Reviews

The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman

rotemd's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

rsarette's review against another edition

3.0

I read this book going through moments of being enthralled with the storyline and the characters and moments of contemplating stopping reading because a particular chapter was particularly uninteresting or seemed too petty/annoying. Overall a decent read that goes through some different historical events with a different perspective than I’m used to.

abby_writes's review against another edition

3.0

3.5/5, if I am being honest. This is a story of poor Russian-Jewish immigrant who grows up in an Italian-Catholic home and learns the ins and outs of the ice cream business, eventually earning her the title of "The Ice Cream Queen." To me, Lillian was a female anti-hero who needed to possess not only business acumen but a whole lot of "pluck" to be taken seriously by the male-dominated society of her time. Overall, this was a fun, fluffy read -- an antidote to some of the literary slogs I've been reading lately. I really enjoyed Lillian's narrative voice. I know she used some trite phrases -- "darlings" and "so sue me" -- when addressing the reader, but I thought she was a well-developed (if somewhat vain and unlikable) character. Plus, historical fiction and ice cream make for a good holiday weekend read!

christinejean's review against another edition

5.0

Loved it. I felt all sorts of conflict, because I always felt for the protagonist even though her motivations and attitudes were often questionable, but it was immensely satisfying. Everything's i'd want out of a historical fiction novel.

kate_lynn's review

4.0

I’m giving 4 stars, because it is a unique story that is very well-written. However, I was never able to like or feel sympathetic for the main character. She is not a nice woman. Just because it’s a rags to riches story doesn’t mean she has to be a saint, but the rough first half of her life did not humble her at all.

The name of the book also bothers me. It should be “The Ice Cream Queen of America” since that is what she was nicknamed. She lived on Orchard Street for a hot minute and didn’t make ice cream there.

glaurieousrun's review against another edition

3.0

It took me well over a year, but I finished before 2019!!!!

erinsbookshelves's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

tonyroma4646's review against another edition

1.0

Overall I semi-enjoyed this book. The author is definitely a talented storyteller. She is great at setting up characters, and perfecting their personalities with ease. I do think, however, that the main character at times became too obnoxious to deal with.
By the end of the book I ended up feeling like there was no point in having read it.
If I had to pick a favorite part it would actually be reading all about the history and life of immigrants in New York's Lower east side during the 1910-20's.

beth5677's review against another edition

5.0

I don’t usually enjoy historical fiction. So this book was a big surprise for me. I picked this up from my local library because I needed it to finish a reading challenge. (And I do like trying to stretch outside of comfort zone). I just fell in love with this story. I enjoyed every minute I spent reading this book. The life Lillian leads isn’t any easy one and she’s not always a likeable character. The journey she takes the reader on was wonderful. As I was reading I could clearly see this as movie.

seejennread's review against another edition

4.0

How many of you were desperate for ice cream all the way thru this? I know I was!