"Where There's a Whisk" is a fun, lighthearted book about a teen cooking competition, with a good dose of drama and rivalries. It honestly surprised me by how much I enjoyed this story, and found myself trying to anticipate the challenged they were going to face!
I would've loved, however, to get to know the characters a bit more. Peyton was a fine main character, and I rooted for her, but I couldn't seem to care about the side characters, which was a pity.
Overall, it was a splendid book, and I definitely recommend it if you enjoy cooking, reality tv, and romance.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I didn't think I would enjoy this book as much as I did and that I would be disappointed that it isn't longer, mainly because I need so much answers to my infinite number of questions!!!!
Let me explain.

In the book, we follow Peyton, a girl from Florida with a rough past, through a reality show/cooking competition called Top Teen Chef. Peyton needs to win in order to get a full scholarship to one of the best culinary schools on the country. She thinks the most difficult thing about this journey are the eliminatory rounds, but soon she discover that to win the show, she'll have to do more than just cook the best dish.

So, the premise is great an I loved the reality tv elements in the story. The challenges around the city, the luxurious penthouse, the dramatic pauses, all the PA contantly around; it all works perfectly and it feels like a reality show. Also, i really liked how the kitchen and the cooking are described with such attention to detail, and I know many people who love to cook will like it too.

That said, I think the book would have benefited from having 100 more pages, or maybe 50, because a lot of things are just mentioned and not developed in the story. The pacing is a bit inconsistent. It's fast at the beginning and super fast at the end, and it left me feeling like i missed important things that happened off-screen.

It all happens in less than a month, so a lot of the relationships between the characters seemed a little rushed to me. I don't mind the love triangle and the drama because it's a reality show, it's expected; but maybe if something had happened in the middle of the production that slowed the show down a bit, there would have been more opportunities to learn more about the characters.

There are seven more contestants on the competition and I would have LOVED to know more about their backgrounds, their motivations, the scripts the show wrote for them, anything to be honest. Most times, we don't know what they cooked for each round, even when they won or were eliminated. I appreciate the diversity in the cast (thought I can't comment on wether the representation is well done or not) and I would like an open LGBTQ+ character. Again, we know so little about the characters that are not Peyton, Paulie and Hakulani that I think a lot could have been easily added or concluded without altering the plot.
In that sense, if the epilogue had been a bit longer, I wouldn't have cared so much about the lack of development during the competition

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It's fun and cute and I think a lot of people will like and enjoy this book, especially those who love culinary themes and tv shows competition.

This book is so good one of my all time favorites. I love all the characters so much and the author did an amazing job creating them. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone!!

This book was provided for me from NetGalley.

The book was the CUTEST thing I've ever read! A fun fast-paced real pageturner. It has competition, it's a perfectly sweet Master Chef brilliance, or shall I say Top Chef? It's a reality tv competition based around food and is just the most entertaining time to read. Everything is so well-paced and dynamic you can't put it down! I read this in one sitting and I was just smiling and laughing along the way. I'm actually disappointed it had to end! THE ENDING was so satisfying to read as well! An absolute original stunner of a book!

Overall rating - 3.5/5

I absolutely love the premise of Top Teen Chef, the culinary competition this book is based around. We follow Peyton's journey in this show, which includes several stressful cook offs and a ton of conflicts with the contestants, and with a little love triangle thrown into the mix Where There's A Whisk makes for a really fun read!!

Reading about everything that goes behind the making of a reality TV show was an interesting experience. I personally love baking shows and I adore the fact that the author made it a little more relatable and insightful. Paulie and Inaaya stand out right from the beginning and I found myself rooting for Peyton up until the very end! I am glad that there was good representation and the fact that it wasn't just thrown into the mix for woke points? Thank you!!

That being said, I don't really think that the triangle was necessary. Paulie and Peyton have some of the cutest banter but they'd still be better off as friends, and I didn't really see any point in adding a fake dating bit with Hakulani to he honest. I wished Dani and Inaaya's characters were explored more because there was so much potential there plot wise. Peyton's backstory also felt a little rushed to me, but otherwise the pacing isn't bad at all!

It's a perfect read if you're looking for something light and refreshing or if you look reading books with culinary themes!!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3995034365

I'm happy to say I really enjoyed this book. When I read the description I was really excited because I love to watch cooking shows and have always wondered what it's like to be on one.

I really liked how fleshed out all of the characters were. I felt like I got to know them all in their own time, and I liked that they all were very different from each other. I definitely wasn't mixing up any of them.

I was really invested in all of the cooking scenes and felt a little disappointed when the scene would just cut through the cooking and after the judging too. There is no indication to let the reader know that the time will skip like that and it's formatted to look just like any other paragraph. It got hard to follow at times and I would go back to read the previous paragraph to make sure I didn't miss anything which slowed down the flow of reading the book. Since the judging of the food was often skipped, I couldn't decide for myself if Peyton, the main character, deserved to win or lose a specific challenge.

I'm giving this book 4/5 stars because I really liked the concept, but I felt the author took the easy way out of getting the "villain" out of the picture, as well as some missed opportunities with Peyton's cooking. It was a quick read and I'm glad that it was about cooking, something I don't usually see in YA fiction.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Running Press, and Sarah J. Schmitt for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I actually wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I went into it thinking it would be a light and easy read, which it was, but I definitely wasn't expecting to like the characters or the plot as much as I did.

The writing was nothing totally special, but the characters were all still lovable, the plot twists well done, and I personally loved all the romances.

It was really nice to see a main character with a hobby that we don't usually see in fiction. I don't think I've ever seen cooking as a hobby in a book, but here we had all the characters who loved cooking so much, they were so passionate about it and it was lovely to read about.

The relationships were probably my favorite part. Personally, I always preferred Paulie, but I also loved to see Hakulani too. I also loved the friendships the characters formed, and it really warmed my heart to see them all.

I've already recommended this to a few people, and I know that I'll be telling others to read it when it's out.

I was honestly expecting this to be a 1 star read for me, but I was pleasantly surprised. Although this book definitely could have been better, it was an easy and mostly enjoyable read.

Question 1: How did you find the plot?
A) Love (1 star)
B) Like (0.75 stars)
|C) Okay (0.50 stars)|
D) Dislike (0.25 stars)
E) Hate (0 stars)

Explain your answer:
The plot follows Peyton Sinclaire, a girl from a small town in Florida who is given a chance to participate in a culinary show Top Teen Chef. If she wins she can get a full scholarship to one of the best culinary schools in the country. Throughout the competitions, Peyton gets to develop friendships with the other contestants, while making some enemies too. And sometimes reality in the show isn’t true reality…

I’ve always loved watching baking shows, so naturally, I was intrigued by the plot. The plot stays very true to what you might see in your average baking show but I feel like it was lacking in some places. Many things are mentioned- but never developed. It’s almost as if Schmitt threw a ball of information at you, but she aimed wrong and it flew past your head. You saw it, but you didn’t have enough time to really study it.
---------------------------

Question 2: How did you find the characters?
A) Love (1 star)
|B) Like (0.75 stars)|
C) Okay (0.50 stars)
D) Dislike (0.25 stars)
E) Hate (0 stars)

Explain your answer:
The characters were all dull and I didn’t see much of a personality in any of them. This is another case of characters-could-go-die-in-a-hole-and-i-wouldn’t-care. Though why characters from a baking show would randomly die? I don't know.

Peyton is the main character of this story. Her father is in jail and her family is barely scraping by. She has to work a part-time job to support her family and when she gets an opportunity to be on Top Teen Chef, takes it. Although I didn’t find her character interesting, I could relate to her so much that I’m choosing choice B rather than C. I could relate to how long pauses before announcing the winner are painful, and the constant did-i-do-it-right thoughts when presenting something.

Though there were the other contestants in the show, I found them to be easily forgettable. I’m having trouble recalling their names even now. It was hard to keep track of who was who and who came from where. (at least for me)

The love interest(s) was/were all boring and I'd rather have Peyton not with anyone. The romance felt unecessary and I think the book would have been just fine without.
---------------------------

Question 3: How did you find the setting/worldbuilding?
A) Love (1 star)
B) Like (0.75 stars)
|C) Okay (0.50 stars)|
D) Dislike (0.25 stars)
E) Hate (0 stars)

Explain your answer:
Even though I have nonexistent baking and cooking skills (*looks away and pretends I can’t bake brownies without the mix*), I would love to stand in those beautiful looking kitchens they have on baking shows. Many of the rounds took place in significant places in New York City, and I loved that because I could be like “Oh I’ve been there before!” When not sightseeing the city, they were in their penthouse (Ohhhhh how I would love that) or cooking away in the kitchens. Though I think the setting could have been described in greater detail, I found this aspect of the book okay.

As for the actual contest, I was a bit disappointed. In my opinion, it was hard to remember all of the rounds and what each task was. Even now I can’t recall the exact number of rounds there were.
---------------------------

Question 4: How did you find the writing/POV/pacing?
A) Love (1 star)
B) Like (0.75 stars)
C) Okay (0.50 stars)
|D) Dislike (0.25 stars)|
E) Hate (0 stars)

Explain your answer:
The writing was very average, and nothing too special. I didn’t have any large problems with it and I didn’t hate it. There was a lot of humor and jokes throughout the book and while some of them made me silently cringe inside, I was chuckling during the particularly funny ones.

The story is told from the first-person POV of Peyton and while I’m not the biggest fan of first-person, I think it was the right choice for this book. *round of applause* Getting Peyton's thoughts directly helped me see how Peyton decided what dish(es) she would do for each round.

The pacing was the biggest problem and what largely impacted my decision to lower the rating. The book was very fast-paced, I’ll have to admit that. But it was way too fast-paced. Over the first half of the book, the cooking is described in greater detail and the competitions stretch over more pages. But as you hit over the halfway mark, it’s more like “Peyton cooked. Her food was done. She presented it to the judges” instead of “Peyton boiled [something] and chopped [something]. She put [something] in the oven and set the timer for [number] minutes. [more cooking details] She set the plate and presented it to the judges.” (terrible way to explain but hopefully you understand) I thought it did well to emphasize how time flew by and hours could pass without you noticing, but it was done too well and left out many of the details.
---------------------------

Question 5: How did you find the conflict/resolution?
A) Love (1 star)
B) Like (0.75 stars)
|C) Okay (0.50 stars)|
D) Dislike (0.25 stars)
E) Hate (0 stars)

Explain your answer:
I predicted it, but I enjoyed the small twists throughout the book. The ending wrapped everything up nicely but I wish the sort-of-epilogue chapter was longer.
---------------------------

Total: (2.50/5)
Deductions & Bonuses:
N/A
Final Total: (2.50/5) (rounded up)

Other notes:
N/A

Thank you to Netgalley for an arc of this book!

This book is very light and fun--centered on a teen reality TV cooking competition, our main character is Peyton, a girl from a small town looking to earn a cooking scholarship. Peyton is imperfect, and is relatable as a result. While she has a father in prison, and a mother who is described as depressed and reliant on her sister, Peyton doesn't want to earn a scholarship through playing up her background--she wants to use her cooking skills. As it is centered on a reality TV set, there is lots of drama, and many little twists, but all around it's a solid book and quick read for students who are interested in cooking at all.

The only complaint I would have is that the pacing and character development feels odd at times. For example, Inaaya, who is described as Peyton's closest friend on the show, is cut from the show without the reader being able to see the how or why behind the decision, and is then barely mentioned until the closing scene--would love to see more on their friendship and more humanizing of each character! The pacing towards the end also appeared rushed at times, but the moments of food description helped slow it down and give the reader a sense of closure.

I do not see myself teaching this text necessarily, but I would love to keep a copy in my classroom for students to access.

I received a free e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is more 3.5 than 4.

I really enjoyed this!

When I first saw this, I was like cooking show? teen contestants? poor girl trying her best for a scholarship? SIGN ME UP.

While this did deliver on most of those fronts, I still think this could have done better. A lot of more small plot lines could have been tied up, and so many other things which I thought would happen didn't happen, and the romance was just....nothing of note.

Let's start with the romance. This could have down without it. Honestly this book would have succeeded without the romance. I would have been happy if she had come out of this competition with just very good friendships. But we have a love triangle. Which is not actually a love triangle. But then it is a love triangle at times. And then there a too-short romance tying everything up.

I would have loved if the book had gone on with the relationships on screen thing, and then had good friendships underneath.

The next thing that bothered me was the lack of detail and general rushed-ness in the latter part of the book. The first half of the book had loads of detail and play by play of the competitions, but after that, the competitions turned out to be pretty underwhelming because it didn't even seem like they had happened.

Like the whole thing happened within three weeks, but if you'd ask me how much time it seemed had passed, I would say a week. Max, a week and a half. They were supposed to be shooting every day, so ideally that would be around 18 days of shooting, but I remember at least 3 landmark challenges, and maybe 5-6 eliminations/normal rounds. And the way they were being eliminated seemed like they were losing people every other day, which if you have only 8 people to start with, takes a max of 16 days. And there were double eliminations, two of them, so that brings the number down to 12 days or whereabouts.

There was also the lack of feeling I had when we lost other participants. Like the first guy we lost within two days of the start, but since I don't even know the guy well enough to care, I just didn't care. Inaaya, who was my favourite side character, was lost too soon, and we didn't even get a play by play of her elimination, it all happened off screen.

Another thing that didn't feel right was the simplicity. I know that sounds weird, because I'm always the one advocating for lesser side plots to give the main plot/romance time to grow, but here there were so many possibilities, and none of them were followed through, so I would gear up for a plot twist or predict some nefarious plot going on behind the screens, and then nothing would happen and I would be left feeling unfulfilled.

For example, the Adam side plot was so easily solved. Doesn't everyone know that reality tv shows are always scripted!? There's no way people are actually as dramatic as they are portrayed in reality tv. And so this kind of realisation coming as a surprise to all these people was so strange because shouldn't they have already known!?!

Another example is the way Paulie wasn't influenced. We find every one else, was, but he wasn't, so I wanted to know why that happened. I also wanted to know why Angelica hated Peyton so much, because a side plot involving Angelica acting the bitchy judge who hates the poor girl but is actually only acting would have made so much more sense than whatever explanation was given at the end of the book, i.e. no explanation.

Another side plot that I feel would have made sense would have been someone sabotaging the competition to make sure Peyton failed, which would explain so many of her losses. Yet another one would be someone rigging the competition in favour of her, which would explain why she wasn;t eliminated so many times when she should have been.

I really wish Dani's side plot had been explored more. Like, I really wish it wouldn't have been the token bully who had a reason. I would also have wanted to know more about Lola, because she, like Adam, was there just for being more or less a plot. Yes, she had more screen time, but I would have liked to know her motives as well.

I wish the ending had shown us where everyone had ended up, not just Paulie, Peyton, and Malik. Speaking of Malik, I wish we had gotten to know him more as well. In the beginning it seemed like he would get screen time, then most of the book he was off screen or had a very small role, and then at the end he became important again.

I also wanted to know more about Hakulani, as in how he ended up, did he succeed, what happened to him!? What happened to Lola?! Or even Dani!?! Why was the epilogue so short and uninformative!?

Also, what was with the confessionals?! Because by my count, only two were shot, and I don't think that would have been enough. Why weren't the others, if there were any, mentioned?!

I would also have liked to know what happened with their show. Did all the shots make it into the final thing!? Does everyone know about the kiss!? What happened with the confessionals?! What did everyone else say!? did they watch the show!?

Anyway, I think I've covered all my grievances, so I'm stopping here. On the whole, a very good book, full of laugh out loud moments and interesting cooking show tid-bits. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoy cooking/baking shows, do not mind slight love triangles and insta-love, enjoy the fake relationship trope, and would not mind somewhat lacking endings.

Thank you to Netgalley and Perseus Books, Running Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I am not a big contemporary reader, but when I saw words 'reality culinary competition', I knew that I had to read it! I wasn't disappointed. Sarah J. Schmitt creates a cute story which shows how the competitors feel and how the 'reality' aspect can be quite fake. I really admired that the main character Peyton Sinclaire didn't want her story to be portrayed as a 'sob story' even though it would have made her life easier.

The main character was fun and sympathetic, but I wish that the other competitors also had more spotlight. Peytons backstory is developed, but we only get crumbs about why the other characters are taking part in the game and their history.

The storyline was quite fast paced and easy to follow - a good read when you want something cute!

Cute and fast paced appealing to a very foodie audience. I enjoyed the 'Chopped' like FoodTV premise. It is appropriate for YA readers and very much about building identity and making one's own way in the world.
A cute YA food competition book.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Sarah Schmitt sets Where There's a Whisk in the competitive world of cooking shows. But,...this show is specifically for teens. The teens competing are swept away to a huge suite in New York City, treated to tours of the city and then challenged to create meals and desserts based on their sightseeing adventures.

Peyton Sinclaire sees the show as her opportunity to escape from waitressing in her small town in northern Florida. She wants to win the scholarship to culinary school.. Seven other entrants want the prize as well. How far will they go to win?
In the course of the contest, Peyton runs the gamut of emotions from embarrassment to pride, sadness to euphoria and even a small crush or two thrown in to liven things up. The behind the scenes machinations of the producers are a total shock to Peyton, as is her progress and prowess in the competition.

Teens who liked With The Fire on High will enjoy this as well, though it is more light-hearted than Acevedo's book.

In a reality TV show slash cooking programme mashup, a group of witty teens must go head to head to win a scholarship to a leading culinary school in this YA Contemporary. Each teen has their own angle and story which they have to play on to win hearts, whether that be their socioeconomic background or their family connections. To win, not only do they have to cook up a variety of baked goods and full meals in some pretty wild challenges but also boost the network’s ratings.

It’s a great concept for anybody who likes watching food programmes. As somebody who regularly watches Masterchef (the UK version) and spends too much time flicking onto the Food Network, this was right up my street and made me realise that cooking shows in the UK are definitely less cutthroat than they are in the US…

But what did I think about it?

If we were to judge this book like one of Peyton’s dishes, I’d say that the concept is brilliant. The individual components are even quite good. The overall execution may need some tweaks but it’s still enjoyable enough to read the whole book. Schmitt would be staying for the next round.

The Blurb

Peyton Sinclaire wants nothing more than to escape her life as a diner waitress in her small, North Florida town and attend culinary school. Top Teen Chef, Food TV’s new show that pairs reality TV drama with a fast-paced culinary competition, is her ticket out of her boring future. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make her dreams come true and Peyton is determined to prove to herself, and the world, that where you’re born does not determine where you can go. However, once on the show, Peyton quickly discovers that there is more to the competition than just a well-seasoned dish.

As things start to heat up on and off the set, Peyton will have to prove to the judges that she deserves to win while trying to untangle what is real and what is scripted drama, and decide what she is willing to risk to win before her dreams end up on the chopping block.

What I Liked:

Creative Ideas

This book is enjoyable to read and also quite creative, which suggests that the author should start directing food TV shows. From Landmark Challenges in New York City where you have to spend hours running around a zoo and then create a dish inspired by it, to advantages where you can turn somebody else’s kitchen into a miniature version of one, it’s fun to read about. Peyton reacts well to the challenges and I liked how Schmitt knew her characters enough to see how they would react to these obstacles.

The Characters

There were some three dimensional characters here, though given how brief the book is, they weren’t always developed enough. But I did enjoy learning about the cast from Paulie who has to play the angle of being a good, young Italian chef to Hakulani who uses his Hawaiian influences to run his successful food truck with Peyton. Every cast member had their own motivations which made the book special.

References To Musicals

I’m a big fan of musicals and I liked how Schmitt used the plot from Waitress to inform Peyton’s story and how this influenced her character arc. I must have listened to a dozen versions of She Used To Be Mine and I thought that including the moment when Peyton sees it at the theater was a clever way of diving into her emotions.

My Qualms:

Pacing

Where I felt this book lost some of its genius was how quick it was. It felt like we raced through stages of the competition and the relationships that form so that by the end, it’s like you’ve read a (very nice and totally enjoyable) summary of the plot. It would have been nice to have more description: what does the kitchen look like? Let’s see Peyton’s life beforehand so we know what she’s running from. If Dani is going to be mean, then let’s capitalise on this. I think that this book, if slowed down, really could be infinitely better.

Suspension Of Disbelief?

There was a lot of this book which was centered around the romantic relationships between the characters on the show. Whilst perhaps this is reasonable enough given their ages, I felt as if for them to be believable, they needed some more work. For me, this would largely be cleared up if Where There’s A Whisk was longer, so in some way, these qualms go hand in hand.

Overall

In summary, this was a sweet, light-hearted read that capitalises on a brilliant concept, though may slightly lack in the execution. I recommend it for anybody who loves reading about food or just clean teen fiction.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Perseus Books, Running Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.  

This book was so adorable! I love watching cooking shows, and the idea of a YA book set on the set of a cooking show was too tempting to pass up.  

This story is about Peyton Sinclaire a teen chef from a very poor area of the Florida Panhandle.  She's one of 8 contestants on the show Top Teen Chef and and she hopes winning the show & getting a culinary scholarship will be her ticket to a better life.  However, once she's on the show, she realized how much more difficult the whole process is.  She gets mixed signals from a number of other contestants and finds herself the inexplicable enemy of another contestant.  As she cooks, she learns about herself, and must decide who she wants to become, and what she will to if she doesn't win the competition.

Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a reality competition shows, food and NYC fan, I shouldn’t be surprised at how much I liked this.

I started this during exams week because it seemed to have a fun and easy to follow plot, and I wasn’t wrong. It’s super fast-paced and entertaining, I actually had to force myself to stop reading and study.

The characters were great but I still think that, being such a fast-paced book, I would have loved to see more details into their relationships and dynamics, and even some further depth for some characters.

Some scenes, like the elimination ones and the ending, did seem a bit rushed, but I guess this is also what made the book such a fast, refreshing and lighthearted read.

First tysm netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this ARC.

Okay if you know me you know I love books about food. This book is probably the best food themed book I've ever read.

This book is so unique because its about 8 teens going into a baking competition but instead of hating each other they become friends which is such a wholesome spin. Some of the things they said were kinda cringe but I feel like that really represents teens accurately. So it was refreshing seeing a realistic portrayal of teenagers in YA. Also this main character didn't let her "tragic" backstory define her like I've seen so many other times. She was her own person and worked for what she had, which I really admire.

THE DRAMA! I have watched my fair share of reality tv and this book did such a good job of capturing the drama. I was literally gasping and giggling as things happened. I read this is one sitting. It was captivating and I felt myself so invested on what was going on. It was really cool to see the perspective of what happens behind the scenes in reality tv. Although I felt like there was lacking LGBTQ+ rep that could have been added easily I did really enjoy all the romance. Also the diversity I think was nice to see included even if it wasn't touched upon a lot.

I am not from the south, but if you are I feel like you could really connect with the main characters better and find yourself relating even more. I loved the incorporation of some southern things.

The amount of plot twists this book had shook me. I was so surprised because i'm not used to them in contemporary. BUT THEY WERE SO GOOD. They kept me invested and interested as the story kept unfolding.

I really enjoyed how the author added consent into the romance. I feel like it's always over looked. Even the small details of "I want to kiss you right now" matter so so much to young people. So I really respect Schmitt for that.

I loved how there was so many layers to this dramatic book. (I feel like this would be an amazing buddy read). The parts where it kind of expanded about how things in reality TV aren't usually real and etc. I think its also important to realize that in our society today.

I won't say which troupe exactly (bc spoilers) but one of my favorite troupes was added into this book and I approve.

I am actually obsessed with this book and will be getting a physical copy as soon as it comes out [although if I was sent one I wouldn't complain ;) ] Also I really did enjoy how this book was concluded and how I felt satisfied after reading. So read it!

I really, really enjoyed this book! It's lighthearted, quickly-paced, and has some really fun characters that laces its pages. Schmitt has such a fun, engaging writing style that I truly could picture everything that was going on in the story and often found myself lost in it. I would keep telling myself, just one more chapter and then I'll go complete whatever task I needed to for the day, but that repeated itself so many times because I couldn't put the book down!

I really loved Peyton as a main character. Her backstory is really interesting and I felt for her so many times when she struggled with the scars of her past. I do wish we could've dived a bit more into that part of her character, but I also feel that it was handled appropriately considering that Peyton didn't want to rely on the "sob story" of her family throughout the show. I also really liked how strong Peyton was and how she often took the high road when other people were trying to bring her down. It brought such a great spirit to the book! I also loved so many of the side characters. They really all have their own personalities and places and very few felt like easy placeholders for the competition. I have to admit, I even felt sad when some of them were cut throughout the story.

I also had so much fun reading about the challenges and cooking descriptions. I often found myself hungry in the middle of reading! The competitions and twists kept me so engaged during the book and I really couldn't wait to see what happened next. The addition of the reality TV aspect of the book added even more intrigue and color and I found myself fascinated by the ins and outs of being behind a camera and what goes into making a show like Top Teen Chef. So much imagination went into this book and it really shows.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and the intricacies of the cooking challenges. I loved that we were given a final chapter to see where some of our favorite characters ended up. It's such a nice, lighthearted, bubbly book which I feel is a welcome addition to the contemporary genre. If you are a fan of Chopped or MasterChef Junior, you won't want to miss picking this one up!

Highly enjoyable and fast paced with a good blend of narrative and characterization. This novel would appeal to multiple audiences. I am firmly and adult but also a 'foodie', so I enjoyed the 'Chopped' like FoodTV premise. It is appropriate for YA readers and very much about building identity and making one's own way in the world.

thank u to netgalley and the publishers for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review!! where there’s a whisk follows peyton sinclaire, who joins a cooking competion show in hopes of winning a scholarship and a way out of her life back home.

okay positives first

malik was the cutest i loved him so much. he was written well enough that there werent even that many interactions with him and i still felt super connected to his character.

inaaya! so sweet i loved her.

the premise was so fun i love anything with reality shows not being as they seem.

plus this was enjoyable and quick enough i finished it in a few hours which i always like.

okay, my critiques

some of the dialogue was kind of forced? this happens in a lot of books where teens come off sounding much younger than they are.

some of the pacing was off. characters left super quickly and i wish there had been more time at least saying goodbye. this happened with the romance too, it came down to the very end of the book which made me not that interested.

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overall, i enjoyed it!