“The story of my family begins in the kitchen.”

This book turned out to be such a pleasant surprise. The premise and the adorable cover instantly caught my attention. Thankfully, the execution lived up to my expectations.

I appreciated how it explored meaningful themes like navigating cultural identity through food, the complexity of grief, strained friendship, the pressure of being a high-achiever student, and figuring things out during senior year. It was engaging from the start, and the writing kept me invested the whole way through.

What stood out the most was Eliza. She’s not written to be perfect, and that’s the point. She’s really ambitious, kind of in her own world, and can be difficult to like at times, but the growth she goes through makes it all worth it. High-achieving students like her often get stuck in their own bubble, and I appreciated how the story didn’t shy away from showing her flaws. I could relate to her in more ways than I expected, and I respected her effort to change.

Now about Wesley Ruengsomboon. He really stood out. He struggles academically, but he’s passionate and confident in what he loves, which is culinary arts. I liked how their dynamic was built on learning from each other. Their chemistry felt natural, and the rivals-to-friends-to-lovers arc was handled very well. Their banter was definitely one of my favorite parts.

The cooking parts made the book even more enjoyable. Sometimes I caught myself feeling hungry just from the descriptions. It’s not often I read food-centered stories, but this made me want to explore more in that genre. The friendship tension between Eliza, Meredith, and Kareena also added depth. Those conflicts were written in a way that felt honest, especially for anyone who’s experienced growing apart during big life changes. The intergenerational relationship between Eliza, her mother, and her late grandmother was another highlight. The way cooking became a bridge between them was genuinely touching.

I have always been drawn to stories about perfectionist students, and this one really delivered. It had moments that moved me deeply and even made me cry, but it also left me with a sense of comfort. It felt like a perfect read for me at this time, and I genuinely want to read more books from this author. If you enjoy heartfelt YA romcoms, this is definitely a book worth picking up.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Eliza, from Scratch drew me in thanks to its premise, flipping the academic rivalry trope on its head and centering it on a cooking class with a competitive element. But I was also pleasantly surprised at the layers to the book; in addition to the cute romance, there’s themes of identity and family connection, particularly in the context of an immigrant family and their relatives in their ancestral home country, as well as navigating the drive to succeed that is often pushed on children in Asian families, especially those who emigrated to the US in the past generation or two.
Eliza herself is very flawed, and it makes the journey all the richer. While I did find her stance about AP classes to be rather elitist, I could understand her perspective, as she had pushed herself to excel to the point of not having much of an identity outside of academics. It is quite interesting, considering her parents never came off as the type to really apply that pressure, so it was mostly internal (although there is an implication she shared a love of school with her father). But their interests, either past or present, being much more varied than other books with a protagonist who puts pressure on themselves to excel academically meant there were more outlets to explore as Eliza broadened her horizons when it came to cooking.
This also ties into the subplot with Eliza’s mother and her recently deceased Halmeoni (grandmother), who was back in Korea. Eliza begins connecting with her mom over Halmeoni’s recipes she passed down, and I loved seeing the two of them bond over this, while also deepening their connection to the departed mother/grandmother, with whom there seems to have been a somewhat complex relationship.
Eliza and Wesley’s dynamic is also delightful. I love how he challenges her about her lack of real passion for anything, even in the context of academics, as she’s more or less “programmed” to select the best thing for her academically that will get her into the best college, and she doesn’t necessarily have an identity outside that. And while she initially saw the competition aspect of the class as a boon to gain her extra academic “points,” I love that she soon began to see how valuable that would be for Wesley, who loves cooking, but is far from excelling academically.
And as if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a well-realized subplot concerning Eliza’s longtime best friends, and how they might be growing apart. Some of this feeds into Eliza’s personal arc of needing to grow and get over some of her own biases, but it’s also a realistic portrayal of how even strong, longtime friendships grow apart, and no one is at fault for that.
Despite having so much going on, I never felt overwhelmed. I did feel like there were moments where it felt a bit unbalanced, especially the end, where Wesley kind of faded into the background a little. However, I did like that the end focused primarily on Eliza’s personal arc and the payoff there.
This was an enjoyable debut, and I’d recommend it to readers in search of a coming-of-age story that more or less skillfully balances the central narrative of finding oneself within interconnected familial, romantic, and friendship arcs.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Well, this was lovely! I especially enjoyed reading about Eliza's journey to learn how to cook. Like Eliza, I also did not know how to cook at that age, and the honest portrayal of not even being able to do the bare minimum was embarrassing, hilarious, and refreshing to read. Eliza and Wesley's relationship was sweet, and I really liked Wesley's character. A few scenes toward the end were painful, and I couldn't understand why one particular scene played out the way it did, based on Eliza's growth up until that point, but overall, I have very few complaints. I look forward to Sophia Lee's future works!

Eliza, from Scratch is a beautiful and semi sweet contemporary YA fiction. Eliza is the typical, high achiever first generation Korean American in her senior year of high school. From the outside, she seems to be perfect with her two best friends and is slated to be her class' salutatorian. Things seem to awry when over the summer her grandmother passed away in Korea and her mother is still in a haze and bogged down with grief. Then she finds herself in a non AP course... and to her horror it's Culinary Arts, something where she has ZERO skills or knowledge. Culinary Arts class is not only a hit to her possible spectacular GPA (because it's not a weighted class), but little does Eliza know that she will clash with her polar opposite. Will Eliza learn to emulsify her personality with Wesley (hah! horrible pun)? Or will the two ever be able to get along and work together when the teacher pairs them together on a project?

Small spoiler alert: it's a YA romance... so I think we all know that enemies to romance thing spoils whether or not Eliza and Wesley work it out for their own favor. What I will say I did not expect, was the exploration of family dynamics, and the thoughts around of one's feelings of separation from their family's home country/first generation American. Again, there are parts of the characters and plot that resonate with me: parental expectations to do well academically, feeling lost without a strong connection to one's heritage, exploring cultures through food, and the basics of food are very caucasian. The food points are something I have personally been confronted with as I do have some food education background. Additionally, I have made profound relationships through the exploration of foods. I will also like to say, I love how Eliza does her best to connect with her mother over the food and recipes her grandmother left as a legacy.

I do recommend this feel good YA romance meets Chopped (cooking show). It's cute, it's simple, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

Will be posting to socials.

I really enjoyed this book. Eliza is always focused on doing well in school, that’s her life. With her rank on the line, Eliza hopes to win her midterm cooking contest. Eliza and her mom don’t have the best relationship. Things start to seem like they are getting better when she asks her mom to teach her how to cook.

I really like Wesley and Eliza. I think they really bring out the best in each other. I loved the two of them cooking together. I think Eliza being put in culinary arts taught her a lot about herself and even growing up. I feel like she started to mature.

I thought this book was really cute! I’m usually not into stories about cooking but I really enjoyed this one. It was a fun read! I really enjoyed Sophia’s writing!

Thank you NetGalley,Sophia and HarperCollins Children's Books for the eARC!

Rating: ✨✨✨✨
Publication Date: May 13 2025
#ElizafromScratch #NetGalley

What doesn’t this YA novel have?!

It has rivals to lovers YA romance. It has complicated and evolving friendships. It has a healing and heart-warming story of a family coming together and growing after heartbreak. It has the unique bicultural experience woven in.

This story is stated as a rom com but it’s so much more. I’d have loved to read this story growing up.

As far as romance itself - had some really really cute moments and good growth. But the MMC was, and I hesitate to say this because I can’t put my finger on what it was exactly, a bit “unlikeable” at times.

Overall great YA read!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for this arc of Eliza, from scratch.

This is a novel that is definitely for the YA audience, I feel so many individuals of that age group will relate or find this book interesting. You deal with rivalry, status regarding grades and what type of classes are taken, plus family culture. I feel like the high school age is definitely where you start to care more about others, your family and just open your eyes to life. So for that, I’d recommend this to the younger people in my life.

For me, I couldn’t quite relate and found the main character to be a bit difficult which was my reason for not being able to complete the novel as a whole. It just didn’t sit right with me, which I know is the point and I’m sure she changes her attitude along the way. The cooking aspect of this novel was cool and it was nice to read about different skill levels and so forth. I also loved the culture aspect too and the dishes from her culture.

Overall, it was a nice novel from what I did read. 3.75/5 ⭐️ thank you, again!

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC.
This was a highly anticipated read for me and it did not disappoint. I am seriously blown away by several components of this novel. I LOVE stories about cooking, baking, and learning more about one's culture. I've been looking for something to fill that void ever since I read Namey's CUBAN GIRL'S GUIDE some years ago and this did the trick. Also, loved the romance so much but I loved the familial aspects even more. I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes SO. MANY. TIMES. This book really tugged at my heartstrings.

If you like books that tell heartwarming tales about love, grief, and family, you should read Eliza, from Scratch 😌.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book had me craving so much food and bubble tea??!!! The whole time I was reading this, I was like, Oh, I want bubble tea, dumplings, carbonara, etc. If you decide to read this, be aware that you will crave a lot of food. Now let’s actually get into the review.

Characters
Eliza Park—Come In With The Rain coded
Eliza is the kind of character you always end up rooting for; she says the wrong things at the wrong times, but that is exactly what makes her relatable. She isn’t a picture-perfect character; she makes mistakes, and that is exactly what makes her rootable. I absolutely loved her friends, and I really liked how the conflict between them was written.

Wesley Ruengsomboon—Tell Me Why coded
Wesley was such a loveable character, and I loved reading about how passionate he was about cooking. Also, can Wesley come out of the book and teach me how to cook 😊❔

Romance
I really liked the way romance was done in this book. Eliza and Wesley had a great dynamic, and I loved how because of each other they unlearned some prejudices they had. I loved their cooking plus movie sessions (even though I was dying because I needed the food they were making). I also really loved their chats about being diaspora. Eliza and Wesley had this beautiful aura around them, which reminds one of young love.

Eliza and her mom
This was hands down my favourite part of the book. I absolutely loved how Eliza’s grandmother’s recipes connected her mom and her. Her mom was obviously suffering a lot after her mother passed away, and I felt very bad that no one was there to talk to her. It made me incredibly happy when Eliza and her mom finally communicated.

Eliza, from Scratch, beautifully captures how food connects our families, and this incredible book makes me look forward to whatever the author works on next.

This is the kind of YA contemporary that I adore reading: one that is centered around coming of age and finding one’s identity. That’s the beauty of YA in general. Getting to watch a teenager on the cusp of the rest of their life learn important and challenging life lessons while, of course, falling in love along the way. And Eliza was such an easy main character to root for. I could feel her pain and confusion over not grieving the way she thought she should and how deeply she wanted to connect with her mother in the wake of that. Plus, she was able to take ownership over her mistakes and learn how to confront her friends’ and her own biases all the while laughing at her cooking journey.

And speaking of cooking, that’s what made this book so special and unique. I’ll admit that I know very little about Korean food, but this book made me want to learn.

Not to mention Wesley had me kicking my feet at times.

An absolutely solid novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

This is so cute, and I love it so much! I almost gave it 5 stars, but that felt too generous. Eliza, From Scratch, touched my soul in a way many other books haven’t. I have read so many books about and by children of immigrants, and this was so different from all of them, yet this is the one I found myself relating to the most. Eliza’s struggles with her language, her parents' expectations, her relationship with them, her relationship with Korea, I felt it all so deeply, yet not once did this book not feel lighthearted. My campus went into lockdown for 30 minutes yesterday because of a situation (no one was hurt, Alhamdulilah), and this book helped me feel better. I know that sounds wack as heck, but it really was the perfect escape. Well written and beautiful, while still being lighthearted. I also liked the way this book dealt with AP and regular students; not a lot of books deal with this, and it really did make me reflect on my own high school experience. The way we talk about success really is something that needs to change. And romance was so well done, too. I found it so cute, and it had me smiling at my phone so much. I’m so excited to read more of the author's works.

really fun and well written romance which discusses academic overachievers and has some awesome characters. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

I really enjoyed this! Eliza is a great character - her life is messy, she's got a lot to learn, and she's trying so hard. I love a YA book like this that balances romance, friendship, self-discovery, family, and identity, and this book does it so well. Sophia Lee doesn't shy away from the characters' mistakes and the way she allows them to make them and then learn from them really made an impression on me. Excited to add this to our YA collection!

This book is REALLY cute. I've waited a while for a book that made me feel the same way A Pho Love Story did, and in this I found one. The way the author writes about cooking makes me hungry.

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!!