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A review by mcgbreads
Eliza, from Scratch by Sophia Lee
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
ARC review; thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books, and Quill Tree Books for the access to this ebook. Pub date: May 13, 2025.
The story follows Eliza during her senior year. She's the perfect student and has it all figured out until she's enrolled in a Culinary Arts class and can't get out of it. Suddenly, she's not the smartest person in the room. Enter Wesley, the star of the class. They get paired up for a group project and, through that, they reluctantly get to know each other and confront each other's prejudices. More importantly, Eliza discovers that cooking is about much more than throwing ingredients together; it's a bridge.
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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!
The story follows Eliza during her senior year. She's the perfect student and has it all figured out until she's enrolled in a Culinary Arts class and can't get out of it. Suddenly, she's not the smartest person in the room. Enter Wesley, the star of the class. They get paired up for a group project and, through that, they reluctantly get to know each other and confront each other's prejudices. More importantly, Eliza discovers that cooking is about much more than throwing ingredients together; it's a bridge.
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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!