educational consultant for Dell Yearling and Young
Yearling books, an adviser and instructor to aspiring writers, and the
author of more than 60 books for children, Patricia Reilly Giff spent
her entire life surrounded by books.
After earning a B.A. degree from Marymount College, Giff took the advice
of the school's dean and decided to become a teacher. During the 20 years of her teaching career, she earned an M.A. from St. John's University, and a Professional Diploma in Reading and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Hofstra University.
Patricia Reilly Giff and her husband
lived in Weston, Connecticut. They have three children and five
grandchildren. In 1990, Giff opened The
Dinosaur's Paw, a children's ...
Name Pronunciation
Patricia Reilly Giff: ry-lee (first syllable rhymes with bye). Giff has a hard g
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
