I was really looking forward for this book—a rivals to lovers dynamic within the space of a cooking class, an academic high achiever who has to learn that perhaps not everything revolves around school, and a fraught mother-daughter relationship that slowly heals via the power of grandmother's recipes. It had so many ingredients (pun intended) I loved, but unfortunately did not all come together in the end.

My main issue with the book revolved around Eliza, and her character arc unlearning her bias and judgement against non-AP/honors kids in her school. This bias bleeds into her relationship. with Wesley, to whom she directs insults (mainly internally, but sometimes externally) about his lack of academic achievement, seemingly justified by the narrative because he acted like an asshole to her. However, Wesley's one-time snide comment was honestly very tame, and nowhere near the level to justify Eliza's behavior toward him. There was such a lack of introspection regarding this issue on Eliza's part that was difficult to read from.

I do acknowledge that this character arc was completely intentional and we do Eliza learn from her past behavior, but the overall arc and lesson she needed to go through felt very superficial, especially in comparison to other topics broached by the story. There was many passages that.I thought highlighted poignant, nuanced ideas regarding being a child of immigrants (the shame of the not knowing your heritage language, the difficulty in trying to practice when you feel so limited in expression, and the guilt of not feeling grief over the death of loved ones living in your heritage country). I liked the conflict we got with Eliza and her best friends; Eliza was once again a little insufferable in being unable to put herself in someone else's shoes, but I really liked the argument when it was pointed out how they began to talk past each other, which made it difficult to facilitate trust. It felt like a very natural portrayal of how childhood friends can realize they are growing apart. Finally, I liked the passages where we got to explore Eliza grappling with not really having a passion, not in the way that Wesley has cooking. She just pursues what she is good at, which is so common for academic high achievers. Essentially, the book introduced a lot of ideas (albeit to.a smaller idea) that were interesting and nuanced, and thus it made the central character arc for Eliza, of her having to learn that perhaps non-honors kids are not dumb and may have talents elsewhere, very shallow in comparison. Academic elitism is certainly a worthwhile topic to tangle and interrogate, but I think it would have been more worthwhile to explore the more subtle ways it can manifest in circles and in your thoughts, even when you are actively trying not to be biased, instead of the more outright judgement that is portrayed in this story.

I think the author is very strong at writing the more expository, reflective sections in the novel, which is where the aforementioned ideas were brought up. However, sometimes the narrative and dialogue felt stilted, boggled by unnecessary details. To give credit where credit is due, though, there were definitely times where I laughed out loud or thought scenes with the Eliza and Wesley were cute.

Overall, this was a very promising story. I truly appreciated the message it was trying to convey, and I wish it was able to follow through on my expectations :(

Review: 4.25 stars

What a solid debut! I devoured this one in one sitting.

Eliza is slated to be salutatorian given her strong grades to finish up her senior year. Much to her dismay, the AP physics class she wants to take for the extra GPA Boost conflicts with her other classes and she was assigned to a regular class instead, Culinary Arts. For the first time, she stands in the bottom of the class and struggles through it. When she was tasked with a group project and assigned to work with Wesley, a fellow classmate who excels in cooking and seems to hold a prejudice against her obsessions with grades. On top of that, Eliza’s relationship with her mum is not the same since her mum returned from Korea after the passing of her grandmother…Will she be able to maintain her grades and will her relationship with her mum work out?

I empathize with Eliza’s obsessions with grades and getting into the right classes. She seems to know what she wants to do in life but upon further reflection she finds that she likes the classes she likes because she is good at it. At the same time, she sees an opposite reflection of herself in Wesley, who is a regular student and not in the honors role but is so smart in other ways. It is of no surprise that they eventually fall in love and I did enjoy the journey of how they started from disliking each other to tolerating each other and slowly falling in love. The banter between both of them was so engaging, cute and with heartwarming moments. This is definitely academic rivals to lovers done perfectly. It also shows how everyone defines success differently as reflected in Eliza’s and Wesley’s personalities. I also really enjoyed Wesley and Eliza staying true to their culture even though they were given cooking assignments related to Euro cuisine and how Wesley chose to bring this up with their teacher to see if other cultures can be added to the curriculum.

Eliza’s relationship with her mum is that of an immigrant child to parent where her attempt to give her mum’s space for her grief backfires and makes her mum withdrawn into herself. Her culinary classes give her a reason to ask her mum to teach her how to cook korean food like how her mum used to do it with her grandmother. It’s through this that she started understanding her mum’s perspective and it’s so amazing to see how her relationship with her mum grows.

Finally, the book also touches on friendship. The friendship Eliza has with Meredith and Kareena adds more dimension to the story. As Eliza struggles through the culinary arts class, Meredith and Kareena are in AP Chemistry and end up bonding with another girl, Jess. This makes Eliza feel left out and instead of confronting her friends, she pretends that everything is okay even though it is otherwise not and that comes into an interesting revelation and them adjusting their friendship and expectations.

For a YA read, it is such a comforting and relatable read and I look forward to more works from the author.

"cooking is about coming together"

"like only a certain sort of knowledge is valuable."

what an honor to have been given an ARC of one of my college classmate’s debut novel! the way i devoured this book in a day (no pun intended) — lee packs so much into this fun, charming rom com that i am left hungry for more (and hungry for actual food bc those food recipes had my mouth watering). high school insecurities, elitism and eurocentricism in education, bicultural identity, grief, belonging, the significance of food in asian cultures, how success is defined, and growing up as a child of immigrant parents & the immigrant experience are just some of the many complex topics that lee expertly explores.

i instantly related with both of the MCs, wesley and eliza, in an embarrassingly large number of ways - the way wesley feels as he is frustrated how his knowledge doesn’t matter to colleges the way eliza’s effortless brilliance in academics is. how his intelligence in everything but academics isn’t valued or appreciated in the way that eliza’s is. as someone who was also getting C’s in precalc/calc and struggled my way through anything science, but excelled in music, i felt absolutely miserable in high school. the way eliza feels as a daughter of immigrant parents who failed to learn their language to be able to effectively communicate with her relatives, specifically her grandma and mother. a perfectionist who relishes and relies on her academic success for self-worth, and who’s successful but can’t allow herself to be incapable or vulnerable to making mistakes. while my mandarin is elementary at best and i can still communicate with my grandma, i wish i was actually fluent and i wish i learned cantonese, which my other grandma spoke so i could communicate better with her.

i so love the themes that lee weaves throughout — that things that you’re good at, aren’t a substitute for passion and that there is no one right or perfect idea of success that this society has fixated on (ex: attending college post-HS).

i absolutely loved following eliza’s growth as a person and amateur chef as she navigated the craziness of senior year high school/college apps (don’t miss that at all) and the complexity of immigrant family dynamics. watching her rekindle her relationship with her mom and strengthen her relationships with her friends were extremely heartwarming🫶 i have soo many more thoughts — a more comprehensive review to come on the bookstagram (and will update here as well)!

sophia — thank you for graciously gifting me this ARC and i am SO excited for this to come out in may!!!

Losing her grandma didn’t have the impact she feels like it should have on her, but it has taken a toll on her mom. As she tries to navigate how her mom is feeling Eliza dives into a school class that she never imagined she would have to take. Will she find a way to relate to the other students, one in particular, and become closer to her mom and her heritage in the process? Do experiences mean more than grades during senior year?

This YA romance was adorable. It had a little bit of everything and seemed pretty realistic yet there were some really tender moments. Eliza is an overachieving type A girl who has the 2nd highest GPA in her senior class. Due to a scheduling mishap, she is forced to take a culinary arts class. The only problem? She can't cook! She meets Wesley, who just so happens to be a very cute boy, who is average academically at school but a genius with cooking.

They start as enemies (of course), but then are partnered together for their Culinary Arts project. Friendship between the two grows as they start to spend time together (naturally).

An adorable romcom with some serious topics as well. Eliza's mother is dealing with grief and depression after losing her own mother. Her best friends seem distant and their inseparable trio is growing apart. Wesley has some issues at home as well - absent and unloving parents who are disappointed in his lack of academic achievements.

Terrific diversity - Eliza is Korean, Wesley is Thai, plus queer and south asian rep in the friend group.

An enjoyable and clean young adult romance!

Incredible!! I loved reading about Eliza and Wesley’s journey’s of self-discovery and growth after the salutatorian ends up in culinary arts instead of AP physics. This has found family, love, grief, redemption and food!!

I really enjoyed this one. The story is Young Adult and it's perfect for its intended audience. It's nicely written and, more importantly for me: the characters feel like real people, and their experiences, conflicts, etc., felt authentic. It touches on themes like grief, love, family, friendship, confronting your prejudice, finding your passion, showing up authentically, learning to communicate, and more. All very relatable things to any human being.

I feel like a few things here and there could've been explored a little deeper, and some things aren't tied up as best as I thought they would be, but overall, this was a very nice story. I loved the way food and cooking connected the characters and these kids were just adorable. A super solid YA contemporary romance debut!

This book!!!! I was squealing for half of it!!

It was so cute and entertaining, so just couldn’t put it down. An academics-obsessed girl and a baking-boy is such an intriguing coupling to me. I know it isn’t original, but I loved every second of it!

i love how the author portrayed the struggles of immigrant children. it hit so close to home. i also really relate to the struggles of basing your entire self worth on academic validation

This book isn’t simply a rom-com, which I think made me love it so much more. It handles grief, trying to connect with your culture, friendships, and so much more.

Eliza felt a bit relatable to me, in both the striving for academic perfection but also the feeling a lack of connection with her culture. It was phenomenal to see her growth throughout the novel.

But I obviously have to talk about Wesley and Eliza. Their dynamic was so cute, and I actually felt like giggling and kicking my feet every time they interacted. They’re honestly like my babies, and I love them.

I would definitely recommend this book. It was an emotional journey but I loved it. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Words can’t describe how much I loved this book! This was such an amazing read and I’m so honored to have had the honor of receiving a digital arc. I couldn’t put the book down the whole time and ended up procrastinating an important assignment just to finish it in one sitting.
As an Asian American myself, who is also obsessed with school, Eliza’s character was incredibly relatable, both her feelings regarding her grandmother’s death and her view on school. As she discussed her AP classes and rank, I felt like I was in the middle of a conversation with my own friends. Eliza showed such amazing development throughout the book and as she grew, I felt myself learning the same lessons that she did.
In the book the three main focuses in Eliza’s life are her relationships with her parents, friends, and Wesley. All of it was balanced so well in Lee’s writing. Her relationship with her mother and their dynamic was heartwarming to read about and it was satisfying seeing their relationship begin to change as they talked to each other through cooking. Although some of the conflicts regarding friendship made me frustrated, they also felt real and highlighted a lot of the insecurities that many high schoolers also carry. Lastly, Eliza’s relationship with Wesley. Academic rivals to lovers is my all time favorite trope and I loved Lee’s different approach to it. Every interaction between Eliza and Wesley was so fun to read about and incredibly sweet. To me, their relationship flowed perfectly, and there wasn’t a moment where it felt dragged or rushed. Even a day after finishing the book I cant stop thinking about them.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who might be interested and will definitely be looking out for any books Sophia Lee writes in the future, after reading such a great debut novel!

Flawless.

The word to describe the author’s writing style. She engages the reader right from the start. It’s a book I wish I had when I was growing up.

Topics ranged from the ubiquitous lesson immigrant parents impart to their children of how to define success to the impact of female friendship. All of this explored in the context of food. Eliza’s meetups with her friends over boba or picnics. Eliza learning more of her mom’s identity as a child, wife and mother through cooking lessons. Eliza’s exploration of her self as a student via her budding romance with Wesley.

Excellent title, too !

This ARC was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Book Quill Tree Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

#ElizafromScratch #NetGalley.

This is the perfect book for me at the moment, which is clear from the way I devoured this in one sitting. I loved the writing (though there were a few minor errors that I assume will get edited in the final version), the humour was exactly my type of humour (meaning I laughed and highlighted many quotes), and I really enjoyed the focus on cooking, as well as the discussions of Eurocentrism in art curriculums (cooking in this case).

With the characters, I really liked Eliza, though I'm sure some may have found her unlikeable. She's definitely flawed: she can be judgy, nosy, selfish, and abrasive, but also... I relate to her struggles with her insecurities, perfectionism and true goals for the future, so I was able to understand her hurt when she lashed out at everyone, though it definitely wasn't right. So, she was a character I really connected with.
Wesley was just amazing, talented, and sweet and I wish he existed irl. He wasn't perfect either, of course, but I loved how he and Eliza helped each other, and they went from dislike to friends to lovers in a way that felt natural.
Though we meet Wesley's friend group a little later on in the book, I immediately liked how sweet and fun they seemed. Eliza's friend group also seemed like a realistic group of smart teen girls: kind with genuine intentions, but can be judgy sometimes. However, after some learning from their end, I loved how they all came together in the end and found common interests. As Eliza's friend Meredith said, it's like in High School Musical when the decathlon team hangs out with the basketball team!

For the plot, I had a great time watching Eliza grow both as a cook and as a person. The food descriptions seriously had me considering trying out new recipes even though I'm not a very good cook. Also, I loved the cook-off at the end! That was really fun. It was also heartwarming to see how Eliza grew closer to her mom through cooking her late grandmother's recipes, and how it was healing for her mom to share stories about her own life and memories with Eliza's grandmother.

Overall, this was a great read! I'm definitely going to be tuning into whatever Sophia Lee writes next!

“The story of my family begins in the kitchen, so I should have known that the story of me would start there, too” (255)

Thank you NetGallery for access to the eARC! 4.25 ⭐️

This book was so sweet. The story follows Eliza and the journey through her first semester of senior year. There is a lot riding on her for this term- college applications, trying hard to be salutatorian, and trying to keep time for her friends. However, there is also a lot of emotions she experiences. After a scheduling mishap, she has to take a culinary class. For the first time ever, Eliza isn’t immediately great in a class. She also meets her rival, Wesley, who at first becomes a thorn in her side as her assigned partner. All the while at home Eliza is dealing with grief—or the lack thereof—of her grandmothers death. The real heartfelt experience, though, comes in the form of watching her mother deteriorate from this grief. Trying to balance school, family, and friendship is a huge part of this novel.

There is so much I could say about this story. Eliza is a great character that experiences humility. Without getting too much into spoiler territory, Eliza is able to grow after changing her views on her relationships within her family and her friends. She takes a step back in some very hard situations to recognize the world around her. I appreciated the way situations were talked through and mutual communication shone. Specifically in her relationship with her best friends, Kareena and Meredith, really hit home for me and some of the things I could have done differently in high school. Eliza was very real, which is so needed in a narrative like this.

Also Wesley!!! Rivals to lovers is such a wonderful trope and I think it was written well. I also appreciated the meta view on Wesley’s archetype. What I mean by this, is that I’m glad that he was not a poor kid with deep familial traumas. I was falling into the same mindset that Eliza was, thinking that was the case. But then there was a good laugh to be had when Wesley explained (which I will leave out specifics for spoiler reasons). I appreciated the different take, which also helped remind the reader that this setting is a “fancy,” I believe private high school. Wesley and Eliza have a great dynamic, I enjoyed the sweet romance and Wesley has some very beautiful lines.

Then of course there is great commentary of being the child of immigrant parents. Getting a lens through Eliza’s eyes amplified her sadness around not feeling completely connected to her Korean culture. The small glimpses of that sadness and anger showing (especially toward the end in the fight with her mother on Thanksgiving) was a well written addition. I felt there could have been more depth or even just moments that helped aid in tackling this, but really the moments cooking with her mom were solid.

On that note, the cooking!! I ended up staying up till 2am reading this book and let me just say I was very hungry. It makes me want to get more into cooking and also Korean food. So yummy!

Overall, a very solid and endearing debut novel. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a quick read, but also a novel that has a range of topics. Definitely a good one to pick up!

This was a fantastic concept for a romantic comedy novel, I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their work in this story. It was a realistic romance and was enjoying the overall feel of this. Sophia Lee has a strong writing style and am excited to read more from them as this was a fantastic read.