Adiba Jaigirdar

In the wake of a horrible breakup with her girlfriend Chris, Shireen has slumped into a depression, but then she gets the news that she's been accepted as a contestant on a new reality TV show, the Junior Irish Baking Show. She only hopes that her ex hasn't also been accepted...but of course she has. And of course they're paired up in the first challenge. Shireen struggles with her feelings toward Chris, and toward friendly redhead Niamh, and she leans on her best friend Fatima, who's away show more for the summer visiting family in Bangladesh. Baking is Shireen's dream, but she also knows that winning would help her parents' struggling donut shop, You Drive Me Glazy - but Chris also wants to win to support her parents' shop. Both dramatic and realistic, this is a fun story featuring a confident, fat, Bangla-Irish protagonist, who discovers that her idol, famous chef Padma Bollywood, is actually in her corner and has faced much of the same racism that Shireen does.

Quotes

[The judges] chew slowly, almost like they're savoring more than just the flavors of the macarons. Like they're savoring the nervousness of Niamh's expression and how the entire room is breathless with anticipation. (82)

I know from watching a bunch of reality TV shows that it doesn't always matter what the truth is. The producers can edit things to make you git their version of the truth. (178)

My parents are not the most practical people, and they've never asked me to be practical either. It's kind of lucky that I have them. (222) show less

Fieldnotes:
Dublin, Ireland, Contemporary (p.2023)

1 Bangladeshi-Irish Teen with Big Baking Dreams
1 Irish Baking Competition Reality Show
1 Rival Ex-Girlfriend (Secret Variety)
1 Potential Whirlwind Romance

3 Judges with Names Cringily Close to Cooking Personalities
Punny Donut Names
1 Food Fight (with Fingerpointing)
1 Saboteur
Racist and Fatphobic Bigotry on Social Media
Mostly Supportive Parents

The Short Version
Shireen Malik is wallowing in her break-up watching reruns of GBBO and stuffing herself show more with donuts from the family store. But no time for that! She has been selected to take part in a teen baking competition show and gets to show off her skills on TV (and help save the struggling family donut store with her winnings). Upon arrival, it turns out her recent ex-girlfriend Chris (daughter of the rival donut shop across the street) is ALSO taking part and they are paired together for the first challenge.

Shireen is eager to share her desserts - and bring more attention to Bangladeshi cooking, but faces nasty comments about being a "token" with Padma Bollywood (yes, the name used *sigh*)'s vote in the bag because they're both "Indian". There are saboteurs and ugly competitiveness, but all in all, this is a happy, cute book full of puns (Shireen's naming specialty) and very sweet sapphic romance - as well as donuts. Obviously.

This made me so eager to re-watch Nadiya's GBBO season as Shireen has a similar playful warm energy (and also because she gets name-checked). Would recommend picking up some donuts before starting this one, for sure. show less

what i like about this is that these kids aren't ashamed of their culture that makes them "other" in their school. they embrace where they're from and the traditions that they have. that feels like a nice change from most books, where especially younger characters struggle with their cultural identity because it's not white or as easily accepted. nishat is even proud when she sees her parents dressed in their traditional clothes at a school event, even though it makes them stand out, not show more something that is coveted in high school. it was great that the author distinguished between the cultures, that she didn't lump all people of color in together. also the close relationship she has with her sister is a nice model. along the same lines, nishat doesn't really struggle with her sexuality in the way you might expect her to. it seems she may have in the past, but when we meet her, she is accepting of who she is, and while not ready to tell everyone and not comfortable with potentially losing people because of who she is, she's also not going to hide it or seriously consider not being herself for other people. it's a refreshing take, and one that's good for young queer people to see.

at times this felt overwrought, but the truth is that she captured the experience of teen emotions well. the stabbing in the heart feeling that reads a bit over-the-top is totally realistic, actually. the stuff that nishat cries over, while seemingly minor to me, would have been huge to a high schooler.

i liked that she brought in the aspects of cultural appropriation and racism. it really added depth to the story, even as she didn't go too far into it. it was a nice way to address those issues.

this is sweet and well done, with good representation, while not entirely unforgettable.

"The choice she wants me to make isn't between being gay and straight, it's between them and me. Who do I choose?" show less

There was so much I loved about this book, but so much that frustrated me at the same time. I loved Hani and Ishu. Both of them had great individual character development and their development as a couple was great too. I really liked them together and although both of them sometimes frustrated me, I really understood where they were coming from. The fake dating was cute and sweet and this use of the trope was good.

That being said... the conflict in the book was SO frustrating. I know that show more the Hani's friends were not supposed to be likeable, but they were just downright EVIL. Neither of them had any redeeming qualities and reading about how horrible they were over and over and over again with no consequences was infuriating. At the end of the book, Ishu gets accused of cheating on a test (even though she obviously didn't) and the resolution is like... BARELY a resolution. It seems like everybody at their entire school except for Hani and Ishu are just completely awful. The head of the school is a monster. She just hates Ishu for no reason and it seems like everybody else does too even though she's never done anything wrong except for being a smart loner kid. It all just kind of ruined a lot of the book for me. I know not every second of a romance book is going to be cute and fun, obviously there's going to be conflict but this was just too much for me. Almost all of the background characters are just cartoonishly evil except Hani's parents and Ishu's sister. At the end of the book Hani and Ishu are happy together but it wasn't as satisfying as it could have been. I had a similar issue in Adiba's other book (The Henna Wars), but I thought the resolution there was better overall. I'm just so mad for both Hani and Ishu (but especially Ishu). show less