TW: Rape, misogyny

This book made me feel all the things - fury, sadness, joy. There are some truly laugh-out-loud moments; there are also moments of utter despair and absolute rage at how some of the characters behave and what they get away with. But I can also appreciate the character growth and even the redemption arc experienced by some.

Elizabeth Zott has been close to exactly one person in her life, and after his death, she doesn't really open herself up to anyone. But through meeting Calvin, she begins to learn to trust again. And from there, it becomes this beautiful sort of found family story that I absolutely did not see coming. Some characters that I thought I would never like ended up growing on me because they themselves grew and changed. Elizabeth tends to be suspicious of others, and with good reason, especially when it comes to her career - she's been beaten down and cheated plenty of times. But by the end she has learned that not everyone is bad and sometimes people really do have good intentions.

I will say Elizabeth is bit socially awkward. She's meant to be, obviously, and at first it kind of threw me - how can someone be so socially clueless? But it turns out she's only awkward because she doesn't fit the mold of what others expect a woman in the 1950s to be. She's very no-nonsense and practical, and I absolutely adore the fact that she turned her kitchen into a lab. As someone with a science background, this is now a dream of mine.

I've seen some people criticize the unrealistic nature of Mad being smart, but when you give kids the freedom to explore what they want and to ask questions and actually teach them, often they'll surprise you. Why should it be surprising that Mad was reading at an advanced level by age 3? I know plenty of people who were reading period by age 4 and reading advanced books from 5 onward. I think anyone writing off the portrayal of Mad as being unrealistic has a very rigid view of what children are like, and it's not a good one. I was utterly entranced by Elizabeth, Mad, Six-Thirty, even Calvin. Garmus did an absolutely spectacular job of creating well-developed three-dimensional characters who continued to grow and change. This was such an awesome book, I know I'll be reading it again. And I can't wait for what she does next.

This is my favorite book of the year! I read it a few weeks ago and I miss the characters so much. It has character development but also a plot. It features a dog (six-thirty) that has his own voice and I loved it so much! I have been recommending this book to everyone.

Not what you think! What a powerful, uncompromising protagonist!
The story, told from varying points of view, is a gripping read.
This review is provided in exchange for an ARC from NetGalley.

Elizabeth Zott was brilliant, a scientist when women were not expected to be scientists and were, in fact, actively not wanted to participate by the establishment. This is the story of her trajectory from scientist to afternoons tv star and after. Along the way she fell deeply in love, but her happiness was short-lived. While the first half of the book dragged, the second half completely made up for it. Interesting take on a woman of substance wrapped in a feminist fable.

This book! Elizabeth Zott is resilient, hard working, loving (in her own way) so very bright and because she is a woman life has not been kind to her. She has a hard time sharing her amazing talents with the world simply because of her gender, what a shame! The thing about Elizabeth though, is that she never let any of those things get in her way! The journey of a young scientist with her talking dog (yup six thirty- the dog, talks) is a captivating one and one that everyone should read. It was such a wonderful story!

WOW! Just WOW! This book is amazing!! You will feel happy, sad, frustrated, mad, and more! It will make you laugh and cry. You will even fall in love with a characters named 6:30! This book is smart and satisfying. One of the best books I have read this year. Bravo Bonnie Garmus!

Really enjoyed this book! The cover doesn't match the content (UK cover is much better). This was so much more than a chick-flick - this book was funny, heartbreaking, hopeful... all wrapped into one. Loved the inclusion of the dog's point of view. Wish the sexual assault scene had not been quite as graphic.

I've been sitting on this review for months because of conflicting feelings and I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to say about it. So I give you my two reviews in one:

5 Star Review: Fun, quirky read full of likeable and despicable (some are both) characters. A true page-turner and entertaining story that will keep you reading as plucky scientist and single mom Elizabeth Zott navigates the discriminating world of the 1950s.

2 Star Review: I'm so tired of books taking a strong narrative about a powerful, knowledgeable woman and adding some magical/fantasy element which ends up muting the impact this story could have had (I'm looking at you, State of Terror). This could have been the torch song for women in science everywhere but we ended up with a sentient dog and a neuro-atypical MC (nothing wrong with either) but it changes the whole tone of the story. By making Elizabeth "quirky", we let people believe that this discrimination only happened to really bright or possibly autistic women who ventured into male dominated fields instead of just about all women (still to this day). Yes, Six Thirty was lovable and a bit of relief from the harsh reality that Elizabeth was facing, but by giving him a voice it pushes the novel into near-fantasy. The real Elizabeth Zotts of the world needed to see their story as they lived/live it and not have their reality blunted to make it more palatable.

I don’t know how to categorize this one- a love story, with an inspirational end? Contemporary fiction that is heart warming? Either way it had me rooting for Elizabeth Zott through every page. I simply couldn’t put this one down.

This book was so engaging and dealt with some really important issues. Every woman should read this! So good!

People had been telling me what a great book this was and I was afraid it was over hyped but I’m here to hype it a little more it was so good. I loved the quirky brilliant main character I love the character development of everyone in the story I loved a woman triumphing at a time when women were supposed to stay at home. The STEM focus was fantastic. SO good!

Not quite the book that was described on the blurbs or in the reviews, but a great read nonetheless. I didn't find much of this novel to be overtly humorous, which is how it was described to me by many reviewers. However, the dry social commentary was entertaining, even if I didn't laugh out loud.
Elizabeth Zott is a no-nonsense woman who is a trailblazer in her time. She eventually overcomes intense personal hardship to become a famous TV personality, leading a national cooking show in the 60s. She is an inspirational figure to her young daughter, and to other women that her show reaches. The story also focuses on her personal heartbreak, and how she manages to persevere in the face of significant resistance. This would be a great read for book clubs - so long as they know they're more likely to encounter trigger warning content than belly laughs.

I didn’t know what to expect before I started reading Lessons in Chemistry, except that this book seemed to be on everyone’s must-read and favorites lists. It is a story of a female chemist in the 1960s whose career and personal goals are continuously thwarted by the patriarchal society. She meets and falls in love with a fellow chemist, who is very influential in her life. Her career eventually takes a detour from the lab to a cooking show, where she is a surprise hit, as she teaches women more than just how to prepare a meal. Through chemistry she shows them the inbalance inherent in a patriarchal society and how important it is to fight for change. Now more than ever this message is so important, and it was conveyed in such a lovely way. There are very serious subjects discussed in this book, such as sexism, homophobia, suicide, and death, all handled with compassion and care.
I received an early copy of Lessons in Chemistry from NetGalley, thank you!

I can't believe I waited so long to read this - I loved this book! Elizabeth Zott was such a strong female character. I loved how she spoke her mine and stuck to her beliefs. All the supporting characters - Mad, Harriet, Six Thirty, Calvin, Miss Frask - were well developed and entertaining. I look forward to reading more by Bonnie Garmus.

Really thought this was going to be spectacular based on all the rave reviews but I wasn't a fan of this book. I don't get all the hype and I don't think it is witty or funny, in fact I feel like I must have read a different book. The only saving grace was that I really like the quirky dog character, Six Thirty. The rest of the book was just not for me and I can't recommend it.

I'm not sure, but I think that I read a different book than all the rest of the reviewers. Here is a blurb from the back of the book:

“laugh out loud funny”, recommended for fans of Where’d You Go Bernadette and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

I did not laugh out loud one time. I'm sure that there is a huge audience for this book, but I am not one of them.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for this advanced readers copy. This book released for publication in May 2022.

A great read by an up and coming author. This hit a lot of elements that make a book standout. Elizabeth Zott (chemist extraordinaire) was central to the story and a strong female character who is wise beyond her current time period 1960’s. A period where women were not highly relevant in the work force. She takes her own approach and will have readers laughing out loud. Which is another thing I liked about the story satirical humor in some instances. However, I must add there are some potential triggers for people. For her life is unpredictable and through a series of events she finds herself at the mercy of the patriarchy. With a cast of great characters you will discover a story woven with tidbits dropped along the way which propel the story forward and pique the readers interest. A romance with a touch of science for the “nerdier” readers. Along with a heartfelt component of family and how everyone’s rendition of family is different. A quite satisfying ending as well. Ty#NetGalley for the ARC all opinions are my own.

This book wasn't what I expected, but in a good way!

Elizabeth is a darn good scientist in a time when female scientists didn't really "exist". She is constantly fighting for her place in a male-dominated field. She is harassed and belittled and discredited. Eventually, she is offered a job as the lead on a cooking show because she is quite beautiful. But she is determined to do it her own way, of course.

There are so many rich layers to this story of a strong independent woman. Love, motherhood, science and logic, show business, and even rowing crew are just a few of the topics covered. Elizabeth is destined to become an all-time favorite character. And this book has one of the best dogs I've ever met. I loved it!

This book is so much more than I was expecting it to be! I've seen other folks say this online, but the cover doesn't really do this book justice. I love a feminist take and historical fiction, and this was immensely satisfying and laugh-out-loud funny.

I seriously enjoyed this book even though when I started it I was convinced it’s not my type of story-so wrong! This was a very entertaining story from the beginning and then 2 chemists fall in love, Elizabeth knew how smart she was and could not ever be persuaded to do things any way but her way, Calvin was even smarter but he always made sure she knew he believed in her. It’s set back in the time when women were expected to stay home and have babies, she didn’t want that. There also was a dog named Six Thirty who should have his own story since he was so entertaining. There were many times I laughed out loud and this one had the best ending. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC! Amazing!!!