I love Phil Stamper. He creates great characters who feel real and for which I have empathy. This story was a bit more hard hitting than his other books, but I enjoyed it and thought it was wonderfully cute.

Eli has had a rough few months. His family uprooted from Minnesota to New York, leaving behind his friends and favorite cousin. His mom died unexpectedly from covid, completely flipping his world upside down. And his dad seems more focused on finding a new job so they can move back to Minnesota than helping Eli process his grief. When Eli finds a series of online cooking videos his mom made before her death, he decides to take up cooking to feel closer to her.

This is a super cute middle grade novel. I love Eli’s friendship with the neighbor next door, Mathias, and how the book touches on LGBTQIA+ topics in age-appropriate ways without taking away from the overall theme of story. At the same time, the relationship felt totally unnecessary; the author could have included gay representation without it. This book addresses heavy topics like death, grief, and loneliness in a way that is not too dark. There is some humor and a lot of hope that keeps the book light overall. Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Audio, and Phil Stamper for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this was super cute. The main character was likable and the plot seemed to progress perfectly - wasn’t too fast for me! I personally wouldn’t recommend it for my class since I teach fourth grade.

This book is super cute! This is my second middle grade book by Stamper, and he has yet to disappoint. At times, the book was very emotional because of some of the subject matter, but I think that this is a perfect book for middle grade readers to be introduced to death and the emotional after effects. I hope that Stamper keep writing books like this and Small Town Pride because he is great at creating very meaningful stories for younger audiences.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio, HarperCollins for a chance to read this story in exchange for an honest review.

Eli's mom died to COVID a few months ago, and as his dad is going back to a soul-sucking job in bustling NYC, Eli tries to enjoy the coding class he's been begging to get into for years. Then he stumbles across his mom's secret YouTube page and learns that she wasn't just a promising test kitchen chef: she'd started filming her own cooking show. Naturally, Eli's overprotective dad won't let him cook alone, but with the help of his elderly neighbor and her cute grandson and a few local shopkeepers, Eli has the chance to prove that he can both move on and remember his mom well by following her step-by-step guides.

Grief is a many-faceted thing, and I appreciate the way this book doesn't downplay the difficulty of moving on, especially the ways that it can feel like you're not making any progress and might even be regressing. The plot itself isn't very speedy, but it has a lot of interesting elements that help keep it going. I like books with a little bit higher stakes, usually, but this one has both cozy and wholesome healing moments, and I hope that it finds its way into the hands of readers who need it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was an easy five stars for me. Eli’s use of cooking and coding to try and logically process the emotional loss of his mother is a wonderful look at grief. Having a community to bond with over food and cooking allowed for such fun and amazing characters to enter the novel. This is such a heartfelt story, and I believe it’s perfect for any age, middle grade or older (like myself).

This was my first Phil Stamper novel, but definitely not my last.

Rating: LOVED IT

Eli recently moved from a small town in Minnesota to New York City with his parents. His mom died due to Covid-19 but Eli's dad never wants to talk about her. When Eli discovers a YouTube channel full of his mom's cooking demos, he decides to give cooking a try in hopes that it will help both him and his dad remember his mom. With the help of a cute neighbor boy named Matias and Matias's grandmother, Eli might just be able to pull off something special.

Thanks to Harper Audio and NetGalley for a review copy of this audiobook.

Eli is living with his father in New York months after his mother passes away from COVID 19. Stuck in the apartment for the summer, because his father has become mega overprotective, Eli finds some privated youtube videos his mother made before she passed. In them she's teaching viewers how to cook. Now Eli wants to see if he can mesh his love of coding and his wish to get closer to him mom through cooking together.

I felt just fine about this book. I really think it needs another edit before publication, because there are aspects of the book, the setting, and content that don't feel quite polished. Eli at one point stops in the middle of crossing the street in busy New York to stare at a landmark (BUSY NEW YORK). Riley somehow has a thousand or more subscribers after only streaming for a year. The addition of COVID in the book already makes it feel oddly outdated. I liked Eli and the rest of the characters, but none of the kids seemed like actual kids. They talked and acted like mini adults.

I feel like it's pretty rare for me to dislike a middle grade book, but I just think this one needs more work.

I absolutely loved reading Eli Over Easy! The characters were relatable and it was so easy to root for them. Eli has recently lost his mom, and finds out that she created a YouTube channel teaching how to cook. As much as he wants to learn from his mom, he has to keep it a secret from his dad who he feels isn't ready to talk about his mom. Luckily, he has his neighbor and her grandson to help him on his journey of self-discovery and reconnection. I would definitely recommend this book.

This charming and age-appropriate novel covers issues such as grief, coming out as gay, and finding out what works for you on the way to adulthood, without preaching or going over the top. The characters are relatable and have realistic human foibles, and there are some laugh-out-loud moments along the way.

Listened to this as an advanced audio on NetGalley.

It is a wonderful book about grief and loss. Eli is finding ways to bring joy back into his life after the loss of a parent. He finds friendship along the way and connects with family in the process. Very cozy story.

Eli has recently moved to New York City from Wisconsin and lost his mother. She was a chef and he finds solace in following along with her cooking instruction videos. Unfortunately his dad doesn't like him cooking alone but is too deep in his own grief to help his son through his. But with a new friendship/very tender romance with a neighbor boy and a bright and bold supportive cousin, Eli finds his way through. This is a gentle but tender exploration of grief and the importance allowing in love where it is offered

This is fantastic coming of age story. Eli's mom had recently died of Covid and Eli and his dad are finding themselves in New York. Eli finds some of his moms old cooking videos and decides to learn to cook from them. He also meets a great new friend how is able to help him. There is grief and real feelings that jump off the pages and Eli finds his way into your heart. He feels real and dynamic. I think middle scohol kids will love this book.

Eli's mom passes away unexpectedly so he and his father leave Minnesota to live in Manhattan. Eli is trying to deal with the loss of his mom while his father doesn't want to talk about it. Finding videos of his mother cooking, lessons she had planned to put on Youtube, Eli begins cooking, too, sharing his secret with his cousin Riley, a female game streamer. Eli also meets Matt, his first crush, and together they explore the cooking videos and recipes while learning about each other. Eli is an interesting character, going to coding camp where he wants to use the cooking he is learning in an app for the camp. His need to deal with the grief and reconnect with his father are palpable, as is his new growing love for his Manhattan neighborhood and his crush on Matt. Though I enjoyed the book, I felt Small Town Pride, also by Phil Stamper, is a stronger book. Give to kids who like cooking, the recipes included are added flavor and informative, and those looking for clean LGBTQ+ books to read.

I would recommend the book, but I didn't like the narrator on the audiobook. It sounded too much like an AI narrator.

This is a great story of coping with grief, family communication, and coming out. Eli and his dad are great characters to route for as they navigate how to communicate with each other after the loss of Eli's mom, over Dad's (anxiety-driven) expectations of Eli as he grows up, and as Eli comes out as gay. The way that cooking brings everyone together is really great and makes this a perfect book for young chefs regardless of their sexual orientation.

This is a great book about grief, loss, and working through hard feelings through cooking and getting to know a new place with good people.

A sweet story of how family love continues beyond death. A wonderful model of how families CAN communicate. I never thought I'd be ready to ready a story that acknowledges the pandemic, much less one that includes familial death. Mr. Stamper writes with heart and love.

Reading this was like getting a hug I didn't know I needed.

This middle-grade novel about grief, love, and connecting with those around us will stay with me for a very, very long time. Thirteen-year-old spends a lot of time alone in his New York City apartment now that Mom is dead and Dad has to go into the office for work. But when he discovers a series of YouTube tutorials from his mother's old account, he finds a way to honor and remember her-- trying out her recipes.

I am a huge fan of Phil Stamper's YA novels and his transition to a middle-grade voice and story telling is seamless. I absolutely loved this book. Eli and Matt's friendship and complicated first crush feelings are explained so well and with such tenderness.

This is going to be an auto-add to my middle school libraries when it is published.

I received a voicegalley advance audio edition from Netgalley (i.e., not the real audiobook file by professional voice actor, which is in the works but not yet ready, just a computer generated recording).

Middle Grade novel about a 13yo boy whose mother dies not long after the family of 3 has moved to NYC. Eli is now navigating his own grief, his relationship with his grieving father, and summer in a city where he doesn't feel at home. His dad has signed him up for an online coding camp to give him something to do, and he stumbles upon unpublished cooking show videos his mom made before he death. In an effort to connect with his mom, Eli starts learning to cook with the help of his moms videos-- and the friendly grandson of his elderly neighbor.

It is, in many ways, a quiet book. Eli is not a kid who will cope with his grief by running away from home or making particularly dangerous life choices-- although he does break some rules that his father (in a fit of overprotectiveness as part of his own grief) sets. Eli starts the book having done some grief therapy. He is reasonably self-aware. And so it is a cozy, if sometimes sad book. It is more about the process of his gradual rediscovery of connection with his mother, learning how to reconnect with his father, and putting down roots in NYC, than about the messy pain of early grief. There is also a very sweet, very age appropriate, LGBTQIA romance subplot.

Would absolutely recommend my middle school teacher and librarian friends to stock this once it comes out.

Eli Over Easy was such a delight. Following a story that gives a true look into the grieving experience a child goes through was heartbreakingly beautiful. Eli's ability to connect with his mother through their shared love of cooking was especially heartwarming as my mother and I also share this connection. I was happy that by the end of the book Eli was able to combine his interests so that he did not give up his interest in coding.

I love when queer stories do not go through the "will my family accept me?" storyline. It is evident that Eli's family loves him and I was happy to have a queer middlegrade book where lgbt existence is accepted. I will 100% adapt this book for my classroom. I plan to get a few copies for literacy circles as well as one for my classroom library. Bravo Phil!