Plot: High school student Elaine "Lainey" Seifert wants the same things any teenager would: an end to trigonometry and physics, her mom to stop nagging her, her own cooking show...Wait, what? That's right. Lainey dreams of being America's first famous African-American female chef. Tall order? Maybe. Between trig homework and helping out at her mother's restaurant, Lainey barely has time to make friends, but she manages to practice cooking whenever possible.
Comments: I liked the way this book was written, and I especially loved the recipes in between chapters. I think it's a great touch, and every recipe connects with food in the story. I even copied down a few to try out later. Lainey's "voice" is definitely present in the recipes, as throughout the whole book. Though she's not exactly Miss Social, she has a kind of "page presence" that dominates the story. Unfortunately, the confidence she gives off while cooking doesn't apply to all the other parts of her life. I didn't like how easily Sim, her so-called best friend, could - and did - push her around. It pissed me off how he used her so casually, and it annoyed me how she let him. I understand that they used to be real tight, but when he all of a sudden says he's sorry and wants a favor or two or four, Lainey lets him right back into her life like he never left.
I also have problems with how Lainey's so mean to Topher, a boy in her class. It seems to me like he's really nice to her, sweet and thoughtful - and cute, but that's beside the point - but all Lainey ever does is avoid him or be rude to him. She ignores his friendly attempts at conversation and is openly hostile. Why? All other evidence indicates that Lainey is a caring, compassionate girl, so why Topher? It just doesn't make sense. The drama between the two certainly creates a nice bit of drama towards the end of the story, but it feels like the author had Lainey be rude just so they could clash later. It feels wrong.
I really like Lainey's creativity in her cooking and her ambition and determination to become a celebrity chef, as she calls it. There are a lot of cool details of the restaurant kitchen (what happens behind the swinging doors) and the food. The descriptions of ingredients and dishes added a bit of spice to the story and made it more interesting. It was funny how Lainey's mom was always bringing home food and how food was their comfort. I'm glad that the author talked about Lainey being overweight because it wouldn't have made me personally feel good about myself if Lainey was able to eat a bunch of yummy food all the time and be skinny. It's like watching the slender, pretty actresses on Gilmore Girls pigging out on Chinese and pizza and ice cream every day. Anyway, back to the mom. I didn't like her. She wasn't very supportive or trusting in Lainey, and she didn't seem like a very good mom. But then, Lainey made some stupid choices.
Rating: I rate this book a seven out of ten.
Comments: I liked the way this book was written, and I especially loved the recipes in between chapters. I think it's a great touch, and every recipe connects with food in the story. I even copied down a few to try out later. Lainey's "voice" is definitely present in the recipes, as throughout the whole book. Though she's not exactly Miss Social, she has a kind of "page presence" that dominates the story. Unfortunately, the confidence she gives off while cooking doesn't apply to all the other parts of her life. I didn't like how easily Sim, her so-called best friend, could - and did - push her around. It pissed me off how he used her so casually, and it annoyed me how she let him. I understand that they used to be real tight, but when he all of a sudden says he's sorry and wants a favor or two or four, Lainey lets him right back into her life like he never left.
I also have problems with how Lainey's so mean to Topher, a boy in her class. It seems to me like he's really nice to her, sweet and thoughtful - and cute, but that's beside the point - but all Lainey ever does is avoid him or be rude to him. She ignores his friendly attempts at conversation and is openly hostile. Why? All other evidence indicates that Lainey is a caring, compassionate girl, so why Topher? It just doesn't make sense. The drama between the two certainly creates a nice bit of drama towards the end of the story, but it feels like the author had Lainey be rude just so they could clash later. It feels wrong.
I really like Lainey's creativity in her cooking and her ambition and determination to become a celebrity chef, as she calls it. There are a lot of cool details of the restaurant kitchen (what happens behind the swinging doors) and the food. The descriptions of ingredients and dishes added a bit of spice to the story and made it more interesting. It was funny how Lainey's mom was always bringing home food and how food was their comfort. I'm glad that the author talked about Lainey being overweight because it wouldn't have made me personally feel good about myself if Lainey was able to eat a bunch of yummy food all the time and be skinny. It's like watching the slender, pretty actresses on Gilmore Girls pigging out on Chinese and pizza and ice cream every day. Anyway, back to the mom. I didn't like her. She wasn't very supportive or trusting in Lainey, and she didn't seem like a very good mom. But then, Lainey made some stupid choices.
Rating: I rate this book a seven out of ten.
No comments:
Post a Comment