Flavor of the Week

by Tucker Shaw

Cyril Bartholomew isn't exactly everyone's idea of a dream date¾he's a little on the heavy side. Not that he gets pushed around or anything, but it does cause him to keep one very important secret from he loves too cook. The only person who knows this secret is his best friend, Nick. Nick is just about the opposite of Cyril-he's a really attractive track star who is cool in a rebellious sort of way. Cyril has never been jealous of Nick, though. . .until the day that Nick decides he is interested in Rose Mulligan, Cyril's long-time secret crush. Flavor of the Week is a classic love triangle between three very unclassic teens, with lots of delicious food courses in between.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Teen, Food, Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 11, 2003

About the author

Tucker Shaw's novel, WHEN YOU CALL MY NAME, follows two gay teenagers during the height of the AIDS crisis in New York City in 1990. In hard times, nothing is more powerful than friendship.

Reviews

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nina's Book Review for Flavor of the Week by Tucker Shaw Stew

Ingredients:

1 book Flavor of the Week by Tucker Shaw
28 delicious recipes related to the story
1 lb. nice guy/nice girl/fat guy love triangle
1 whole Cyril aspiring to be a chef and loves Rose
1 whole Rose, beautiful hippie chick
1 whole Nick, nice guy and best friend of Cyril
1 cup thoughtlessly-concocted plan to get Rose for Nick
a dash of pity for Cyril
240 ml orange juice for reader
1 sandwich or a plate of whatever food is available
1 cup curiosity
humor and warm fuzzies, to taste

To cook:

1. Preheat your mood to read books.
2. Mix curiosity, book, and 28 delicious recipes until stiff peaks form.
3. Take orange juice and sandwich with you while reading, to prevent sudden pangs of hunger while reading through recipes and food that Cyril cooks.
4. Read through the book and become quickly endeared by Cyril's talent, humor, and secret longing for Rose.
5. Stir in thoughtlessly-concocted plan to get Rose for Nick rapidly, until bubbles of laughter and feelings of jealousy form.
6. Have a crush on Nick and hate him at the same time. Love his loyalty to Cyril but get disgusted with his pretentious effort to get Rose.
7. Get a bit annoyed at Rose for not seeing through Cyril's secret cooking life immediately. Sympathize with her for trying to ditch boys.
8. Continue reading the book until golden brown with author's talent in presenting a light, fast-paced, and creative retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac with Iron Chef elements. Do not decrease heat.
9. Throw in 1 lb. of nice guy/nice girl/fat guy love triangle and season with humor and warm fuzzies to excite old and young readers alike.
10. When the book gets a bit burned by a hint of predictability, quickly remove from heat and immediately add funny twists to the story.
11. Watch out for crisp dialogue forming at the sides of the pan, be sure to mix it together with the other ingredients to improve taste.
12. Add some interesting and quirky minor characters for garnish.
13. Makes one humorous, touching, and ravenous serving.

[eesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

i loved this book when i was a preteen enough to the point where i like. own it which is crazy because i don't buy books at all, even as a child every book you see me with in pictures has that clear library barcode on it because ive been a public library supporter since the beginning 💯💯

BUT! i can tell you that this book had such a huge impact on my psyche when it came to cooking (intimidated me from the kitchen for years because if i don't cook for my entire family at 13 like cyril then what the fuck am i doing with my fucking life ← a mindset i have since grown out of and i do enjoy cooking now, i still think "i need a nap" would be the highest compliment to recieve after cooking a meal, it introduced me to the word aphrodisiac, and it was even my second cyrano de bergerac adaptation (after let it shine of course)) so out of the blue when perusing my bookshelf, i thought why the hell not and picked it up for a reread. these characters are actually way younger than i though they were (little eesha experienced such an ick when it came to the overt sexual innuendos because they are in fact. teenage boys and immediately dismissed them as too old to conceptualize when theyre literally sixteen like nick’s main goal is to be on the varsity cross country team. sorry but the eesha in college rereading this has to laugh)

looking back there were a lot of issues:

you can tell this was written by a man in ways that flew over my head at the time because the way every girl is written here...oh boy... calling your friend who just got broken up with on her birthday easy to your guy friend because she seemingly hooked up with a guy is like okay……who are you to judge and especially with a MAN? there are actually numerous jabs at jamie’s supposed promiscuity and it’s like? WHO CARES! the sly remarks feel worse than straight up calling her a whore because it feels like we’re ALSO supposed to tut and shake our head at her behavior! i don’t care what she does with her time! good for her!

rose’s quirky brunette manic pixie dream girl hippie was clear from the get go with nick referring to her as “definitely hippie ish…in a hot way” and her whiteness just seeps off the page with that “fantasy of hers, about what it might’ve been like to be her age back in the sixties, when people were so much nicer to one another” yeah… the age of the civil rights movement..that’s the time when people were so much nicer to each other… the time where the jim crow era only officially ended 1964 and loving v. virginia finally legalized interracial marriage in 1967. THAT sixties era. and like. while her intense vegetarianism where she can’t dissect a worm without bemoaning its existence isn’t necessarily harmful, it did annoy me so there’s that.

there’s also a scene that icked me out both in the present and from when i read it as a child, where nick refers to rose’s ass as his favorite sticky buns….rose is understandably upset at this saying “he doesn’t know me well enough to be talking about my butt” and i Know the point is to emphasize how wrong nick and rose are for each other but like ughhh did it HAVE to be in there??? could it not have been something other than a comment on her body?? it’s just. i hate when men make jokes about such things in front of other PEOPLE do you not respect your significant other 😭😭 or maybe im a prude. both things can be true

honestly to be nitpicky as well, the writing could have been more subtle with how we introduce cyril’s big all consuming love. on page one, cyril is “cross-eyed in love with rose” and on page 2 referring to her as his beloved but why should i care, i don’t even know yall! this book flies by (which is a good thing) but it means there was def time to draw the exposition out more subtly. the fantasies and constant lovelorn descriptions about rose get a little much (get this guy an ao3 account holy shit the way he describes honey on her lips at least three times. they need you in the fandoms boy not in the kitchen!) and honestly the occasional switches to rose’s pov are also not helping the misogyny allegations because the only thing her and jamie talk about is boys! half her pov is thinking abt nick or cyril! brother we are NOT passing the bechdel test with this one!!

the fat jokes are unfortunately there. i hesitate to call them jokes, because they’re not attempts at humor but rather mere references to cyril’s weight with the express purpose of reminding you that he’s fat. and while there are jabs made at cyril’s weight (2 to be precise!) someone always defends him and the person saying the comment is wronged, but like. there are soo many odd lines and i do think there’s something to be said about them because they’re all so unnecessary.

shit like “For all his girth, Cyril suddenly felt like the invisible boy”

“Cyril wondered if maybe her glasses at slimming effect”

and more that i can’t seem to find flipping through the pages to quote perfectly but it’s all so like sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

also the nice guy act. ohh give me a break please. rose consistently puts cyril in the friend zone in emasculating ways, dismissing him as a viable love interest when she bemoans boys but not cyril because “I mean boy-boys, not you” which constantly happens in various ways that make my bullshit radar tick. the nice guy being rejected schtick SEEPS from the very pores of this in ways i cannot overlook. which, to be fair, is also clear considering the recipe for “nice guy pie” on the back of the cover 😔 hope the girl who rejected tucker shaw is living her fucking life because man oh man.

but theres also a lot of good!

the way food is written is SOOOO delicious especially coming off that disappointing automatic noodle read like in just the first few pages my mouth was watering in ways automatic noodle couldn’t have conceived. and with the recipes after every chapter, each chapter being named after the pivotal food in that particular scene, like the importance food plays in this book cannot be overlooked. the way the book starts and ends with kitchen sink cookies….literally chef’s kiss no pun intended.

i also love love loveeee the dynamic nick and cyril have. one thing that will ALWAYS get me is a complex platonic dynamic and cyril’s turbulent feelings on nick being back in his life unexpectedly ON TOP of encroaching on his identity as a chef WITH the girl of cyril’s dreams? delicious.

“‘Yeah, right. You never even called to say goodbye’……Part of him wanted to add ‘I needed you around here,’ but he didn’t.”

“..he couldn’t overlook the fact that Nick had a queen-sized bed and a flat-screen TV…yet he chose to sleep on the hardwood kitchen floor at Cyril’s..”

“Congratulations Iron Chef, said Nick. “How’d it go this time?”

“Supermodel, said Cyril. I kicked ass”

like i love friendship…

also, there are times where i don’t know if cyril wants to BE nick or be WITH nick and i think that’s a yaoi-tiful thing…..

“He knew he wouldn’t admit it but he was jealous. He wanted to go to New York. Cyril had always wanted to go to New York with Nick. Now Rose got to go on Cyril’s New York trip…” hey buddy…who are we supposed to be jealous of again?

“..torturing his little Supermodel wasn’t as fun as Cyril thought it would be” fellas is it gay to refer to your “model hot” (his words) best friend as your little supermodel while you “could practically hear Nick whimpering on the other end of the line” someone let cyril know..

as i’ve mentioned, jamie’s sole personality trait is that she gets boys (and she’s a bad driver which. i won’t comment on.) whereas her main purpose is to further the plot. her perception is on point (her parking less so) but her blossoming friendship with cyril is so enjoyable to read about, even if there’s little to be done with it.

and i mean the plot is insanely fun, even preteen me knew abt how intense this drama was. reading cyril having to cook the meal of his fucking DREAMS the one he’d been HOPING AND WISHING to make for rose as a confession for NICK to take the credit and then the DISCOVERY of the dupe! jamie’s moments of putting the pieces together! i love drama! reading cyril’s audition to his dream prestigious culinary arts school will stilll be the most nerve wracking thing, near the end of it i had tears in my eyes i was so stressed i spent the entire thing going ohhhmygod cyril you need to lock the fuck in lock the fuck in this is your DREAM and you have NO BACKUPS please!!!!!

alice is of course a lovely lovely addition, her insight is good for cyril but also just really motivating in general i remember taking what she said about apologizing to heart and her scenes with cyril are grounding in a way, time spent away from the mess of teenage drama and deepening the connection to food and cooking the book centers. sixty year old women have the best insight and also save the fucking day when it comes to plot..

overall, at the end of the day, for a book written more than 20 years ago, it was solid! i had some fun, i finished this in under an hour, and i could be convinced to make a few of these dishes on a very good day!

[Ammagrace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!!
It was cool cause it had like the recipes!!

[Lizzy Seitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 our of 5 stars

So I started reading this as a challenge to actually read books I owned. The first half of the book felt very mansplainny and I almost DNFed it (or 86ed it as we Kitchen folks say) but I actually ended up really enjoying the second half of the book which is how it ended up with a 3 star. Do I think I’m ever going to read it again? Probably not. But that’s kind of the whole point of this challenge- to read and get rid of the books I won’t read again

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I wasn't the target audience here, which is why I feel 3 stars are appropriate. Cute little quick read, but nothing to write home about.

[Chasselynne Ryne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flavor of the Week:
The book "Flavor of the Week"is about a boy named Cyril who had an amazing gift of cooking that he hid from everyone. Even Rose, a girl who Cyril has loved for 2 years, doesn't know. The only one who knows is Cyril's friend Nick. This book has so many ups and downs when Nick comes along back in Cyril's life and stealing his cooking to get the girl of his dreams (AKA: Rose). To me this book was so descriptive in so many ways to where it was a constant reading time and the words became movie clips in my head. I would definitely recommend this to other classmates because after every page something new happen, really something suspenseful happen to every single character in the book.

[Sandy D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

YA romance a la Cyrano de Bergerac, except the boy cooks like a dream instead of speaking poetically. The recipes at the end of every chapter look really good, and the descriptions of food are droolworthy, but the romance is a bit flat and predictable. And I didn't really want to know any of the characters better.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/2.5 stars.
I grabbed this on my way out of the library because the title and cover were intriguing. I expected the book to be somewhat corny, but this was rather disappointing. I think the concept was good, but the actual story wasn't quite as great.

[chi.emme · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ho riletto tante di quelle volte questo libro che solo a dirlo viene la nausea. Ma non per la bellezza della storia: perché da ragazzina adoravo sgranocchiare mentre leggevo, ma solo coi fumetti o i libri che non facevano altro che intrattenere, che se si sporcavano non era un dramma.

Ormai sono indietro anche quegli anni in cui mi ero ripromessa di provare le ricette di Cyril, invitanti come sembravano descritte nel libro, manco il Graal sceso in terra. A ventidue anni non ho ancora mai fatto un mordi e fuggi ma ehi, a parte Rose Da Mangiare, di Tucker Shaw non ho visto altro in giro: qualcuno è messo peggio.

Se si è mantenuto su questo livello capisco anche perché.

C'è sempre stato un punto in cui la storia si scompaginava: da che parte piano, introducendo con tutto il tempo il rapporto tra Rose e Cyril, facendo arrivare Nick, iniziando a mostrare l'interesse di Rose per lui e il suo per lei -un po' come sparare sulla Croce Rossa, dato che lui è l'uomo dei suoi sogni e lei sembra attirare la qualunque come quella strana del liceo, la tipa anni '60 anche se siamo nel duemila- , la friendzone graduale di Cyril sempre più friendzonato da Rose da che ne aveva memoria e in contemporanea quindi il suo rimedio di gettarsi a pensare al suo futuro e alla sua carriera, mettendo in tavola la dinamica del triangolo ( a onor del vero, originale. L'amico che si nasconde dietro le dichiarazioni da dire alla ragazza da parte dell'altro amico che non sa cosa dirle diventa un modo tutto intimo di comunicare, attraverso il cibo: 3 punti in più, 1 per l'originalità e 2 perché è il punto di raccordo fra Rose e Cyril, dando una plausibilità a tutto), fino ad arrivare al punto di rottura.

E da qui poi è tutto semplice.

Le situazioni si risolvono con le prese di coscienza, l'unico gesto che si muove in tal senso è solo da parte di Cyril e poi sia Rose, che Nick che Jamie risolvono da sé le proprie vite senza che ci venga mai mostrato niente. E nel caso di Rose, è una pura e semplice presa di coscienza, che come le altre nel romanzo è la solita americanata da cattiva narrazione, che risolve situazioni senza fare nulla perché "ho cambiato animo". Ma vaffa....

La parte più interessante è infatti la prima metà, non a caso dove SUCCEDONO le cose, succedono fatti con cui si ingarbuglia la situazione, vediamo attraverso i fatti il malessere di Cyril a Rose e Nick che tubano come piccioni, alla fragilità della facciata di Nick, a quei detti non detti tra i due a cui Cyril si trova in mezzo in quanto sciaguratamente amico confidente di entrambi.

Una storia sull'accettazione di sé stessi, per trovare l'amore? Sì ma non è nemmeno veicolato così bene. Perché in fondo, come già detto, tutto avviene per prese di coscienza: è un po' paradossale uscire dalla situazione scomoda che si è creata prima della rottura tra i tre e viene risolta senza troppo impegno. Già è un miracolo che Cyril esca dalla friendzone, con anche senza troppa cura perché "l'amore arriva, e ci sarà il suo turno a bussare alla tua porta" diventa il nuovo Messia dei friendzonati del mondo.

La storia in sé poi sembra seguire un ritmo episodico, non nel senso seriale del termine ma nel senso che decide di accendere o spegnere l'occhio di bue dove e quando ritiene comodo, non creando una vera e propria storia ma occasioni di narrazione, tanto più che ognuna è sottolineata da un capitolo e una ricetta dedicata.

Lettura dimenticabile, carina per passare un pomeriggio senza troppa suspance.

[Tamara Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Flavor of the Week” is at its core about a nice guy (Cyril) who is in love with a pretty girl (Rose) however, Rose view Cyril as a friend although he wants to be more to her. When the book begins, Cyril has just finished making his famous “kitchen sink cookies” at his house when Rose arrives. Since Cyril is such a nice guy (and as a way to spend time with Rose,) Cyril is holding a birthday party at his house for Rose’s best friend Jamie.

During Jamie’s party, Cyril receives a visit from his childhood best friend Nick. Although Cyril is happy to see Nick again, he’s upset that Nick abruptly left two years ago without saying goodbye. In addition, Cyril is upset that Nick and Rose seem interested in each other and he feels powerless to stop whatever romantic relationship is blossoming between them.

While on a shopping trip to Walmart, Nick expresses his interest in Rose to Cyril. As Cyril is shopping for cooking ingredients, he is trying to prevent himself from helping Nick win Rose over with food. After Nick comes to Cyril’s rescue from a rude Walmart employee, Cyril feels he owes Nick. With each meal she eats, Rose loves you the food meanwhile, Cyril hates lying to her and worries how she will react once she discovers the truth.



Overall, this book was very quick and light read. This book minded me of the play Cyrano de Bergerac except instead of woo a woman with words, she is wooed with food. I liked the chapter layout which consists of a recipe title followed by the chapter and ending with a recipe. I especially liked that although Cyril is very self conscious about his weight, I feel like those closest to him don’t see the weight but rather they see the cooking gifts her has to offer.

[AriannaK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flavor Of The Week by Tucker Shaw. Is about a sixteen year old named Cyril Bartholomew, one of his hobbies is cooking. He is hoping to have cooking as a career, he makes lots of exquisite dishes especially for his model hot best friend Nick, who is trying to impress Rose. Cyril likes rose but his dishes are more friendly than flirty.

Cyril helps Nick by cooking the food for Nicks dates with Rose. Rose eventually finds out that Cyril makes the meals and not Nick. Rose gets mad at Nick and Cyril but she is mostly hurt by Cyril. His betrayal hurt the most.

I would recommend this book to Young adults who like Romance, and cooking. I like that the author put in recipes for food at the end of every chapter, what I didn't like though is that the author made Cyril kind of betray Rose by saying that Nick was cooking the food. Otherwise this book is one of the best books i've ever read, and that's why I give it five stars.

[♡ un café au lait ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

If we’re supposed to be taking this seriously then the ending didn’t make sense. Personally, I wouldn’t excuse that kind of behavior in a guy, no matter how much I liked him. But if you just wanted a light-hearted, food romance take on Cyrano de Bergerac, then it’s pretty enjoyable.

Though the aphrodisiac scene bothered me. First of all, yeah, Nick is being entitled and don’t encourage him, even if you “don’t think aphrodisiacs work.” That aside, if a guy ever set something like that up for me, I’d probably faint and then melt into a puddle on the floor, and I’m acespec. But I’d only like it because I’m south asian. These characters are white, and the use of Arabian culture to create an “exotic”and “seductive” aesthetic doesn’t sit right with me.

The food sounds really good though. I’m probably gonna end up using the recipes.

[Black Cat Bookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love a book with some great recipes. I love this concept. Every recipe that was talked about in the book was included fully. A great story of a young man trying to hide who he truly is for fear of being teased. Having no confidence to tell the girl he loves how he feels. I would recommend this book. Very cute! I’ve already tried two of the many recipes included!

[Becca Amstutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is my guilty pleasure! I have read it more times than I can count and it is still perfection. The intermixed recipes are delicious (I've done a few of them). It is a perfect happy thought! I end the book each time with a contented sigh and a smile.

[Channah Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not the greatest. Quick read and interesting story. I loved the recipes and how the were intertwined with the story.

[Amanda Raley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really can't be too hard on this book. It's exactly what I expected. No real surprises. It's cute though.

[Mommassa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, easy read. A Cyrano de Bergerac only with food.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t really love the love interest in this. Actually a lot of the characters were just kinda blah. But I did love the food and the recipes.

[Destiny Chall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Details are hazy, but I remember really liking this book as well.

[Elena Carrillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heatfelt story about teenage love and the comfort of food. Recipes included!

[Bayleigh Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

First part of the book almost lost me to a DNF but second part was waaayyy better! Sweet ending, too!

[Jen Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to make all the recipes and I think it’s so cool that they are included in the book but the book was just a bit dull overall.

[gray_ proximity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great comfort read

[James Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this book!

I chose my 5 star rating because this book is short and sweet. I've read this book so many times and its better every time. A very tasteful book!

[Breonna DelBoccio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved reading this book! I love how you see the characters change and adapt in different ways. I also love how you see everyone be friends and be so different around others.

[Lyvanna Bean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flavor of the week was a pretty good book. I would recommend it to someone that likes to cook. I was about boy at the age if 16 and his name was Cyril . He had a crush named Rose, but Rose doesn't like him because he likes a supermodel of a chef. Little did she know that Cyril was a chef, but not a model. As she thought that her model crush/Nick made her a really good dish, but it was actually Cyril. And now that Nick found out that Rose liked Nick, he started to like her back. So he played along about the dishes that Cyril made. So now that Cyril found out he had to everything happened, and Nick and Rose started to get closer and he didn't want anything to deal with it and anything bad. By the end of the book he had made all those delicious dishes and not Nick. Rose was a bit sad, but she just said thank you and that she will still be ordering from him and thank him for all the dishes. The book had some drama.

[AlohaMyPikachu · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked up this book, I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't know anything about the author or his type of writing style. Nevertheless, I was willing to give it a try. I was glad I did because I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

The thing about this book and its main character, Cyril, is that he's not perfect. He's an unpopular kid. There is no getting around the fact that he's overweight, loves food and loves to cook even more. His best friend is a girl. She has no idea that Cyril is infatuated with her. But his insecurity and weight keep him from doing anything about it.

Introduce his friend Nick, who Cyril at times affectionally calls "supermodel". That just says it all, doesn't it? Nick falls for Rose. And Rose, despite a bad breakup, is intrigued by Nick.

Nick, wanting to get closer to Rose, convinces Cyril to cook for Rose, as that's her one fantasy. To have a guy that can cook, for lack of a better term, turns her on.

One can see here that what starts out as a friend helping out a friend gets out of control. Cyril is not blameless, nor is Nick. However, you can't really detest Nick. Despite his insensitivity to the rock and a hard place he's putting Cyril in, the guy is genuinely decent. I equate Nick to an overgrown puppy. He's intelligent, good-natured, quick with a smile, but sometimes a little clueless.

Overall, the book was an entertaining read. I enjoyed reading about Cyril and his cooking. Also, as I mentioned, Cyril, nor any of the other characters are perfect. They're teens, so they're bound to make mistakes. For myself, I loved Cyril. And while I wanted to mark him as being an innocent in all of this, one of his cooking mentors tells him that he made bad judgments. I believe that is a very appropriate statement. It's not that we dont' mean well, but sometimes good intentions go astray. It's how we handle the aftermath that counts.

Lastly, just a quick comment abut the recipes. The recipes in the book were very interesting. As someone who doesn't cook, I doubt I'll be trying them. But they do sound very, very tempting and I'm probably going to mention this book to some cooking and baking friends just for the recipes!

[ஐ♥☠Brįttåny☠♥ஐ]

Synopsis-A boy named Cyril has a passion for cooking and is in love with a girl named rose. He tries to keep his feelings and cooking a secret from everyone, but when an old friend moves back to town, everything comes out. Cyril cooks for nick (his friend) and rose believes its nick cooking. When she finds out nick isn’t the one behind the food, she is outraged and separates from both of them. If you want to know what happens to them, read the book!

Classification-
Audience: 12+
Purpose: teaches teens to tell the truth or things might get messy.
Medium:Novel
Genre-setting: high school, cooking competion
Genre-style: romance, honesty
Genre-plot: to show what lying does between friends

Critism- This was a good book. I would have never even thought to pick it up and read it if I hadn't of had to read a book for a review as a grade. I think this book shows a great deal of what kids go through in school and in their social life and how relationships can hurt and be the center of a problem. I also loved the fact that tucker Shaw (the author) has put in the recipes that Cyril makes through out the book. I plan on trying to make my own meals from them. I really think tucker Shaw should make a sequel if he already hasn't. I would love to read a second book. Maybe of how Cyril and rose work out and how nick and Jamie get along. flavor of the week is an awesome book to read, so if your looking for a book out of the blue, or just need something to read, I recommend you go get the book "Flavor of the week" by Tucker Shaw. Hope you like the book as much as I did!

[Penny McGill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A romance from the perspective of the boy instead of the girl... it's a treat to anyone who is trying to provide RA to teen boys however, one glance at this cover and I really don't think we'll have them beating down our doors to read it. Oh well, it is a great story for any teen.

Tucker Shaw has his protagonist - Cyril Bartholomew - in his last year of high school and all ready to take on the practical exams for entry into a prestigious cooking school. The reader is in luck because Cyril has been spending the last 7 years of his life cooking for his family, working at a local foodie shop and washing dishes in the kitchen of that same cooking school. In a Cyrano twist Cyril's best friend is an extremely handsome male who falls for the same girl Cyril desires and convinces Cyril to help him win the girl with his fantastic cooking. You know it's going to end with lots of tears but it doesn't matter because while we are along for the ride Tucker Shaw includes magical recipes with each chapter! Yahoo.

It's a romance so it has a satisfying answer but there is enough depth in the relationships he has built with Cyril's friends and family to make it a great read for anyone who wants a story with normal people doing normal things. There is heartbreak and failure in the book but it has enough high points to keep you reading. Loved the book and will pass it along as soon as I can. Just got to go and check it back in first!

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does anyone else think the summary on top is wrong? I'm pretty sure Cyril's best friend is Nick, not Chris

For a food lover like me, Flavor of the Week is quirky and short read filled with great recipes that are fun to share!

One of the reasons why I like this book is because it stands out from whatever else I’m reading. Let’s start off with Cyril - he’s overweight, totally sweet (especially towards Rose!), and is a genius with food. How often do you have a male protagonist in YA that isn’t good looking and nice? Moreover, he’s likeable - he helps out Nick despite his many flaws and lies.

I also liked Cyril’s audition with the chef academy. As Nina’s review says, it’s similar to Iron Chef, which has a little action and tons of foody fun.

The only problems I had with this book were with Rose and the simplicity of the plot. Rose seemed a little stupid - she claims to know Cyril very well, but is unable to see through his cooking facade until a friend tells her? I’m not sure about that. Moreover, the plot was heading towards the predictable everything’s-okay-now-I-love-you-forever-and-ever. But still, it was sweet.

Overall, if you are a fan of gourmet food and are looking for a unique and short (but sweet!) read, try Flavor of the Week c: