A YA novel about a teen who wants to follow her dreams of cooking but feels the pressure to follow her family’s wishes for her future.

I liked parts of this, but the way it was written was just not for me. It felt overly simplistic in a way? I love YA so it’s not an audience issue. It just took away from my enjoyment of the story.

Don’t show up to Patricia Park’s What’s Eating Jackie Oh? hungry because your situation isn’t going to improve much! This novel for teens is a delicious tour de force of a wide variety of dishes I never even knew were possible. But it’s not just about the food. This book is also a tribute to identity, family, and finding yourself.

Jackie Oh has heard all of the jokes about her name, and she is not amused. In fact, nothing quite amuses her - not with the way her life has been going. She is struggling in school, and as the daughter of ambitious Type A Korean parents, Jackie is just not cutting it. But the thing is, Jackie wants to break stereotypes - she doesn’t want to be your typical A++ Asian. Her true passion is not school - it’s food - and she savors the days she spends working with her grandparents, Halmoni and Haraboji, at their NYC diner, Melty’s. It is there that she gets to explore and create new flavor combinations and dishes. Cooking is what she was born to do.

So it is no surprise that Jackie ditches school one day to audition for a new cooking reality TV show, Burn Off! High School Edition! And it is no surprise that she makes it on because our girl is talented! But so are all of these other kids, which Jackie soon realizes, much to her dismay. Does she have what it takes to win against these other young chefs who not only have a talent for cooking, but also seem to have been primed their whole lives for their moment in the spotlight, as well? Jackie, rough around the edges, but passionate about food, just wants to create dishes that make people swoon without all of the fuss. But what if Burn Off! is the only way to prove that this is what she was born to do?

What I love most about What’s Eating Jackie Oh? is that it is a YA book written for teens. This novel reads so easily without an overcomplicated plot, making it a perfect choice for reluctant readers. The cooking competition is so much fun, and I personally had a great time researching and learning about all of these dishes and ingredients I had never heard of before this book! Jackie, herself, is a tough pill to swallow - she’s not the most likable of protagonists - but many an angsty teen are likely to feel seen through her jagged barbs and inability to see the forest for the trees.

This book also touches on family issues that teens will be no stranger to, including the pressure to go to college when maybe it is not the right path for you, as well as connecting with your parents once you are an emerging adult of your own, and battling with concealing family secrets - in this case, an imprisoned older brother who has become the family’s black sheep. What’s Eating Jackie Oh? also touches on the hate crimes that affected the Asian American community after COVID-19, and while I thought that this book would have stood fine on its own without bringing in an issue-oriented focal point, it grounds this story firmly in modern times.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I always enjoy a good book and What’s Eating Jackie Oh was a great one. I loved reading about Jackie, her family and her passion for cooking. This is a book about being yourself even when the odds are stacked against you.

Jackie Oh is a Korean American teenager who loves to cook and loves watching a cooking competition show with her grandparents. Her grandparents own a deli and Jackie works there often. Her super strict Ivy League parents want her to go to an Ivy League school like them. She just wants to cook. One day she gets an opportunity to be on a teen cooking show so she takes it.

I felt that the cooking show was very annoying but I also feel like it was probably really accurate. Jackie learns a lot over the course of the show and not just about cooking.

I appreciated that Jackie taught me a little bit about Korean American family dynamics and what it’s like for their immigrant grandparents. It’s always interesting to learn about cultural differences and similarities.

I also liked that the author used her voice to bring attention to the hate that Asians across the United States deal with. No one should have to deal with discrimination

I'm loving the renaissance of teens who cook in YA Lit. Patricia Park is quickly proving herself as a mainstay author with complex heroines and plenty of humor along the way.

A heartwarming coming of age YA novel about a Korean American teen who loves to cook and competes in a reality tv chef competition in New York City. This book doesn't shy away from addressing contemporary issues facing Asian Americans today including the rising Anti-Asian hate crimes and all the sorts of microagressions Asian Americans experience.

The cover is also LOVELY.

I love cooking, I love cooking/baking shows, and I love YA books, and this is a perfect combination of all those things. Heartfelt and enjoyable, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA books, and you'll especially enjoy it if you like cooking and cultural aspects like the ones present in the book. A great book for representation too, that goes without saying.

What's Eating Jackie Oh? is a YA novel about a Korean American teenager who just wants to be in charge of her own future. Her Ivy League professional parents have always pushed Jackie and her brother towards perfection, but look at where that has gone. Her brother has turned to a life of crime and Jackie wants a life as a chef. Jackie works at her grandparents’ Midtown Manhattan deli after school, letting the stress of trying to be the perfect daughter melt away. When Jackie gets the opportunity of a lifetime, will she do anything that it takes to make it happen?

Teenage readers will be able to relate to Jackie, as she suffers from trying to have her own identity despite outside pressures. The cooking show aspect of the book is not really realistic, but it is fun to dream about being chosen for a competition show. The biggest problem that I have with the book is that everything comes together too easy, especially considering how much that would have to transpire to make it all fall into place. Overall, this is a good book for the target audience and I would recommend What's Eating Jackie Oh? to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to review this book was entirely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

This is a great YA novel!

This was a cute YA novel of a Korean American girl Jackie Oh that is following in her own path to become a chef! Her parents are not supportive of her dreams but she tries out the cooking competition where it tests Jackie Oh’s limits and her relationship with her parents as well as issue of her brother serving time in Rikers! It was quirky and fun and loved the competition! My only complaint is that the ending seemed rushed because of the brother situation didn’t get flushed out a little more for it to be a full circle moment unless that was the goal from jump was to show the continuation of them trying to get to a better place!

Thanks to Ms. Patricia Park, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Jackie Oh is a normal high school teen just trying to survive to graduation. Although her parents have extremely high academic expectations for Jackie, her passion is more into cooking, than academics.

This is a sweet, funny, beautiful YA novel that follows a teen girl and her passion for cooking while trying to convince her traditional parents that she was born to cook!

Very very very very fun little work. I felt that the characterization was sometimes a little bit weak, but in general cool little YA

I liked most of this book! It was a quick read, and though it dealt with a dark subject (AAPI hate and violence,) the cooking aspect was really fun. I’m a big fan of cooking shows, so I enjoyed reading a book based around one. The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the ending. It was very abrupt, and didn’t feel very complete.

Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC and amazing book! What’s Eating Jackie Oh? Is a heartfelt feeling novel that dives into the pressures of cultural expectations, and she wants the need to change between recipes The artwork and illustrations on the cover capture Jackie’s journey, adding visual depth to her culinary dreams. I agree and recommend this book to anyone who loves stories about personal growth, ambition, and the complexities of balancing family tradition with individual desires. The artwork perfectly complements Jackie’s journey as she competes on the teen cooking show Burn Off—a world full of snarky judges, microaggressions, and her struggles.

This is a cute coming of age YA that takes place on a reality cooking show. All Jackie wants to do is cook but she finds herself dealing with all the behind the scenes drama. Thank you netgalley

This was a really sweet YA novel with a reality cooking show element. I loved the perspective from a Korean American.

Jackie Oh’s parents are overachievers—former straight A students at Ivy League schools who have high-paying jobs in law and private equity. Naturally, they expect Jackie to follow in their footsteps, attending hagwon in the afternoons, earning straight As at her private school so she can head to the Ivy League, and landing her own corporate job.

Jackie, however, is not interested in this path. She spends every free moment she has working at her grandparents’ New York deli Melty’s or watching Burn Off! with them and coming up with their own creative versions of the cooking show’s challenges.

When Jackie skips her world history final to audition for a teen version of Burn Off!, her parents are, let’s just say, not happy. But recognizing that a reality TV win could be the stuff of college application essays, they grudgingly allow her to head to LA to compete, where Jackie’s pitted against food influencers, child TV stars, and teens who are well-versed in the latest culinary trends.

We adored Jackie—her voice is an utter delight—and while there’s plenty of escapist fun behind the camera of a cooking reality show, there are also deeper threads. Jackie has the opportunity to reflect on her relationships with her family and friends as well as her insecurities and passions, understanding herself (and others) much more fully. And Park uses the narrative to explore important issues of Asian-American hate and the damage the model minority myth can cause, issues that are too infrequently discussed in the public arena yet all-too-real for many of our students.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Children’s, and Crown Books for Young Readers for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

*Review will be posted at https://threeheads.works/category/blog/ya-books/ on October 30, 2024

What's Eating Jackie O? focuses on a Korean American sophomore at Bronx Science in NYC, who works at her grandparents' restaurant "Melty's" and dreams of becoming a professional chef. When Jackie is scouted there for a competitive teen cooking show, "Burn Off," she is thrilled. Dodging her parents' ivy league dreams for her and making it through the initial cookoffs, she finds more obstacles ahead. The judges expect her to create Korean dishes, whereas she prefers to combine cuisines. She must also navigate subtle layers of microaggressions against minorities, shame and sorrow over her older brother's imprisonment, and a romantic attraction to a fellow competitor, as she competes for the opportunity to realize her unconventional dreams. Recipes are included!

Super cute YA coming of age story that is also a behind the scenes of reality tv story and a look into racial issues. I adored this story so very much. Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

What's Eating Jackie Oh? Is a beautiful, funny, emotional story of a Korean American teen who wants nothing more than to cook. She desires to be a chef but her strict traditional, "ivy league" Korean parents are not interested in that for Jackie's future.

Jackie spends her time at school, a job at her grandparents deli, studying French and well cooking in lieu of homework. She comes across an opportunity to cook on a reality TV competition show for teen cooks. Jackie learns about the true realities of show business and finds herself just wanting to cook. Jackie's parents find themselves trying to accept their daughters passion amidst of the TV contest.

Read this sweet, funny, beautiful YA novel that follows a teen girl and her passion for cooking while trying to convince her traditional parents that she was born to cook!

This was a fun read and I always love a book with recipes and food. This was a great palette cleanser for me. Cannot wait to read more from this Author.