return to home  
Join   |  Gift   |  Member Login   |  Library Login
BookBrowse Mobile
Follow Us: 
   Reader reviews

Read what people think about The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, and write your own review.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
by Alan Bradley
Hardcover: Apr 2009,
384 pages.
Paperback: Jan 2010,
400 pages.

Publication information
First book/First Novel


Author Information
Critics' Opinion:   
Readers' Rating:  
About BookBrowse Rankings
Share: 
Buy This Book
Page 1 of 2 There are currently 7 reviews
for The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Select your view:
Order Reviews by:
Click Here To Write Your Own Review
Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Enaj Mann
The Most Brilliant Book I've Ever Read
When my father first brought this book home from the library and told me about it, I was vaguely interested, but not at all excited. I thought, "Well, I guess the cover is pretty...and it has an okay title..."

The problem was, I was already deep into about 3 other books at that moment, so when I finally got the chance to pick it up, I had to return it only a few days later. By that time, I couldn't put it down.

My dad got the chance to take it out for me twice more, but I am the slowest reader possibly on the planet, so I reluctantly had to return it time and time again.

Finally, on Valentines Day, my father presented me with a loving father-daughter gift: my very own copy of "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie." I was ecstatic, and started reading it right away.

To tell you the truth, as an avid writer myself, this book had me, at moments, wanting to stop reading it and write down all the brilliant descriptions Bradley came up with throughout the book. Just the first line was amazing: "It was as dark in the closet as old blood." What a fantastic comparison!

Alan Bradley is an author who paints the scene in front of you with words and similes so utterly amazing that you are compelled to laugh, frown, flinch, throw the book down on the ground, and pick it up again to read once more. The characters are so real: Daphne and Ophelia, Flavia's evil sisters taken right off the pages of "Cinderella," make you want to burst out laughing every page, while other times I want to slap the book because they are so annoying; Flavia's father, who is so distant yet close; Mr. Pemberton, who I will not spoil for you...he's just too brilliant; and Flavia herself, who is by far my favorite person ever to read about. I can understand why Mr. Bradley treated her as such a real person.

I;ll make my conclusion quite simple: please, please, PLEASE read this book. It's brilliant.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by kayla
loved it!
I read this book for my book report and I loved it! i think that Alan Bradley did an awesome job writing this book! it's full of exciting and nail-biting chapters. its definitely a page turner!

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Krista H
Sweet!
I adored this book. Flavia is such a wonderful character, I fell in love with her and her story instantly. It's not a deep literary book, but good fun with a great little heroine. I got sucked into this story instantly and couldn't wait to get back to it. I have recommended to many friends and they have all liked it too. Can't wait to read the next installment that comes out this month!!

Rated 2 of 5 of 5 by Lynn
Couldn't finish it
I wanted to enjoy this book. The description sounded really good and I read lots of good reviews. It is possible, I just wasn't in the right mood for it, but after 100 pages, I put it down and did not finish it. It was just a little too silly for me at the time I tried to read it.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Susan Reiners
Wheee!
What fun!!

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Peggy
Sweetness at the bottom of the pie
I was a little disappointed after all the reviews about this book. I did enjoy it but wonder about the age of the protagonist. I found it hard to believe her voice, especially in the time period of the novel. Having said that I found the literary references and the chemistry information fascinating but think some may find that it ruins the flow of the story. This might be overly picky but it is something to consider when recommending the book to others.
  1 2   next »

Lists of books with similar themes


Read-Alikes


Other books by Alan Bradley
Buy This Book:

Become a Member
Click Here
Editor's Choice
  •  May 18 
  •  May 16 
  •  May 15 
The Woman Upstairs
Claire Messud

The Woman Upstairs Jacket

The riveting confession of a woman awakened, transformed, and betrayed by passion and desire for a world beyond her own.
How to Create the Perfect Wife
Wendy Moore

How to Create the Perfect Wife Jacket

Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
Happier Endings
Erica Brown

Happier Endings Jacket

A wise and affirming meditation on living fully and preparing for death, written by a highly regarded spiritual teacher.
Click Here
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Jewish Young Adult Books That Are Not About The Holocaust
Books to Give This Mother's Day
A Short History of Chechnya
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
Recent Reader Reviews
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Fowler
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight... read more
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on... read more
The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag
Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read... read more
RSS RSS feed More...  
Most Viewed This Week
1. Half the Sky
Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn
2. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
William Kamkwamba
3. Because of Winn-Dixie
Kate DiCamillo
4. Eagle Strike
Anthony Horowitz
5. Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn
More...
Book Club Recommendations
The Gods of Gotham
by Lyndsay Faye
Paperback (Mar/13)
Forgotten Country
by Catherine Chung
Paperback (Mar/13)
Philida
by André Brink
Paperback (Feb/13)
Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn
Hardback (Jun/12)
More...
First Impressions
Members read and review books often months before they're published. See what they think in First Impressions!
The Sisterhood
by Helen Bryan
Four Stars            (Apr/13)
A Dual Inheritance
by Joanna Hershon
Four Stars            (May/13)
The Laws of Gravity
by Liz Rosenberg
4.5 Stars            (May/13)
More...
  Latest BookBrowse News
U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing (May 16 2013)
In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
 
BookBrowse Poll
Q: Do you mainly read newly published or older books?
Mainly newer books
Mainly older books
A mix of new and old books
Search: Title or Author
Free Newsletters
Bring Up the Bodies

Online Book Club
More about
Five Days
Join the discussion!


Win This Book!
The Pigeon Pie Mystery


Enter To Win Now!

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"I I M B T Give T T R"

and be entered
to win....
frame top
New Author
Interviews
Menna van Praag
Erica Brown
Helga Weiss
Kate Morton
frame bottom
HOME Book Submissions | Advertising | Library Subscriptions | Reviewing for BookBrowse | Contact Us