Jumble Pie

by Melanie Lynne Hauser

JUMBLE PIE is the story of the elusive nature of friendship, sometimes clinging, other times liberating; a story for any woman who has ever lied to her best friend just to make her feel better - and who has been brave enough to tell the truth, even when it hurts. And of course, it's a story about the remarkable healing power of pie. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
"This was the first book I’ve read by Melanie Lynne Hauser and I absolutely loved it. The first chapter was a bit off and didn’t set well at first. It was chapter two that hooked me and I was reeled in to the story. In some parts, I found it a fun, fast read and other parts, it was serious and intense." -- J. Kaye's Book Blog …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
"JUMBLE PIE is a strengthening story that will have you making plans for the weekend with your best friend." -- Estella's Revenge …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
AUTHOR NOTE -- I love this book; it was the book I wrote before CONFESSIONS OF SUPER MOM. When I sold SUPER MOM, my agent and I pulled JUMBLE PIE from submission to concentrate on the two-book deal. But JUMBLE PIE has a special place in our hearts, because it was the book she signed me for. (And because, I suspect, both of us saw a lot of ourselves in Emily, one of the two heroines!) I'm happy and proud to make it available to all you fabulous readers via Kindle. Enjoy - and please let me know what you think! …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
PRAISE FOR OTHER NOVELS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
"Escape into the world of Super Mom for a few hours...you'll be glad you did". -- Meg Cabot, author of Queen of Babble …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
"Like its title character, this debut novel has a secret identity...it's unexpectedly poignant and packs an emotional punch despite the cheery veneer..." -- Publishers Weekly …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Genres: Chick Lit

348 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Melanie Lynne Hauser also writes historical fiction under the pen name Melanie Benajamin.

Hailing from the Hoosier state (where she grew up in the shadow of the Indianapolis 500 racetrack), Melanie Lynne Hauser is a late bloomer who is just now figuring out what she wants to be when she grows up. Having tried her hand at telemarketing, candy striping for a nursing home (where it was suggested she not return, after she mistook the men's plastic urinals for water bottles and put ice in them) and acting under her maiden name, Melanie Miller (Most Academy Award-Worthy Performance: The title role, complete with bear costume, in the gut-wrenching exploration of good touch/bad touch entitled "What's the Matter, Little Bear?"), she put everything on hold in order to marry, have two children, and spend her time making sure they didn't stick their fingers in electrical sockets. (Both the husband, and the children.)

However, the children grew up. At an age when many women throw themselves back into their careers after raising their children, Melanie looked around and realized she never had one in the first place. After deciding she had no real marketable skills, she turned to the one thing she did know: Books. A bookworm from the time she was able to form words, Melanie realized that what she really wanted to do was write books. So she wrote one. It stank. She buried it in her backyard, next to the compost heap. She wrote another book. It didn't stink quite so much; in fact it got her not one, but two literary agents. Still, nobody wanted to publish it. She wrote another book. It stank the least of all, and led her to her current, wonderful literary agent, but still it went unpublished. Then she wrote CONFESSIONS OF SUPER MOM. So far, nobody has said that it stinks. In fact, so many people liked it that the sequel, SUPER MOM SAVES THE WORLD was also published. She has also contributed an essay to the anthology, IT'S A BOY! (Women Writers on Raising Sons. And finally, at long last, Melanie has a career. (And old men in nursing homes everywhere breathe a huge sigh of relief.)

Reviews

[Shannon McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest I was first like, "Oh... *scrunches up face*... an e-book. I don't wanna read that*whines*." (I am not sure how I feel about e-books) Boy, am glad I did read it. A very good read. Anyone who has had a friendship with a person where you both are just in different places at different times in life, but yet you try to keep the friendship alive because you have just been friends for so long, will relate to this book. It's a sometimes funny, happy and sad book. In the beginning you can't help but feel jealous for Emily because she is so book smart and knows what she wants, and you feel so sad for Juliet, who feels so not smart and out of place. But through the book the feelings switch for the characters. Juliet becomes the one who knows what she wants and excels, while Emily gets kind of lost.I liked the pie as metaphor for their friendship I have had certain things, like necklaces, that I have felt have been metaphors for relationships, but I am kinda seeing that even metaphors have to change with relationships. You can read this book free at the author's website, here, in e-book format. I also have to mention that it gets a plus for mostly taking place in the 1980's, because that's when I grew up as well. The only thing I think the author could have added was a recipe for that Jumble Pie, because every time they talked about it I wanted it!

[Veena Regit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jumble Pie is an interesting tale of friendship of two very different girls Emily and Juliet. How there friendship starts, how it grows, how it withers and how it restarts.

Emily Meredith, who talked at 9 months, Longfellow Elementary School Spelling Bee Champion for three years in a row, the youngest champion, ever, then the youngest editor of the Ravenwood Rooster ever, then graduate at the top of our class and get a scholarship to a fancy-schmancy college.

But Juliet Montague, she is just an average confused person.
Em, is so sure of what she wants! and Jules, she knows only to follow Em.
They meet the first time, and make a pie in Home Ec classes. They makes Jumble Pie... which they make thereafter at their every meeting, every special day. Jumble Pie, for Em is a symbol of their friendship, a metaphor!
But then, as these 2 ladies grow into their years, many things change. There outlook to "what they want from life" changes. Jules and Em both change a little bit. For Em, there Jumble Pie is still a metaphor. Like Em helped Jules out in high school, she wants Jules to do the same... the only thing is that Jules has other priorities and Em is jealous of Jules achievements. Her happiness is infectious to her! Emily's thoughts are very profound to say the least!
It is a very good book.
I really liked it!
And if you want to read it, it is available free for download! Yep! All you have to do is to goto www.MelanieLynneHauser.com/JumblePie and give your mail ID there. And the author will send you the PDF in the mail :)
It is a cute little story, you feel so sad for Em and in some ways for Jules too. In some way for their friendship.

But all in all, it is an Enjoyable read!

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the moment, this book is only available as a PDF if you visit the author's website and enter your e-mail address to ask her to send it to you. She has two other books she's published, the Super Mom series, but this is a book she wrote before those and still hopes to have published some day. It's a pretty simple friendship story, about two girls who became friends in middle school, when they needed each other, and the changes in their friendship as the grow up. It culminates in a New Year's Eve party for the year they will both turn 30. It's a sweet little story, and I enjoyed reading it, though one of the main characters, Emily, grated on my nerves quite a bit (and yet I understood her in some others). In some ways, it's a tribute to the facts that nothing ever turns out the way you thought it would, and that friendship always takes work, but friendship can endure. I don't know - it's certainly not quite as polished as it probably could be if professionally published, but it's still a much better book than many I've read that have been professionally published. And most importantly, it has a heart.

[Wende · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's easy to tell which character the author truly loves, as that's the one she visits untold humiliations upon.

The book is very, very readable -- Hauser is great with conversation and turns some delightful phrases. And while it's recognizably chick-lit, even the Designated Less Intelligent Friend isn't a typical chick-lit ditz. A day later, it's the characters who'd be derided walk-ons in a typical chick-lit book -- but who are real, vivid, and sympathetic here -- who are sticking with me.

This is one of those books where the specific story type isn't one I'd ordinarily cross the street to read (I got the book more-or-less by accident) but it leaves me intensely curious about what else Hauser is capable of. Looks like I'll be hunting down her published works... though I suspect the Hauser novel I'm looking for is one she hasn't written yet, the one that bursts the confines of the chick-lit genre and shows us a wittier, more wonderful world where her quirkier creations reign supreme.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the first pages of this book, I was immediately reminded of my own teenage years, and friends that I had who bore a striking resemblance to Emily in this book. The story is full of metaphors as the characters comment on numerous times. In short it was an enjoyable read that would provide much for discussion in a book group.

[Debbie is on Storygraph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story of friendship between two very different people. I probably would have liked it better but I just couldn't like Em.