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A Taste of Somewhere Else
For fans of Darius the Great Is Not Okay comes an escapist and emotional YA coming-of-age novel following a father-son road trip across Spain, with a dash of mystery, from James Beard Award–winning author Michael Ruhlman.
Miles is known as the guy whose mom died. Uprooted from his life in NYC, he’s starting junior year in Cleveland with a dad he barely knows. His father, Jake, runs a movie theater that scrapes by playing old black-and-white and foreign films.
Luckily, a renowned Spanish director’s latest film is set to make its North American debut at the theater's spring festival—until the director unexpectedly pulls out, throwing the fate of the theater and Jake’s livelihood into a tailspin. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Jake brings Miles along on a wild goose chase across the cobblestone streets of Spain to find the filmmaker.
What starts as a shot-in-the-dark attempt to change the director’s mind turns into an unexpected journey toward connection as Miles and his father must navigate their grief over losing his mom. James Beard Award–winning author Michael Ruhlman pens a powerful tale about moving through grief and into the broader world.
Miles is known as the guy whose mom died. Uprooted from his life in NYC, he’s starting junior year in Cleveland with a dad he barely knows. His father, Jake, runs a movie theater that scrapes by playing old black-and-white and foreign films.
Luckily, a renowned Spanish director’s latest film is set to make its North American debut at the theater's spring festival—until the director unexpectedly pulls out, throwing the fate of the theater and Jake’s livelihood into a tailspin. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Jake brings Miles along on a wild goose chase across the cobblestone streets of Spain to find the filmmaker.
What starts as a shot-in-the-dark attempt to change the director’s mind turns into an unexpected journey toward connection as Miles and his father must navigate their grief over losing his mom. James Beard Award–winning author Michael Ruhlman pens a powerful tale about moving through grief and into the broader world.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published September 8, 2026
About the author
Michael Ruhlman
51 books367 followersMichael Ruhlman (born 1963 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American writer. He is the author of 11 books, and is best known for his work about and in collaboration with American chefs, as well as other works of non-fiction.
Ruhlman grew up in Cleveland and was educated at University School (a private boys' day school in Cleveland) and at Duke University, graduating from the latter in 1985. He worked a series of odd jobs (including briefly at the New York Times) and traveled before returning to his hometown in 1991 to work for a local magazine.
While working at the magazine, Ruhlman wrote an article about his old high school and its new headmaster, which he expanded into his first book, Boys Themselves: A Return to Single-Sex Education (1996).
For his second book, The Making of a Chef (1997), Ruhlman enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, completing the course, to produce a first-person account -- of the techniques, personalities, and mindsets -- of culinary education at the prestigious chef's school. The success of this book produced two follow-ups, The Soul of a Chef (2000) and The Reach of a Chef (2006).
Ruhlman grew up in Cleveland and was educated at University School (a private boys' day school in Cleveland) and at Duke University, graduating from the latter in 1985. He worked a series of odd jobs (including briefly at the New York Times) and traveled before returning to his hometown in 1991 to work for a local magazine.
While working at the magazine, Ruhlman wrote an article about his old high school and its new headmaster, which he expanded into his first book, Boys Themselves: A Return to Single-Sex Education (1996).
For his second book, The Making of a Chef (1997), Ruhlman enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, completing the course, to produce a first-person account -- of the techniques, personalities, and mindsets -- of culinary education at the prestigious chef's school. The success of this book produced two follow-ups, The Soul of a Chef (2000) and The Reach of a Chef (2006).
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 23, 2026
Thank you @penguinteen for the digital copy to review!
This book was admittedly not on my radar - but I read the comp titles and decided I needed to check it out. I’m so glad I did! It was a wonderful story about grief, found family, forgiveness, taking chances, and love.
Miles’ grief was palpable after the loss of his mother. My heart broke for him as he tried to keep his life together while being stuck with his dad he did not know. The book was a true journey for him finding peace with his dad, and I loved it so much.
I thought Jake was doing his best to balance being a dad and learning how to parent while still living his own life. I loved that he took initiative to book the trip and then contact Luis.
Speaking of - is there a better friend than Luis out there!??? What an amazing human. I wanted to put him in my pocket. His love of family, friendship, and food made him the perfect partner on this adventure. The trust and love that grew between Jake, Luis, and Miles was beautiful to witness. What a time they had.
The end surprised me in the best way. I really enjoyed my time with this book and these characters. 🧡
This book was admittedly not on my radar - but I read the comp titles and decided I needed to check it out. I’m so glad I did! It was a wonderful story about grief, found family, forgiveness, taking chances, and love.
Miles’ grief was palpable after the loss of his mother. My heart broke for him as he tried to keep his life together while being stuck with his dad he did not know. The book was a true journey for him finding peace with his dad, and I loved it so much.
I thought Jake was doing his best to balance being a dad and learning how to parent while still living his own life. I loved that he took initiative to book the trip and then contact Luis.
Speaking of - is there a better friend than Luis out there!??? What an amazing human. I wanted to put him in my pocket. His love of family, friendship, and food made him the perfect partner on this adventure. The trust and love that grew between Jake, Luis, and Miles was beautiful to witness. What a time they had.
The end surprised me in the best way. I really enjoyed my time with this book and these characters. 🧡
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
I rather enjoyed this, but it was more of a high school than a middle school book because of language, drinking, and more introspective pacing.
Miles has to go like with his father, Jake, after the death of his mother. He's angry that he had to leave New York and move to Cleveland, but when Jake needs to go to Spain because of issues with the movie theater he runs, the two have an adventure. This seemed like it was set in the past, because it talked about Jake being in high school in the 1960s but being in his 40s. Admittedly, I didn't pay as much attention once I realized it wasn't middle grade.
Even though I won't purchase it for my middle school, I would LOVE to see more realistic fiction books about young men having adventures. There are relatively few of them. I would definitely buy this for a high school collection.
I rather enjoyed this, but it was more of a high school than a middle school book because of language, drinking, and more introspective pacing.
Miles has to go like with his father, Jake, after the death of his mother. He's angry that he had to leave New York and move to Cleveland, but when Jake needs to go to Spain because of issues with the movie theater he runs, the two have an adventure. This seemed like it was set in the past, because it talked about Jake being in high school in the 1960s but being in his 40s. Admittedly, I didn't pay as much attention once I realized it wasn't middle grade.
Even though I won't purchase it for my middle school, I would LOVE to see more realistic fiction books about young men having adventures. There are relatively few of them. I would definitely buy this for a high school collection.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thanks to PRH Audio for the alc!
I enjoyed this story. There was some great food writing (always a hook for me) and it was a solid (if a little simplistic) plot. I liked the "quest" of it all, and it was fun to learn a bit about Spanish film. I will say it seemed a bit far fetched at some points and wrapped up too neatly for my tastes. Maybe some mixed messaging. That being said, I would definitely hand this to a teen interested in travel. I could find better options for a teen grieving a parent and/or reconnecting with one. I definitely enjoyed the narration.
I enjoyed this story. There was some great food writing (always a hook for me) and it was a solid (if a little simplistic) plot. I liked the "quest" of it all, and it was fun to learn a bit about Spanish film. I will say it seemed a bit far fetched at some points and wrapped up too neatly for my tastes. Maybe some mixed messaging. That being said, I would definitely hand this to a teen interested in travel. I could find better options for a teen grieving a parent and/or reconnecting with one. I definitely enjoyed the narration.
September 11, 2026
I have been a fan of Ruhlman’s cookbooks for quite some time, and to this day still use some of the recipes from “Twenty” and “From Scratch” without reservation. There is always a quippy-quote and explanation which I enjoy. I also follow his travel antics on his blog. Because of his extensive travels with his endeavors and those of his literary spouse, you can certainly feel the “in-the-present” mode while romping through the different cities of Spain. He has been there and it shows! I completely enjoyed the book and finished in two settings. Good job!
September 8, 2026
A heartfelt YA coming of age debut that is both a moving father and son bonding road trip journey across Spain to try to save an indie film theatre and a great exploration of food, grief and second chances. Many thanks to @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest feedback.
⚠️TW: unexpected death of a parent
⚠️TW: unexpected death of a parent
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
An odd combination of hair-brained travelogue and emotional overcoming-of-grief, but the emotional part is so oddly tacked on it really doesn't work. The travelogue through Spain is okay, but the whole book just doesn't really hold together. There's potential for a good book, but it isn't realized.
Want to Read
August 31, 2026Wish this had a different cover. It looks very 80s...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews