Fans of Top Chef won’t be able to resist a taste of this culinary drama.
Isabella Fields is a teen chef with aspirations of becoming world-renowned.
Incredibly, Isa is the only American selected to participate in an elite international summer cooking program that could lead to a life-changing apprenticeship in a famed French restaurant. Isa, who speaks French thanks to her French mother, knows that her performance will be the key to realizing her biggest dreams, and she refuses to let sadness over the death of her Cuban abuela, the divorce of her parents, and her new stepmom’s pregnancy sidetrack her. When a handsome and infuriating new houseguest adds even more stress to her life, Isa struggles to stay focused on her goal of kitchen perfection. The course begins, and Isa finds herself jockeying for the top spot against 14 other young gourmets while grappling with her own complex identity and confronting her grief. The high-intensity cooking competition brings out Isa’s deepest anxieties and tests her friendships. The author uses these trials to call out the male-dominated, cutthroat culture of the restaurant industry and the need for women to support one another. Isa’s mouthwatering descriptions of the dishes she’s preparing and tasting will appeal to both hardcore foodies and the casual eater. Sumptuous European settings and a delicious romance create a satisfying recipe.
Fans of Top Chef won’t be able to resist a taste of this culinary drama. (author's note, food glossary) (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-310-76977-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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