To the Haters in The Review Section

When I do read the bad reviews it's usually people who didn't understand the point of the book or the audience I'm trying to reach. People with actual culinary training point out cooking wrongs I make, or rich people try to tell me that I'm wrong to use cheap walmart pots and pans. Or they hate on the fact that my mom reviewed my book (while making it known the whole time that she IS my mother). And they point out that I've reviewed my moms book (while making it known that I'm her daughter). Then they call us unprofessional for having reviewed each others books. Well, I finally replied, and heres what I wrote:

I refrain from reading the comments on my books because I know some will like it, and some wont. A Trend I notice however is that the people that leave bad reviews are the ones who know more than me or have more culinary training than I do. The thing is I'm an 18 year old teen mother living in a trailer park in a city population 30,000. My family has never had any amount of money over the poverty line so I've been eating and cooking poverty food all my life. You may say to buy the best your money can afford when it comes to pans and such, well guess what? I did. $18 and it hurt us financially but we needed more than the one pan I had to begin with that I had cooked every meal we'd eaten in for almost a year. 

Who do I write for? I write for my sister who has three children under the age of 4. Does she have the time to thaw the frozen meat before cooking it? No I don't think so. And yes, culinary experienced cooks might cringe. But it doesn't turn out bad. It tastes great, and to have meat is a treat for someone as poverty as my family. I cook for my brother who's 22, just married, and just now living away from home. Making dinner to him is calling ahead and picking up the take out. When they decided to start cooking by themselves they knew nothing. Her parents didn't cook, my brother never cared about the cooking process that my mom or I did. So when I write, I write for him. 

I never belittle my readers. I write as though I'm talking to a friend. To me, it's one long email to my brother, sister, or even my mom who's tired of the same old recipes she's been making for years. If I could delete one comment it would be the person (whom I do NOT know) who wrote with all the caps and lols. It's fine to not like what I've written in the book, but please understand that other people have different lives than you. This might be a holy grail for some even though it's a waste of time or money for you. 

Lastly, my mom. She has never hidden the fact that she's my mom, any comment she leaves she leaves it on the idea that you can take it or leave it. The reason she defends my book is because some people think that it's something it's not. It's not a book for the middle class, or the lower class. It's a cookbook for people with nothing. Obviously I would love a good set of pans, but it's just not practical for me, or for anyone else in poverty. We get by on what we can. why do I mention walmart so much? Well because I shop there so much. Where else can I get the exact same thing for a fraction of the price? Sure there's other stores, you can shop anywhere. I simply told the readers where I got mine. 

And yes I post on my mothers reviews, but have you read her book and then the reviews? She has the same problem I do with reviewers. She wrote a poverty prepping book all about how to stock up on food while poverty. Of course someone better off would have the money to buy the fancy freeze dried food and such, but it's for the poverty portion of the world. If you have a better way, than write a book about it and leave it at that. It's just sleezy to hate on someone else's book about a subject you've written about. Let the book speak for itself.

In conclusion, My mother and I do review each others books, and reply to reviewers who have gotten the completely wrong idea about the book in question. But we don't just troll each others review section. I will post a review on a book I've read regardless of the author. And If I've read the book and see someone posted a review that is completely out of place for the content in the book, than I will comment.

I have never claimed to be a professional. If I was than I would charge a lot more than .99 for my cookbooks. I'm just an average poverty american trying to help others in my situation. and for those of you not under the poverty line, disregard the poverty aspect and please just enjoy the recipes. If you don't want to use walmart cheese, you don't have to. If you'd rather use an expensive ingredient rather than a cheap one, go ahead. Essentially, this is a cookbook. the rest is a bonus for those of you who need it.