Lessons in Chemistry: The multi-million-copy bestseller

Product Information

Half way through the book I was already completely into the story and the amazing characters! What a unique and multi-layered plot. But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America's most beloved cooking show Supper at Six . Elizabeth's unusual approach to cooking ("combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride") proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn't just teaching women to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo. the message is a worthy one. A woman ahead of her time in STEM who must fight the status quo in a male dominated world. But I think the message would have been stronger and more authentic if it had been realistic. There’s a lot of exaggeration and preposterous situations to drive a point home, which is not my favorite storytelling technique. With the help of her “wise beyond her years” child, her overachieving dog, and a community of wonderful supporting characters, Elizabeth Zott-may just “change the world” one “thirty minute lesson at a time”! Also working at Hastings is Calvin Evans, a brilliant Noble prize nominee who has his very own massive lab where he can do who knows what and win more accolades. No one likes him either. Neither Calvin or Elizabeth care if anyone likes them, they just want to be left alone to do their jobs. But one day Elizabeth needs beakers and she knows Calvin has beakers so she barges into his lab and takes some. It's not love at first sight but it's pretty close and soon Elizabeth and Calvin are a very happy couple to the disdain of everyone who wishes them misery and failure.

Elizabeth is ANNOYING. Like…SO annoying. Both my parents have PhDs in research chemistry and I can attest to the fact that they call salt SALT and vinegar VINEGAR. And they know how to have social interactions with other humans.🙄 Because they aren’t PRETENTIOUS!! Also, it’s unrealistic that just because she knows one area of chemistry she automatically knows how to cook and knows all the biological reactions that occur in the body. There are a million different avenues of chemistry, and food science is COMPLETELY different than “abiogenesis” which was supposedly her main area of study. So you’re telling me she’s just an expert at literally all chemistry? 🤔 I call BS. Elizabeth Zott is the EPITOME of a “I’m not like other girls” girl. No please.✋🏼 Women can be smart AND socially adept. I never felt like I was in a man’s world. My organic chemistry classes were grueling- but that wasn’t because I was a woman.

Author Notes

the MC’s daughter is a genius who knew the periodic table as a preschooler and reads the Sound and the Fury at age 8. Of course she is. Very relatable. Overall, you’ll have gathered that I think this debut is amazing and I urge you to read it. It has every ingredient of a book that fascinates, delights, charms and engages. If for nothing else read it for Six-Thirty ... and to find his out he gets his name cos I’m not saying!!

In front of a live audience, Elizabeth uses her platform to not only teach women about the chemistry of cooking, but about life being more important than cooking! It's about following your dream of having a family and a career just like men do! In 1960, after her traumatic experience at UCLA, she starts working at the Hastings Research Institute, which is administered with a male workforce that ignores her enthusiasm and hard work. Only one person sees her and shows respect for her accomplishments: an aspiring, Nobel Prize-nominated, grudge-holder named Calvin Evans. I don’t think anything I can say will do this book justice. I love it from beginning to end and it will most certainly be in my top five reads of 2021.I am not usually a fan of anthropomorphism but I loved the dog, Six-Thirty. By far he was my favorite character. And yay, he survives! 😍 There's lots of self-conscious quirk, some of which fits the period more plausibly than others, and much of it is based on stereotypes played for laughs, rather than realism. Like Elizabeth, my 20-something is a scientist at heart, with a passion for cooking. They've extended their skills beyond anything I've taught them by structured research and experimentation around the chemical reactions involved. But even they wouldn't call salt “sodium chloride” (except perhaps as a one-off joke), let alone vinegar by... whatever the chemical name was Elizabeth used on her TV show.

I have a lot of thoughts. For the sake of my own energy and sanity, I’m just going to bullet point the things I want to say: What an absolute delight this was, from the very first moment to the last. It possesses all the hallmarks of the very best stories. It made me laugh, feel, think, and wonder. It filled me with joy and buoyed my spirits. It gave me everything I wanted and everything I didn't even know to ask for.The way the author pits science and religion against one another is exhausting. As if a person couldn’t possibly have a rational, scientific brain and also believe in something supernatural. 😑 She relies HEAVILY on negative stereotypes of the Catholic Church to prove her point that religion is ignorant, and I’m just tired of this argument. It’s boring, small-minded, and irritating to belittle someone or a group of people you personally disagree with REGARDLESS OF WHAT CAMP YOU’RE IN. Can we be adults and agree to disagree without being petty and taking a shot at someone’s intelligence? Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist. I’d heard conflicting opinions and had determined this wasn’t for me. But several friends assured me I’d enjoy it, and it’s currently 53% at 5* and less than 1% at 1* on GR.