What an interesting journey this story proved to be. A smart and entertaining women's fiction tale chronicling the journey of the quirky and brutally honest Elizabeth Zott. This brings a lot of heartfelt truth to the forefront of which woman of all ages can relate. Zott is brilliant in her logical, no-nonsense, scientific approach to life that seems so simplistic but bucks every cultural system and norm giving her trouble at every turn. Her reverence and fortitude are admirable through it all though making her an important heroin. The storytelling of Bonnie Garmus is so refreshing in this book perfectly structured and flows seamlessly. From beginning to end, I was hooked into the life story of Zott and her companions, each of whom brought a certain charm to the story. This book was nothing like I expected making it that much more wondrous to read. I learned some powerful lessons from Elizabeth Zott through the lovely written lens of Bonnie Garmus and I'm so thrilled to have taken the journey. I highly recommend this story; expect the unexpected and enjoy.

“A must-read debut novel! Meet Elizabeth Zott: a one-of-a-kind scientist in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show.,” Chemist Elizabeth Zott is determined to be an equal on her 1960’s all male team of chemist at Hastings Research,. Not til Nobel Prize winner Calvin Evans falls in love with her mind. Elizabeth’s life is unpredictable as she becomes the hostess of a quite different cooking show based on science while also telling women to change their lives and reach for what has otherwise been beyond them. It is a clever, fun novel. This debut novel is original and quite a delight.

For being a debut novel, this is FANTASTIC!! I loved everything about this book and I found myself sharing funny little snippets with my husband when he heard me cracking up.

Elizabeth Zott is not like other women. An average woman is found at home, being a respectable housewife, taking care of her family and the household duties and obeying her husband. Elizabeth points out that there’s no such thing as “average” and she’s determined to show that women can have a mind of their own and actually use it!

But life isn’t that simple. Elizabeth ends up being an unmarried single mother, something of a scandal at the time. But Elizabeth works to show not only those men who try to keep her down, but other women as well, that women are fully capable of doing everything men can do.

I’ll say, there’s usually one thing in a book that I don’t like. It could be something little that doesn’t change my overall thoughts of the book, but with this book, I absolutely loved everything about it!

There are some taboo issues that people at that time didn’t talk about (even some people today don’t talk about), such as sexual assult, pre-marital sex, adultery, death, child abuse, and a couple other issues. But what I really liked about this book is how the main character dealt with these issues as they came up in her life. I suppose many women would withdraw from things, but not Elizabeth. She faced things head on and overcame many of the obstacles in her way.

If you love stories about strong women, this one's for you! This is by far my favorite book I’ve read this year.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is out Tuesday, April 5th. Thank you to NetGalley and DoubleDay Books for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Before there were such things as STEM programs in schools, Me Too movements in the workplace, there was Elizabeth Zott in the 1950s and 1960s. As a chemist, Elizabeth was way ahead of her time, and as a rare woman in the field, she suffered from many injustices and slights.

Elizabeth was very happy with Calvin Evans, a legend among his peers at Hastings Institute. People didn’t understand their relationship, never married, and when Calvin suddenly passes away, people don’t understand how Elizabeth chooses to live life without Calvin but with their daughter.

I won’t give any more of the story away. Elizabeth was a pioneer and showed women that they could be, too. I enjoyed this book but felt it could have been shorter.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Lessons in Chemistry
by: Bonnie Garmus
Doubleday Books, Doubleday

This is a novel by Bonnie Garmus, categorized as historical fiction. It has themes of women's rights and strong women during the 1960s. It is definitely a powerful book for a debut novel.
Thank you to Net Galley and Doubleday Books, Doubleday for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.

This off-beat book charmed me with its strong streak of feminism and fairness and its humor. Living in the 50s and early 60s, Elizabeth Zott suffered from constant marginalization. Her intelligence and strong desire to be a research scientist were always overlooked due to her gender. She suffered a host of indignities and worse, ranging from assault to insults to lack of opportunity and poor pay.

But she perseveres and manages to meet and fall in love with maybe the one person in the world as quirky as she was -- Calvin Evans, famed male scientist. But their story was not intended to have a happy ending and true love didn't avert tragedy. Elizabeth finds herself an unwed mother and widow and also loses her job.

What happens next is a wonderful fictional detour -- Elizabeth inadvertently becomes an early TV cooking show star, much to her consternation. She clashes constantly with sponsors and the station brass since she refuses to be aproned eye-candy and talk down to her audience.

Terrific story with appealingly oddball characters, often laugh out loud funny while taking a look at some serious societal inequities. I would love to read a sequel to find out what Elizabeth's next chapter is and to find out what kind of an interesting character her daughter turns out to be. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's been a long time since I read a book I literally couldn’t put down.

"Lessons in Chemistry” is a stunning love story, set in a time not very long past when women had no agency in a male dominated society. Elizabeth Zott, scientist, lover and mom, is a total misfit in her world. She is ambitious and smart, and loves chemistry. Disappointed and abused time after time in her early career, she finally finds a niche, and a man who is honored to support her work. Her happily ever after is not to be.

I desperately wanted to change the trajectory of this story at the 1/3 mark. But Zott’s life went on, and after an almost unbearable amount of time she began to find other good people, the kind people, who want her succeed.

I loved the quirky supporting cast, including the intelligent dog and the ultra-smart daughter.

A heartfelt 5 stars for this debut novel.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review! This book was a fantastic debut! It was smart and hilarious. I really enjoyed these characters and how unique they were! There is some heavy themes but i loved the strong women we get to spend time with!

What a delightful, fun, well-written book - one where you’re rooting for the main character, Elizabeth. Zott. This debut - how fun is that? - shines light on the sexism and misogyny women faced (and currently face) in the 50s and 60s in the workplace and societally. How hard women had to work just to be taken seriously in work and in everyday life. I loved Elizabeth’s blunt way of talking - made me smile many times. A lovely, inspiring read. Heartfelt thanks to Doubleday for the advanced copy!

I loved this book by Bonnie Garmus! The writing is great and so were many the characters. This story was fun, unique, interesting, entertaining, sometimes sad, yes romantic and more. Elizabeth Zott is a chemist back in the early 1960’s when not as many women worked and certainly not as many in professional careers. She has to deal with being overlooked simply because she’s a woman, sexual assault in college and the workplace and more as she tries to achieve her goals no matter the many obstacles in her way. If you were in the workplace during the 60’, 70’s and early 80’s you can most likely relate to much of this. But don’t let this heavy topic put you off, because this story is anything but. Elizabeth Zott seems to be able to handle anything thrown her way with super human skills, and yet we discover she is human after all. I even laughed several times and thoroughly enjoyed it. I received an early readers copy in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher.

I went into this book expecting a rom com/humorous fiction but what I found was a profound work of brilliance! Yes, there were laugh out loud moments as well as eye dabbing moments. It was the underlying theme of feminism and strength that blew me away. The MC Elizabeth Zott is a woman who does not make excuses or apologies for standing up for herself in a man’s world in the 1960’s. She’s an unwed mother by choice who refuses to be defined by societal norms. As an independent & uncompromising woman, she encourages other women to embrace the person they are meant to be and not what a magazine recommends.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the debut novel by Bonnie Garmus - can I give more than 5 sparkling stars?

In the 1960s, Elizabeth Zott is a chemist - unusual in those days and she has the battle scars to prove it. No one takes her seriously or gives her credit. Except for Calvin Evans, another unusual brilliant chemist. It's the perfect love story, until tragedy strikes. Elizabeth soon finds herself a single mother and the reluctant star of a hit cooking show, Supper at Six. But Elizabeth can only be one thing - herself - and not everyone is happy about that.

Gush alert - I loved, loved, loved this book and these characters! I love quirky characters and this book is chock full of them - including the dog! This takes you back to a time when women were expected to stay at home and do what they were told and Elizabeth bucked that trend from the beginning. While there are definitely some difficult subjects, the humor in this book is laugh out loud, spot on, perfection. You will not be able to put this one down - nor should you! Highly recommended - amazing debut. Can't wait to read more from this author but how do you top perfection?

Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant, highly educated scientist in the 1960's, only problem she is a women. She is working in a field where she is NOT taken seriously or valued for her ground breaking work. Its at her employer, Hastings Institute, she meets her match in the LOVE of chemistry, Calvin Evans. Evans doesn't disregard her intellect, eventually falls head or heels for her and she him.

The Institute holds special meaning for Evans, one he's not shared with his family. His life led him to California, this institute and a passion for rowing. His daughter, Mad (Madeline), raised in an unorthodox scientific manner, soon begins to seek answers to fill in the gaps on her father's side for a family tree school project.

While she is unraveling the mysterious background of her dad, her Mother has become a national phenomena with her cooking show - Supper at Six. Her show incorporates all elements from her scientific background to cook a fun, filled family dinner. I would totally be a devout viewer of this show!

This lesson is everything for the reader. This novel serves-up a tremendous amount of humor, love and grit to overcome. And, who wouldn't adore a dog named six thirty who knows more than 900 words. Lessons in Chemistry is a STUNNING debut novel by Bonnie Gramus.

"Children set the table. Your mother needs a moment to herself."

Thank you Doubleday Books for the advance reader copy.

Elizabeth Zott is a force to be reckoned with in work and life but constantly finds herself not being taken seriously by her male counterparts. Not one to conform to society's standards and constantly having to prove herself time and again, she manages to accomplish many things considered unsuitable for women in the 1960s. She’s definitely ahead of her time.

This book had an interesting take on the working woman and how it was a struggle for women to gain recognition in the workplace. I was so involved in the storyline that I became enraged as Elizabeth kept getting taken advantage of throughout the book. Even though she is portrayed as a strong, independent woman and seems to do just fine taking care of herself, I found her character slightly frustrating. She seemed to be harboring a lot of baggage, yet because of her surroundings, she needed to maintain a tough facade and wouldn’t allow her genuine emotions to show. This made for a character that was extremely hard to relate to, even though I was still rooting for her in the end.

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed the premise and the characters but would have loved to see a more developed ending as the rest of the book was so well thought out. But overall, this was a solid book.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

You guys know I loved a woman in STEM novel so I had HIGH expectations for this one. And I have to say I was a little disappointed 🙈

This is a character-driven novel with not much of a plot which bored me a little at times. I just couldn’t quite figure out where the story was going. I felt like so much more could have been done with Elizabeth’s character. She was so dynamic and smart but I was just not interested in reading.

What I did appreciate: the realistic depiction of the sexism women in experienced in this time period and the way that Elizabeth wouldn’t let anyone tell her what she could and could not do. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy that she could be a role model for mothers and wives in that time period. I was so proud of her.

And I will say the shining star was her dog, Six-Thirty 🐾 The absolute cutest, smartest dog that made me laugh so hard.

This is being made into a show with Brie Larson as Elizabeth Zott which could be so fun. For fans of quirky main characters and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

This novel takes place in the 1960s, when Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant scientist who isn't respected at her job simply because she's a woman (and an unmarried mother at that); she ends up taking on a new job as an afternoon cooking show host on TV, where she defies all the norms and uses the show to empower her female viewers to stand up against the patriarchy by teaching the chemistry of cooking. Elizabeth is incredibly quirky, but her quirks remind me of someone on the autism / Asperger's spectrum - they seem odd and out of touch, but they're actually quite logical when you stop to think about them. (For example, her dog is named "Six Thirty" because that's the time when she adopted him.) I absolutely loved Elizabeth's personality - she's an inspiring hero to root for - and my only complaint about the book was that there wasn't one central plot point to be resolved, so it meandered a little bit. I still found it hard to put down! "Lessons in Chemistry" is quirky, delightful, and an unexpected breath of fresh air - I highly recommend it.

I'm honestly sad that 1. I finished this book and 2. Supper at Six doesn't actually exist. Lessons in Chemistry was so good and also reminded me of the Amazon tv show the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

The book focuses on Elizabeth Zott, a chemist working in California in the 1950s. She meets and falls in love with another scientist in the research lab and eventually has a baby. Elizabeth also ends up a single mother and is in desperate need of a job (sexism strikes again) and finds herself the host of an afternoon cooking show called Supper at Six. However, because Elizabeth is a scientist before all else the show becomes more of a science class featuring cooking but it becomes unexpectedly popular with their target audience aka housewives. The book deals with some heavy themes including suicide and sexual assault and sexual harassment. There's also a meddling neighbor, a surprisingly smart dog, an unsurprisingly smart four-year-old who reads Faulkner (she's Elizabeth Zott's daughter after all), a stressed-out tv producer, and a mysterious fairy godmother. The book is funny, sad, beautiful and Elizabeth Zott is marvelous. I highly recommend it.

I was provided a free copy of this book through NetGalley.

Campy, quirky, loveable, and infuriating all work well to describe this book. Full of men taking credit for women's discoveries or just ignoring and underestimating them and women struggling to be seen and respected for what they bring to the table (and not just the dinner table!). In the middle of all this is a gem of a character in Elizabeth Zott, a chemist but through the course of a series of events ends up hosting a cooking show. Move over Alton Brown's Good Eats because I want to watch Supper at Six!! I was surprised by how far into the book I was before the cooking show even comes in to play, but that is because this story is about so much more than a cooking show. The show is just another example of how ridiculous men viewed women's accomplishments. Elizabeth isn't your classic feminist, she just knows her worth and is going to do all she can to be noticed for it. Like Elizabeth, every other character in the story has been crafted in full color with their own quirks and contributions to the story, even the ones you love to hate. This story will be sure to put a smile on your face and will be a great book for a vacation or stay at home break from reality!

Elizabeth Zott is a chemist; and yes, she is a woman which should be beside the point. She is a very talented chemist, however this is the 1960’s, when it is highly unusual for a woman to be a chemist, or in any science field. Her current boss is a misogynist pig as was her former college professor. All the men in the current lab where she works ignore her unless they need help because even they know she is smarter than they are and they hate her for it.
There is only one other person working at Hastings who is disliked more than she is and that is Calvin Evans. He is the pride and joy of the Hastings Institute; a real Brainiac and his research is the reason Hastings gets a lot of its funding. So, boy and girl collide as atom’s often do and fall madly in love much to the disgust of their workmates. Scandalously they move in together. Remember this is the 1960’s. The gossip about them at work is truly disparaging.
Then a horrible accident happens and Elizabeth’s whole life unravels.

I loved this book. Calvin & Elizabeth are wonderful characters and so much like my husband & I when we were in college. It is sad to think that gender politics was still a problem in the late seventies, but it definitely was. I was pretty much the only woman in my animal science and biochemistry courses. Men, even then were insulting, condescending, and felt they had a right to touch your body … a shoulder massage, a brief rub against a breast while passing you … it still makes me shudder. I did not have the fortitude to continue pursuing my dreams, like Elizabeth Zott. I hope many women feel empowered from reading this book. Feminist? Damn right!

Robyn Heil, Buyer for Brodart Co.

What a unique, quirky and fun book to read!
Lessons in Chemistry follows Elizabeth Zott during the early 1960’s. She is a female chemist and is not well accepted by the men. She should be getting married and having babies because that is what women do. Well, they do not know Elizabeth Zott!
The love story is beautiful and heart wrenching. With a highly intelligent dog and child thrown into the mix, you can not help but love this story.
You must get this book to read! There is so much going on within the story! To even try to give it the review it deserves is impossible.
A true lesson on how strong and determined women can be, could be and should be!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.