Review: Don't Kill the Birthday Girl by Sandra Beasley

Don't Kill the Birthday Girl by Sandra Beasley

Publisher:  Crown Publishing Group

Pages:  240

Format: ARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon  

Goodreads:  Like twelve million other Americans, Sandra Beasley suffers from food allergies. Her allergies—severe and lifelong—include dairy, egg, soy, beef, shrimp, pine nuts, cucumbers, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango, macadamias, pistachios, cashews, swordfish, and mustard. Add to that mold, dust, grass and tree pollen, cigarette smoke, dogs, rabbits, horses, and wool, and it’s no wonder Sandra felt she had to live her life as “Allergy Girl.” When butter is deadly and eggs can make your throat swell shut, cupcakes and other treats of childhood are out of the question—and so Sandra’s mother used to warn guests against a toxic, frosting-tinged kiss with “Don’t kill the birthday girl!”
 
It may seem that such a person is “not really designed to survive,” as one blunt nutritionist declared while visiting Sandra’s fourth-grade class. But Sandra has not only survived, she’s thrived—now an essayist, editor, and award-winning poet, she has learned to navigate a world in which danger can lurk in an unassuming corn chip. Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl is her story. 





Kritters Thoughts:  As I am the girl with no allergies, other than the occasional red bumps on the legs from a picnic in the grass, I am that skeptic that thinks that the world is overreacting and too accommodating to those who have allergies.  After reading this book, I am a little more empathetic but also don't think our schools need to go to the drastic measures that they sometimes do. 


A memoir that takes place right around the corner from where I live, in Arlington, VA with a little girl who is growing up with a long laundry list of allergies to many food groups.  As the title suggests, many traditions and events revolve around food where a child with allergies may feel left out because they can not partake in the complete ritual due to an allergy to one food group or another.    


A book that I would definitely recommend as a great memoir that may open your minds to how families must cope if a child or parent has any kind of food allergy or illness that may limit the foods that they may eat.    




Rating:  absolutely loved it and want a sequel


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the Crown Publishing Group.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.