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 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)… (more)

Had forgotten I had read the author's 'Henna Wars' book but liked the cover, liked the premise and thought it was time for a change of pace book. I've never seen 'The Great British Bake Off' but I thought it sounded like a fun premise: while Shireen is getting over her ex, Chris, she's been accepted to compete on a televised baking show. What a great opportunity to win some money and bring attention to her parents' donut shop, right? Never mind the complication of Chris *also* competing and becoming friends with another competitor, Niamh.

A punny book started off really well but it went steadily downhill for me. Maybe it's because I've read a few books of this type (romance happens while a MC is also part of some sort of food competition), maybe it's because I didn't care for the author's other book, but I just felt it was very "eh" overall. It seemed initially very cute and interesting but ultimately I didn't care for any of it: the romance, the food, the competition, etc.

I do appreciate a lot of it, though, as others have pointed out: that Shireen is fat, her parents are accepting of her, the fun premise and that it was a "light" (lighter than what I've been reading, anyway), book, etc. It'd probably make for another really fun streaming adaptation geared towards the high school/new adult set.

But as many said: unfortunately Shireen isn't particularly likeable as a MC. I'm all for messy, complicated characters but there has to be some reason why I want to root for you in anything: winning, finding love, finding yourself, etc. and that wasn't here. I'll bet that there are many who see aspects of themselves in Shireen but for me it just felt like a big shrug.

I'll probably be skipping this author's books going forward but I'm sure for the right person this will be a fun and enjoyable read. Borrowed from the library and that was best.… (more)