tHANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR GRANTING ME FREE ACCESS TO THE DIGITAL ARC OF THIS BOOK

What a great book! I read the author's debut novel a couple years ago and LOVED it, so I had high expectations going into this one. It definitely did not disappoint. O'Shaughnessy's books are so full of heart and you really get to know the characters well and learn about them as really round characters.
I loved Mo and how she created relationships. She's such a great character and I empathized with her struggle to feel like she was part of a family.
I also loved reading about the New York City landscape throughout the book.
Immediately added a copy of this to my elementary school library after reading this book!

This book was so touching, it made me cry on a plane. I appreciate that they represented the privileged side of foster care and had themes of found family. I also appreciate that the book showed fallible adults in a situation where the child wasn't at fault at all.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review! For as long as Mo can remember, she’s lived with her grandmother in New York. But when Nan dies Mo’s uncle decides he can’t take care of her which lands Mo in foster care. She comes across a cookbook filled with family recipes which inspires her to collect other people's family recipes in hopes of finding one of her own. Considering how the book started, I was concerned this would be overwhelmingly sad. But the author did a great job providing balance. I appreciate that they addressed the privilege that Mo receives within the foster care system because of her race. This is such a heart warming book that speaks to the importance of found family.

The plot to this one is a bit predictable but I found that it didn't really matter. Because Mo is a charming, believable protagonist. She makes real kid mistakes, has difficulty relating to the adults in her life and seeing things through their eyes. And the book does acknowledge degrees of privilege. Yes, Mo is in foster care. But she's a cute white kid who gets places in a wealthy foster-to-adopt situation almost immediately. We also see the difference between wealth and care, between material needs and emotional connection. Because that's really what Mo is hunting for throughout this book - a connection beyond physical needs. Some of the plot elements are fairly idealized and there are things that come far more easily than they should but the positives outweigh the negatives.

Loved this book. It's very compelling with a diverse cast of characters whose ups and downs - in their personalities and their experiences - kept me engaged from the very beginning. I never fail to cringe a little at the "look at the flawless narrative recorded in this child's private letters," because it can be hard to suspend disbelief: does any sixth-grader really find such a balance between being succinct and providing details? On the other hand, that format makes for a healthy pace and keeps the reader interested, so I'm open to letting it slide.

I love this book! Mo is such a great character and I love seeing not only how she develops but also how other characters do as well. I love the recipes and feel a separate cookbook should be in order. I already purchased the book for my library and my students are excited to check it out and make some of the recipes, which are a great way to bond.

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and NetGalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
And now I love lasagna.

When Mo's Nan passed away, leaving her all alone, she left a notebook for Mo to write in and encouraged her to find a new hobby. Now in foster care, Mo stumbles into a hobby of finding family recipes, especially one of her own. This middle grade novel is full of hope and sadness with an amazingly real eleven-year-old at its heart. I laughed and teared up many times in this novel. This is one I would recommend to my older students as well as any adult who loves a good story.

Lasagna Means I Love You hits the sweet spot of not being too schmaltzy or overwrought while staying true to the emotions and motivations of its characters. The resolution, while expected, is sweet and a wonderful payoff for the trials and tribulations Mo struggles with throughout. Absolutely recommended for juvenile fiction collections large and small.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book.

This book was an emotional roller coaster, and I felt positively wrung out by the end. I loved Mo and her Family Cookbook, but was devastated by a few other twists in the story. I can't wait for this book to hit classroom shelves, and I hope a whole lot of adults grab this one too!!

Sweet and wholesome middle grade novel that deals with grief, family, identity, and the foster care system. Non-traumatic, but probably will need some trigger warnings

What a poignant and touching book!
It's the uplifting story of Mo, whose grandmother was raising her, until her death. Then, there is no one willing to care for her, and she is placed in the dreaded foster care system. She is lucky in her placements but luck is relative.
What was especially uplifting was Mo's pursuit of a hobby which her beloved grandmother insisted that she have. Her choice of compiling family recipes was so creative and gratifying to Mo, and, beyond that, to all of us readers.
What I especially appreciated about the story was the sensitive manner in which the author deftly explained the foster care system so that a young reader could grasp what it involved.
Life's ups and down are not glossed over. Mo is a character that young readers will admire. The story ends on a happy note which made me happy. Great read!

Sooo heartwarming, I didn't want this to end. A delightful protagonist and an honest look at the foster care system and the racial inequalities prevalent within.

E ARC provided by Netgalley.com

When Mo's grandmother, Nan, passes away, there is no one to take care of her. Her father was never in the picture, her mother passed away when she was younger, and her Uncle Billy is in the military and is not willing to give up his career and livelihood to care for her. She thinks briefly about asking her best friend Crystal's family to take her in, but knows this is unlikely. She ends up in the foster care system with a good case manager, Moira, and a seemingly wonderful foster family. June and Tate are young professionals who live in a fancy apartment building with a doorman, Joe. They want the best for Mo but don't understand everything about her, including her desire to travel an hour away to keep attending her old school. They do try, and arrange for a car to take her every day. They also support her efforts to cook; since Nan and Uncle Billy were not great in the kitchen, Mo longs for a family recipe of her own. She starts a web site, and asks strangers for family recipes. She gets a few e mails from her postings, and has a lot of fun making the recipes that are sent to her. Crystal helps her with the photography, and Crystal's grandmother helps Mo make dumplings. What Mo wants most is a family recipe, and a family connection, of her own. When a reporter for the New York Times features Mo in an article, she thinks that she has found a family member, but it turns out not to be. She still hopes that more news coverage will help her find a relative, but has to do something newsworthy in order for the reporter to cover her again. She still misses her gran (the entire book is written as journal entries/letters to her grandmother), and gets along with Tate and June. It's not perfect, but June was also in foster care and is understanding when Mo has moments of sadness and acts out. She even convinces Mo to see Dr. Barb for therapy, even though Nan was against it. She connects more with Joe and his wife Carlotta, who watch her one weekend, and they are instrumental in helping her set up a pop up restaurant of family recipes so that the reporter writes another story. When Tate and June have complications arise, it looks like a distant cousin of her grandmother's is willing to be her guardian, and Mo resigns herself to moving away from New York in order to be with her, even though they don't really connect. Will her pop up restaurant help her find a way to stay in the city she loves?
Strengths: There are a fair number of students in foster care at my school, and I assume it's the same in many other places. It's a fine line to show the problems and the positive aspects of this experience in a realistic way. Having never personally experienced any aspect of foster care, it's interesting to read about. It's good that Mo has an interest, and that her friends and foster parents help her pursue it. The look into the privileged life in New York City that June and Tate provide was rather fascinating. Mo's desire to connect with family members, or to find family recipes, will appeal to readers who like to cook, and social media is fascinating to middle grade readers. There are ups and downs, and Mo has some troubles weathering them, but she has a supportive team.
Weaknesses: I personally cringe when characters in books find instant online followings or get interviewed by the New York Times. I've been blogging for seventeen years and still have very few followers. (Many thanks to all two dozen of you!) I also could see the resolution of Mo's problems coming a mile away. To be very clear: middle grade readers will not mind either of these things, and I did enjoy reading the book.
What I really think: This felt a lot like McClain's 2011 Sizzle and a little like Mackler's Not if I Can Help It, due to the New York Setting, and offers a realistic yet upbeat look at foster care along the lines of Farr's Pavi Sharma's Guide to Going Home or Bauer's Raising Lumie. Check your collection; if you still hae a copy of Byar's The Pinballs, weed that and get some of these newer titles! The cover on this one is particularly good and begs to be displayed with Nails' One Hundred Spaghetti Strings!

Through letters to Nan, her dead grandmother, Mo's quest to find family recipes and a forever family is a good read. Placed in the foster care program in NYC, Mo finds herself in a few different homes. The cast of characters add to the fun of the story. The majority of the story is really, really good, but there is one thread that fell short of providing a satisfying conclusion at the end of the book. Wish the editor's had suggested a rewrite, but overall a good read.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this eArc in exchange for a honest and unbiased review.

Really... this is going to be a bit dorky. Surprise... it was awesome! Lasagna for everyone!

Mo has had a rough go at life. Her father disappeared when she was a baby. Her mother passed away. It left her with only her grandmother and an uncle who has no desire to raise a child. Sadly, her grandmother passes and leaves her orphaned. And Mo just wants family! She is put into the foster system, where she and her case worker admit that she is extremely lucky in her placements. But, even then, things fall apart.

In her search for family, Mo discovers cooking, and begins to search for other families favorite recipes and stories, hoping to live through their experiences.

Through all of this, Mo keeps a journal of sorts, writing to her grandma as a way to keep her with her. This view of her world through her letters is poignant. We get the highs and the lows. We watch as she grows, as she learns, as she struggles to find "family".

A great classroom read, such wonderful discussions waiting to be had.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This was a great read! I liked how the recipes were various fonts and written onto various paper types. That was a great touch. Even though Mo overcomes obstacles to find her family; she realizes that you don’t have to be related by blood to be family. As long as people love and care for you; they can be family.

Oh my heart! I loved this book so much! Mo is put into the foster care system once her grandma dies and her uncle doesn't want to keep her.
In the search to find a home she starts to learn about families and their recipes.
I loved Mo, I liked that she took time to deal with her feelings and talk to her different grown-ups about what she needed.
I loved the recipes in this book and the stories that came with them.
I loved Crystal, Travis, Joe & Carlota!
Such a great read for kids who are feeling like they are looking for a place to belong.
This would be a great book for any kid in the foster system but also a hopeful story for anyone to read.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!