Eliza, from Scratch

by Sophia Lee

A charming, poignant YA rom-com about an academics-obsessed teen who learns big truths about love, family, and herself when a scheduling snafu lands her in a culinary arts class, perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Rachel Lynn Solomon

Ingredients:

· 1 try-hard salutatorian

· 1 annoying and (annoyingly) cute boy

· A handful of Korean recipes (measure with your heart)

· The spice of competition, to taste

Eliza Park’s senior year will be perfect: She’s going to be salutatorian, give a tear-jerking graduation speech in front of her parents, and enjoy her last year with her equally ambitious best friends. But when a scheduling mishap enrolls her in Culinary Arts, Eliza is suddenly the most clueless person in the class. Her typical title of star student belongs to the aggravatingly arrogant Wesley Ruengsomboon, a charming Thai American boy whose talent in the kitchen leaves Eliza both awed and annoyed.

With her rank on the line, Eliza’s only hope is to snatch the midterm cooking contest win from Wesley, however improbable that may be. Add in the flavor of her grandmother’s Korean recipes, the heat of being class partners with Wesley, and the sweetness of unexpected feelings—and Eliza must now rebuild everything she knew about success, love, and what it means to be herself, from scratch.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Young Adult Romance, Food, Fiction, Family

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 2025

Reviews

[Mira ♡(Hiatus (◕ᴗ◕✿) ♪♫) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It was only in the kitchen, where I felt the most lost, that I began to find out the parts of myself I didn’t yet know. The story of my family begins in the kitchen, so I should have known that the story of me would start there, too.”

I cannot express the nostalgia I felt while reading this book. This was a beautiful story about finding dignity in every job that you do and how certain activities mean a lot more than what you think for certain people. It may have ties to their roots, their traditions and most of all their family and the author used cooking as the red threads, bringing Eliza and her family together.

When Eliza was assigned to Culinary Arts instead of AP Physics, she felt her dreams of being salutatorian slowly crumble away. Then she met Wesley who was annoyingly good at every aspect of cooking while she dumped crushed tomatoes in her half cooked spaghetti (apparently salsa pasta 😂)and could barely chop the onions. Her friends were slowly drifting away and her mother was quietly grieving over the death of her grandmother whom she didn't know much. She felt that she could never get better at something she wasn't already good at and wanted to give it up after a few disastrous attempts. That part of her thinking process was something that I also felt for much of my life.

This story triggered some memories from when I was a kid and that's what sealed this book for me. My aunt used to watch Masterchef Australia and I with her and it's fun to remember how we used to pick the chef who had the most potential to win! It was probably the first time I learnt about the word dessert which's funny tbh! And then a few years later I was obsessed with the anime of Yumeiro Patissiere. Like the dynamic between Eliza and Wesley was very reminiscent to Ichigo and Kashino (except for the fact that Kashino was a sadist🤣)...I highly recommend you all to watch the anime and to follow it up with this book<3

I personally wasn't the biggest fan of the friend group initially... Kareena and Meredith were more judgemental than supportive...and the side plot about their friendship drama was my least favorite part of this book! But they chose to listen to Eliza, to understand her worries so I guess I'll forgive them...On top of all this, I felt that Eliza is the kinda person that really can't stand not saying stuff that comes to her mind and that lead to lot of things, yelling at her eomma included...I honestly can't imagine saying any of that to my mother (because that'll be the day I rest in peace!)

Wesley's gang of friends were the coolest...I honestly wish that they had more page time!

I loved the cooking competition aspect of this book! I was constantly hungry when reading, as this book mentioned Miyeok-guk (seaweed soup), Mandu (dumplings), Doenjang-jjigae (soyabean paste stew) and so many other mouthwatering delicacies. Her mother's relationship with her mother (aka Eliza's grandmother) was cemented by the recipes that she was taught as a young kid. And the fact that Eliza was trying her best to understand her mother's grief and to share it by learning to cook (even though she had never properly spoken to her halmeoni) was just endearing 🥺!

This was Sophia Lee's debut novel and I had the best time. Her writing personally reminded me of Ann Liang's so I'll be yapping about this book for life and will also be waiting in line for all her future novels. Happy reading kyuu (≧ᗜ≦)!

Pre-read~
Another book to my never-ending tbr for June! This one has been blurbed by Ann Liang (I'm definitely in my Ann Liang phase right now). It's about a girl (soon-to-be-salutatorian) who had one of her weighted classes (GPA boosters) replaced by a culinary class and she has absolutely no idea how to cook. But I believe our author here does know how to cook up a romance so I want to give this a try as soon as possible. Apparently, it's filled with cooking competitions, Korean food and a wholesome romance (rivals to lovers)...that I can't wait to gulp down...

[zahra · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is for the girls who try desperately to connect with their mothers and their culture, and i absolutely adored every second of it. the book follows eliza, an overachiever who is enrolled in a culinary class after a scheduling mishap. she learns that she's not great at cooking, and later has to become partners with an irritable (cute) boy who knows everything there is to know about cooking.

eliza and wesley were adorable! i loved reading their moments together and i liked how their relationship was built gradually and eventually became comfortable with each other (her bringing him to her house to cook together with her mom like hello? they're the cutest) my favorite part of the book was reading the moments with her mom, i love that they bonded with one another more and more over cooking their cultural dishes together, it made their storyline so special and emotional, i very nearly cried when reading it. by the end of the book, we see how much eliza has grown with herself and her identity, her relationship with her mother, and her overall connection with her family and culture. a beautiful and memorable read for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[edie-may ౨ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ── 3.75 stars .ᐟ 𓂃۶ৎ


‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎‎ ‎ ❝ No one said your problems have
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎to be the worst in the world in order
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎ ‎‎‎ ‎for them to exist. ❞


‎ ‎ ‎ ⌗ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎started: oct 15, 2025 ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⌝
‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⌞ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎finished: oct 15, 2025 ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ᥫ᭡


‎ ‎ ‎ ⤿ age rating: 13+
‎ ‎ ‎ ⤿ spice level: 0/5
‎ ‎ ‎ ⤿ content warnings:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⋆ grief
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⋆ language


‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ spoiler-free review!


‎ ‎ ‎ ᰔ tl;dr: it wasn’t perfect but it felt real. the vibes were lovely and wholesome, but it was also quite humbling. it’s just a bunch of flawed people trying their best and that was kinda comforting to me.


‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ______꒰ঌ♡︎໒꒱______

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎to learn - leith ross
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎01:48 ━━━━━━━●── 02:17
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎‎ ‎ ⇆ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ↻

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ______꒰ঌ♡︎໒꒱______


‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ 🍪┆ main tropes:

‎ ‎ ‎‎ ⇢ academic rivals to lovers
‎ ‎ ‎ ⇢ banter
‎ ‎ ‎ ⇢ caretaker
‎ ‎ ‎ ⇢ cooking together
‎ ‎ ‎ ⇢ tending to wounds


‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ──〝 what can i say? 〞♪


‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ 🧅┆ overall review:

‎ ‎ ‎ this was as heartwarming as it was saddening. it was so easy to consume and i think the whole vibe of the book was so so so cute! the overall message was so simple but so meaningful, and, in the end, it was such a touching story.

‎ ‎ ‎ i really appreciate that all of the characters were flawed and human. every one of them made mistakes but i could understand every side of it. super eye-opening for different perspectives and interpretations.


‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ──〝 i’m learning to die 〞♪


‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ 🧋┆ characters:

‎ ‎ ‎ ⇢ eliza park
‎ ‎ ‎ this girl made so many mistakes throughout the book but i really liked her. she was such a real, genuine character, and even if she pissed me off, it was so interesting to watch her realise her issues and work towards fixing them.

‎ ‎ ‎ ⇢ wesley ruengsomboon
‎ ‎ ‎ i think he was a total sweetheart! i love a passionate foodie, and i genuinely felt the appreciation through the words. he may have been slightly lacking in terms of depth, but i still really liked him as a love interest.

‎ ‎ ‎ ⇢ others
‎ ‎ ‎ eliza’s friend group was definitely slightly problematic, but it felt like a very real dilemma. them drifting apart made me absolutely miserable, but them growing as people and as friends to each other in the end was so healing.


‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ──〝 but i’m living to learn. 〞♪


┆ ⤿ 🍜 ⌗ pre-read:
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⋆ prediction: 3.50★ ✓

‎ ‎ ‎ ⤿ another recommendation by my angel lakshmi (tysm my darling) ♡ i am in need of an easy read, and this looks so cute!!


જ⁀➴ ₊˚⊹ ᰔ

[Noi (in & out) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It’s a foreign feeling, to have someone be so openly caring. To have someone let you know their secrets, but more than that, to have someone want you to know their secrets. It comes with an inexpressible feeling of gratitude."

This was precious, and I loved every second of it.

[Cammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, I really, really liked this! I was just complaining to someone about how the YA I loved reading when I was a teen doesn't really exist anymore, but this is just like that. It's "quiet" because it's not high concept, but so much happens, and Eliza grows so much. The writing is very good. I feel like, honestly, a lot of YA is written badly. But I was just struck by the fact that this story works so well because the writing is so good. This book is really contemplative. It feels like it's giving you time to breathe, time to sit with the thoughts that it's sharing.

I wouldn't call this a straight out rom-com. I'd compare it more to a Sarah Dessen book, if that makes sense. It's about a teen girl dealing with her mother's grief, feeling disconnected from her culture, and learning to discover herself and unlearn a lot of snobbery she's picked up about who counts as successful and who does. I felt like I was drifting along on a lazy river. When the climax happened, I was kind of like... this feels jolting. Two really dramatic things happen, the typical conflicts we'd see in a YA, but it didn't make me want to stop reading even if I rolled my eyes at Eliza.

I don't know. I feel like this is a really lovely book for teens to have. And I'm really glad it's out. This is the first book I've really enjoyed in a long time. And of course Jen Ung edited it. Dream editor forever, for real.

[sara سارة · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh my gosh. it’s 5am and i just finished, my heart is SO FULL. rtc!!

[steph reads (hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Mariana ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, this was so good! Everything about this book was an absolute delight! It’s the 1st book in a looong time that made me want to stay up late reading!

Eliza is such a great MC! She’s flawed, but in such a realistic way. I loved following her journey throughout this story. Her relationship with her mum was so compelling, and I really enjoyed how it wrapped up.

The storyline with her friends was also really interesting! I was kind of surprised by how captivated I was by this side-plot. Though, I have to say, that while Eliza wasn’t perfect, I’m still completely on her side in that situation. Like, what do you meeeeean Eliza was the one apologizing?? Her friends literally started icing her out to see if she would “care enough” to ask why they’re excluding her, and Eliza didn’t ask because she didn’t want to pry or intrude. The friends should be the ones apologizing bro. 😭😭😭

Regarding the romance: it was reeeeeally sweet! 🥺 I really liked Wesley as a LI! He’s sweet, open, honest and caring, and, as a character, he was really compelling! His relationship with his mum, his interest in cooking and his doubts about his future were all interesting to read about. I love that Eliza started liking him when she noticed how focused and competent he is; it really makes sense for her character to fall for somebody with those traits haha. 🙂‍↕️ And I really enjoyed Wesley and Eliza’s dynamic! Their banter was super funny! And I liked that Eliza was confident around him. It really felt like they were on the same level, which made their banter feel really equal, and not one-sided. Just a super nice relationship!

Overall, this was just a really good book! Also, @ Sophia Lee: do NOT apologize for your old YT videos!!! That’s how I found you, and I LOOOOVED your videos!!! I’m so happy you’re a published author now! Can’t wait for your next book!



(review written on 30/05/2025)

--------

i found sophia's channel in 2014 (she had one of the very few Aristotle and Dante reviews on booktube). i can't believe she's now becoming an author! i'm so proud of her! <3


(17/11/2024)

[Krys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine reading a cute romance and getting hit with "You don't have things you're passionate about, only things that you're good at", "You can't guilt yourself into feeling something", and "You're a girl who clings to her grades because she's scared she doesn't have anything actually meaningful" 😔 Had me reassessing my life fr fr

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was perfect. The romance, the character growth, the food descriptions. I need more people to read it

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

If you like books that tell heartwarming tales about love, grief, and family, you should read Eliza, from Scratch 😌.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book had me craving so much food and bubble tea??!!! The whole time I was reading this, I was like, Oh, I want bubble tea, dumplings, carbonara, etc. If you decide to read this, be aware that you will crave a lot of food. Now let’s actually get into the review.

Characters
Eliza Park—Come In With The Rain coded
Eliza is the kind of character you always end up rooting for; she says the wrong things at the wrong times, but that is exactly what makes her relatable. She isn’t a picture-perfect character; she makes mistakes, and that is exactly what makes her rootable. I absolutely loved her friends, and I really liked how the conflict between them was written.

Wesley Ruengsomboon—Tell Me Why coded
Wesley was such a loveable character, and I loved reading about how passionate he was about cooking. Also, can Wesley come out of the book and teach me how to cook 😊❔

Romance
I really liked the way romance was done in this book. Eliza and Wesley had a great dynamic, and I loved how because of each other they unlearned some prejudices they had. I loved their cooking plus movie sessions (even though I was dying because I needed the food they were making). I also really loved their chats about being diaspora. Eliza and Wesley had this beautiful aura around them, which reminds one of young love.

Eliza and her mom
This was hands down my favourite part of the book. I absolutely loved how Eliza’s grandmother’s recipes connected her mom and her. Her mom was obviously suffering a lot after her mother passed away, and I felt very bad that no one was there to talk to her. It made me incredibly happy when Eliza and her mom finally communicated.

Eliza, from Scratch, beautifully captures how food connects our families, and this incredible book makes me look forward to whatever the author works on next.

Release date: 13 May, 2025

[Jane ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"No one said your problems have to be the worst in the world in order for them to exist."

How can a book that's not even that sad, make me so emotional? I can tell this book will stay with me for quite a while. It's so much more complex than what the cover and blurb tell me. It's got one of the best representations of mother-daughter relationships. Ever since her grandmother died, Eliza's mother was sort of in a daze and not fully herself. Eliza wants to help her mom so she asks for cooking lessons and those scenes are so far my favorite.

Eliza makes some reasonable conclusions and actually recognizes that she didn't put in enough effort to bond with her grandmother, as well as her mother. They chat about their family, nostalgia and how certain people stay with you forever. There's also talk about how difficult it is for the kids who grew up in America to connect to the culture their parents left behind.

I was also really glad to see that Eliza's relationship with the "annoying" Westley was a slow-burn and they are both too cute. They had some prejudices because they're wildly different, but after getting to know each other better they slowly became friends and of course, something a bit more later on 😍

Besides the wonderful family interactions, there's also one more aspect this book does right - friendships. Eliza and her 2 BFFs had some ups and downs but the way they resolved the conflict in the end was so realistic and emotional and I loved it.

Bonus points for someone FINALLY explaining the way I feel about maths and why I always loved solving equations 😭

"There is something inimitably consoling about a subject where you know there is a right answer and you can trace your steps to check that it's correct. It's easy to lose myself in differentiation of inverse functions because you follow the same rules every time and arrive at the right result."

[Ridhima · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, THIS is how I expect my young adult romance novels to be written. Beautiful, touching, with a slow buildup of the romance and a whole lot of heart!

When high achiever Eliza gets mistakenly put into a Culinary Arts class, she knows she's in over her head. Lucky for her, her class project partner is Wesley, a talented student chef who might just be a teensy bit arrogant and takes an instantly strong dislike to her. However, between cooking fails and injuries, heart to heart discussions over shared Asian family expectations, and tutoring sessions - the two start to realize that there may not be as big of a difference between them as they'd expected.

I loved, loved the portrayal of the Asian American family shown in this. The struggles of the mother coping with the loss of Eliza's grandma, the sentiments of an immigrant family, and the disconnect one feels with their own culture as a result of being thousands of miles away from their heritage were all very well written. Eliza's way of connecting with her mother, and by extension, her own Korean ancestors through cooking and food was lovely. I've always enjoyed getting an insight into different cultures, so the amount of Korean (and Thai) dishes whose names and preparations I learned in this book is truly marvelous.

My only minor gripe with this one was that I wish I'd gotten a bit more of the romance. I felt like the author definitely took her time in getting there, and I enjoyed the slow burn journey of enemies to friends to lovers that Wesley and Eliza took, but I would've loved to see more of it translated on paper.

To me, the whole book felt like a big warm hug, or a nice warm bowl of soup in cold weather. I think this is a wonderful read, not just for teens but for adults struggling to cope with a loss and finding their own sense of purpose. Recommended for when you want a light, slow read that has pretty writing and gives you time to breathe and think!

Thank you to Sophie Lee and Harper Collins for the gifted ARC copy of the book!

[bookishmarcos · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Thanks, NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review

This was a cute and easy read with some fun moments, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The setup had a lot of potential—high-achieving Eliza getting thrown into a Culinary Arts class and clashing with the effortlessly talented Wesley—but the execution felt a bit predictable.

Eliza’s journey of learning to loosen up and reconnect with her Korean heritage through cooking was sweet, and the food descriptions were definitely a highlight. Wesley was charming, and their dynamic had its moments, though the romance felt a little rushed at times. Some of the emotional beats—especially around pressure and expectations—could’ve gone deeper.

Overall, it’s a light, feel-good story with a sprinkle of cultural flavor and teen drama, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression.

[Oviya · Rating 4 out of 5]

~ 4.5 ☆

[luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

"When my mom goes back to her lessons and I'm dutifully washing the dirty dishes, I am thinking about how much wisdom Halmeoni could have given me if only I had the language to hear it," p.117

I think that this was a cute story! To me, its strongest points definitely lie in the depictions of grief and stress. The conflict resolution was a bit lacking, especially between Eliza and her friends. It borders on something like insta-love in a romance novel, except instead of that, we get insta-friendship restored after a legitimate argument in their group.

The little side romance was really sweet towards the end of the book, though in the beginning, Eliza and Wesley's arguments/insults to each other were kind of jarring? It really felt like they were only there for the sake of propelling the story's plot with how hostile they seemed. Maybe it was a way to set up the way they bantered with each other as their relationship progressed, but it was still kind of weird.

Again, cute book :)

[Reagan Wilke · Rating 5 out of 5]

so wholesome and heartwarming!!!!!!! i know the author!!!!!! everybody read it now!!!

[Rebecca Braun · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really hated this book. And the more I read, the worse it got. Eliza's friends suck. Her guidance counselor sucks. Her parents suck. And her boyfriend REALLY sucks. And despite all the apologizing that the author makes her do, she doesn't deserve any of it.

Here's the thing. It's ok to be angry when your fancy school screws up your schedule and puts your goals at risk. It's ok to feel insulted when some nasty kid you just met insults you and the goals you have worked hard for. It's ok to feel hurt and betrayed when your best friends ice you out and lie to you. It's ok to feel worried and adrift when your mom checks out for a while (although depression is hardly her mom's fault either). I know the focus was supposed to be on personal growth, but honestly, what Eliza really needs to grow is a spine and an ego. The whole lesson here was how to excel at self-effacement. Sorry, but this girl's great, and she has a right to take up space in the world!

By far my least favorite character was Wesley. He's rude, judgy, arrogant, racist, hypocritical, lazy... Friends, if a boy introduces himself by accusing you of "Peeing yourself over the chance for extra credit," then he's not boyfriend material. Ever. Getting bad grades is fine, but if a month of tutoring with Eliza brought him from almost failing to getting B's, then he obviously wasn't applying himself to begin with. Then he thinks that a Thai kid shopping at H-Mart is the epitome of international open-mindedness and sophistication, but miso carbonara is incontrovertible evidence of money-grubbing white people being too stupid to appreciate food that didn't originate in France. Eliza needs to let go of her dream of being salutatorian, but Wesley gets to end the book as an acclaimed culinary genius, because he's such a misunderstood boy. As judgemental and entitled as he is, I'll bet that even his "villain" mom actually spends all her time bragging about her perfect son with the cooking talent, only he's not satisfied because she didn't say it fawningly enough that one time. I really, really hated that kid!

Look, to all the young adults reading this book, you deserve so much better than this!

[Gordon Ambos]

Unfortunately, I found both main characters to be insufferable.

[Maryam ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The story of my family begins in the kitchen. So I should known the story of me would start there too.”

Eliza, from Scratch follows a high-achieving main character who is assigned to a culinary elective class in her senior year of highschool-- much to her dismay as she is knowledgeable in all things but cooking. However, what Eliza expects to be a horrible experience turns out to be insightful and enjoyable as she finds herself connecting with her culture and her mother, as well as a cute boy in her class.

Overall, this was just truly wholesome YA contemporary read. It includes parental and friendship dynamics, with an adorable academic rivals -esque romance in the middle of it all. A lot of the underlying themes in this are so relatable, even for me as someone in her early 20s now and reflecting on my own teenage years. So I can imagine this would be even better better for current teens.

I highly recommend this for YA readers and fans of Ann Liang! And just as an FYI: the book heavily features cooking, so you have been warned — you will be hungry.

“You can plan if you want, that will make you feel more comfortable. But unexpected and new things will always happen too. And when they do, you have believe that you will make things okay.”

Thank you to HarperCollins for the digital ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

This was such a wonderful YA debut. Not only did the food descriptions make me hungry, but it was all described so beautifully and in a way that really resonated with me. Eliza learning recipes with her mother as a way to not only grow closer to her mother & culture, but her grandmother who she didn't know super well, was heartwarming and relatable. I'm a sucker for books that incorporate food like this; when it connects to culture, family, grief, and memories. Eliza and Wesley connecting this way was also lovely, I liked their chemistry and how they complemented each other. (shout out to Wesley being Thai! Super exciting for me and he was very relatable)

My least favorite bit was probably the conflict with her friends, I can understand it's inclusion and it felt realistic, it was just a little drawn out especially when there were two other conflicts going on at the same time and after.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for the e-arc!

[Yara Abbo]

(Thank you to Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review)

I was really looking forward for this book—a rivals to lovers dynamic within the space of a cooking class, an academic high achiever who has to learn that perhaps not everything revolves around school, and a fraught mother-daughter relationship that slowly heals via the power of grandmother's recipes. It had so many ingredients (pun intended) I loved, but unfortunately did not all come together in the end.

My main issue with the book revolved around Eliza, and her character arc unlearning her bias and judgement against non-AP/honors kids in her school. This bias bleeds into her relationship. with Wesley, to whom she directs insults (mainly internally, but sometimes externally) about his lack of academic achievement, seemingly justified by the narrative because he acted like an asshole to her. However, Wesley's one-time snide comment was honestly very tame, and nowhere near the level to justify Eliza's behavior toward him. There was such a lack of introspection regarding this issue on Eliza's part that was difficult to read from.

I do acknowledge that this character arc was completely intentional and we do see Eliza learn from her past behavior, but the overall arc and lesson she needed to go through felt very superficial, especially in comparison to other topics broached by the story. There was many passages that.I thought highlighted poignant, nuanced ideas regarding being a child of immigrants (the shame of the not knowing your heritage language, the difficulty in trying to practice when you feel so limited in expression, and the guilt of not feeling grief over the death of loved ones living in your heritage country). I liked the conflict we got with Eliza and her best friends; Eliza was once again a little insufferable in being unable to put herself in someone else's shoes, but I really liked the argument when it was pointed out how they began to talk past each other, which made it difficult to facilitate trust. It felt like a very natural portrayal of how childhood friends can realize they are growing apart. Finally, I liked the passages where we got to explore Eliza grappling with not really having a passion, not in the way that Wesley has cooking. She just pursues what she is good at, which is so common for academic high achievers. Essentially, the book introduced a lot of ideas (albeit to a smaller extent) that were interesting and nuanced, and thus it made the central character arc for Eliza, of her having to learn that perhaps non-honors kids are not dumb and may have talents elsewhere, very shallow in comparison. Academic elitism is certainly a worthwhile topic to tangle and interrogate, but I think it would have been more worthwhile to explore the more subtle ways it can manifest in circles and in your thoughts, even when you are actively trying not to be biased, instead of the more outright judgement that is portrayed in this story.

I think the author is very strong at writing the more expository, reflective sections in the novel, which is where the aforementioned ideas were brought up. However, sometimes the narrative and dialogue felt stilted, boggled by unnecessary details. To give credit where credit is due, though, there were definitely times where I laughed out loud or thought scenes with the Eliza and Wesley were cute.

Overall, this was a very promising story. I truly appreciated the message it was trying to convey, and I just wish it was able to follow through on my expectations :(

[Mariana Moreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5☆ the character growth was amazing to see! the "better than others, obsessed with being the best at everything, too self absorbed to see others' feelings and needs" eliza i saw in the beginning wasn't the same one at the end. she learned to fail and get back up again, to confront others and herself with the reality, to admire other things that aren't studying, to love and to say sorry. it's amazing how much wesley helped her understand what is actually important in life.
i loved how different types of relationships were explored in this and how, even though it's a romance book, it was almost a love letter to family and self growth.

[jasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐
I really loved this book 😋 in this book, food plays a really big role, especially traditional Korean dishes. Eliza grows closer with her mother and learns how to appreciate her Korean roots through learning how to cook these traditional recipes. It was so cute to see how Eliza and Wesley bonded over their cooking, their banter felt very natural and was so fun 🤭 It's so interesting to watch Eliza grow as a character and get over some of the biases and prejudice she had over the course of the book.

[yasmin⭑.ᐟ]

pre-read 🍪 🡖
i had this book on my wishlist for a while, so now i think it's timeeeeee!! 😝
ignore the fact that i'm reading 2 other books at the same time...

[jupiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.25 ⭐️ but I’ll happily round up! I was hopeful that I would love this book and I very much did. I ended up relating to Eliza more than I expected, since I know what it’s like to lose a family member but not being able to grief them like you should. I loved watching Eliza tackle her emotions about and her disconnection with her culture. I already knew what was taught about Korean culture (though I actually learned new things about american high school/college culture), so it was comforting to see it integrated in the plot. The additional romance was adorable and lovely with not too much drama and I would’ve probably read 300 more pages about Eliza and Wesley if I could.

thank you to netgalley for providing me the e-arc to this book!

[elise]

super cute and made me hungry

[carthi ♡]

OMG THE COVER IS THE ABSOLUTE CUTEST! AND THIS SOUNDS SO GOOD 🤭✨

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the plot, the family-relationships, the grappling-with-recipes, the sweet romance-development, and, mostly, the way Eliza slowly learns that academic achievement is not the ultimate measure of a person's worth. I just didn't find it overly realistic that three of the four named girl characters are lesbian or bisexual. In what setting is this a typical percentage?

The grief journey in this book made more sense to me than the grief journey in the last novel I read, in which the main character moves on from the loss of his wife and daughter so quickly.

[donutdot · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved everything about this. the first thing i loved was the cover, the simplicity, the art, and the way they give a realistic face to Eliza and Wesley with their personality leaping of the page. and then, the second was the story, which is an ammalgamation of things i find myself loving now and in the past. namely cooking and cooking competitions (masterchef across various countries, culinary class wars, next level chef etc), korean and asian and generally good food and coming of age stories. lastly, it was the characters.

i'll start with the characters. i struggled with Eliza's character for the longest time because of this ingrained elitism of the perfect salutatorian dream and her computer science future at mit, and the way she had the perfect life, perfect friends, grades. the fact that she's so smart and good at school grated at me. especially with the way she talked about culinary arts and Wesley at first. and that was when i realised that this is her arc and this is the way the author chose to go about it, messy and authentic is such a teenager way.

that storyline of her curumbling friendship with Kareena and Meredith got me because during my secondary school days my friend group hit crisis after crisis until eventually we stopped being real with each other (or at least i did) and the drifting was real. teenage friendships are messy and melodramatic and complicated but i like that they managed to talk it out in a mature-ish way and resolve things. yes this did lead to the third act break up but it also fuelled the need to be honest with each other, which was great. fyi, i totally called Jess and Kareena dating from the moment Eliza mentioned Jess always sitting behind her in class.

the whole part on her family and dealing with grief of her halmeoni's death (or lack thereof) with her mother through cooking the traditional recipes is genuinely so nice especially when stories of her mother's childhood is sprinkled in. her dad's story of him learning to stop running and comforting his family is so wholesome and genuinely this whole part was so good, especially when you realise it was through food that her dad impressed her mum with.

" the story of my fanily starts in this kitchen, so i should have known that the story of me would start there, too. " perfect ending.

and now Wesley. oh boy. i related to him to much solely because sometimes there doesn't need to be things going on and some people are just bad at school and get bad grades. okay i wasn't getting straight c's but i remember slogging over my homework and notes trying to make sense of what everyone else already got in class because school was so competitive and i wasn't anywhere near good at it. so when he got defensive over his grades, i felt that. that disconnect with his family and culture hit home in a way that i didn't expect, but as Kareena said, i don't have to be in the same situation to feel empathy.

not wanting to go to college is also a thing, guys. i have pondered over uni for so long and i am still stuck without a definite passion or direction to go. i love seeing Wesley's passion for food and cooking and the way he explores so many different cuisines. he definitely deserved that win in the cook-off and it's nice to see that he got the recognition and staging from that chef?? it is always a possibility to go with your heart and i really liked that message.

and their relationship!! yes it's rivals to lovers and top student x regular student but it also encompasses the elistism themes of ap vs non ap students that are so invisible or looked down upon to others. i love the banter and how cooking actually brought them closer together. Wesley learning to cook korean with Eliza and her mum is literally so sweet. and literally the the eay he talks about Eliza in his reflection essay?? i want to read the first three drafts that felt like love letters now.

" if cooking with others is an exchange, what i have given Eliza is time and what she has given me is revelation ... and it's only with Eliza's guidance that, for the first time, i've been able to see the sum of myself and others properly. "

" his passion is revelatory. " see the parallels??

one of my top 5 ya of 2025 maybe?