Lose You to Find Me by Erik J. Brown
This isn’t a book that focuses on food wholly, however, the main character aspires to go to culinary school and you spend time with him preparing his application. Without giving too much away, there’s an entire chapter spent creating a cooking show for the character to show off their skills.
You spend the majority of Lose You to Find Me at a retirement home but in the restaurant. The cast of characters make up the staff and it’s actually quite fun.
I’ve just looked back at my review to see if I actually commented on the food side of this book and all I said was this: “It’s going to sound really sad to say, but I really enjoyed the parts where Tommy was working. I’ve never worked in the service industry and it was kind of fun to read. I know it’s a horribly stressful job, but Sunset Estates seemed pretty chill.” Why do I find this extremely sad and hilarious at the same time? I did one trial shift at a sushi restaurant back in university and I ended up leaving it after less than an hour because I had a panic attack – the service industry is not for me.
Synopsis: Tommy Dees is in the weeds—restaurant speak for beyond overwhelmed. He’s been working as a server at Sunset Estates retirement community to get the experience he needs to attend one of the best culinary schools in the world. And to make his application shine, he also needs a letter of recommendation from his sadistic manager. But in exchange for the letter, Tommy has to meet three conditions—including training the new hire.
What he doesn’t expect is for the newbie to be an old crush: Gabe, with the dimples and kind heart, who Tommy fell for during summer camp at age ten and then never saw again. Unfortunately, Gabe doesn’t remember Tommy at all. The training proves distracting as old feelings resurface, and the universe seems to be conspiring against them.
With the application deadline looming and Gabe on his mind, Tommy is determined to keep it all together—but what if life isn’t meant to follow a recipe?
Turtle Bread by Kim-Joy & Alti Firmansyah
This graphic novel has some of the most beautiful illustrations of food I’ve ever seen. I’d never seen Alti Firmansyah’s work before checking this out but their art style is absolutely wonderful.
Something else that was wonderful was the baking club. Much like the main character Yan, I have social anxiety so joining a club like this would be really hard for me, but I imagine doing something you all love takes the pressure off a little. These scenes are so heartwarming and I loved that you get the recipes for the sweet treats via the characters making them. It’s such an inventive way of including recipes for everything that’s being made that isn’t just an appendix.
There’s a lot of depth to this story and its characters, which is impressive for a standalone graphic novel that is an author’s debut at fiction writing. It’s very emotional and will tug on your heartstrings, but it’s just so lovely.
Synopsis: Yan is looking for a place to belong. She struggles with social anxiety and low self-esteem, making it hard to maintain a job or relationships. When the chance comes along to step out of her comfort zone, Yan joins Baking Club, hoping to share her passion with people who love pastries and cakes as much as she does.
At first, Yan is intimidated by the other members, but as she gets to know them better, she comes to love Baking Club. In fact, Yan realizes that she’s not alone in trying to hide her mental health struggles from her friends. The members of the Club come together to support each other and to bake their way through any problem!
From celebrity baker, cookbook author, mental health advocate, and Great British Baking Show star Kim-Joy, and fan-favorite artist Alti Firmansyah (Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde), TURTLE BREAD is a touching story about community, healing, finding yourself, and–of course–baking!
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