I loved this book! So much fun! Has elements I love-celebrity and non celebrity, NYC setting, and food descriptions so dreamy I actually put the book down to cook! Wish some of the recipes were included in the back! I think this will be a big summer hit.

Isabella Pasternack, the epitome of a camera-shy introvert, is forced into making a souffle on camera at her food magazine job, leading to an absolute collapse resulting in her firing. As she flounders trying to figure out her next steps, she's offered a job by her best friend's dad as a ghostwriter of a cookbook for the notorious actress, Molly Babcock. Can Isabella find her spark and her place in the food world?

I flew through Food Person in one sitting. I struggled a little bit at the outset because I felt like Isabella and some of the other characters were written pretty flat - however, as the book continues, the characters felt more and more real and well-rounded as we get to know them better. This is a good study of Isabella as she wrestles with her ego and learns to advocate for herself in her personal and professional life. I appreciated Owen and Gabe as supporting characters as they boost along her growth. I did feel like the reconciliation of Isabella and her mom could have been somewhat more fleshed out, but the ending was really satisfying overall.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Once upon a time I was obsessed with Bon Appetit and the staff… this book made me feel like I was one of the old editors. This is definitely a great summer read, full of drama, growth, and fun characters. I couldn’t put this one down.

Isabella loves cookbooks and cooking, but is terrible at writing about it, with no voice or perspective of her own yet. She spends too much money on high end ingredients, and can't afford her half the rent. Her roommate floats her money every month, and she initially turns down a ghostwriting celebrity cookbook job offer making more than she ever did writing before, because there's no “glory” or credit in it. But then she realizes she needs the money and concedes at the insistence of her roommate. The celebrity she'll be working with, however, hardly ever eats more than a bite or two and, though she has an interesting cooking legacy, finding the direction for the cookbook is a struggle for each of its authors.

Meanwhile, Isabella's mother makes her feel shallow and selfish for wanting to pursue a career as a food writer, and their guilty relationship in some ways mirrors that of another mother and daughter Isabella will come to know.

This book is for fans of awkward, cringey drama and cookbooks, with spurts of romance, motherly guilt trips, and some comedic moments.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are solely mine and do not reflect the author, publisher, or affiliates.

I recommend this to anyone who considers themselves a foodie and is looking for a fun read. Pairs well with another new foodie release: Didn’t You Used to Be Queenie B?

3.5 stars, rounded up. The main character wasn't really likable for me, but I did enjoy this foodie fiction tale.

Isabella Pasternack loves cookbooks, cooking, and food writing. Her dream is to write her own cookbook and to be known for her food writing. When she's let go from her writing gig at a digital food magazine, she very reluctantly accepts a job to ghostwrite a cookbook for celebrity bad-girl Molly Babcock. As Isabella attempts to tease personal information from Molly to put in the cookbook, Molly skates around the topic, and Isabella gets more and more frustrated and frantic that she won't be able to pull it all together.

I enjoyed every second of the food and cookbook related talk here. The author has a big history with food writing and his experience showed. What I didn't enjoy was Isabella's tendency to waffle between glory-seeking stubbornness and wimpy doormat, both of which were very unappealing. And Molly's and her sister's blatant cruelty was cringy, even celebrities know the difference between arrogance and just plain meanness.

I appreciated the way things came together in the end, it definitely redeemed some of the more clunky parts of the story. I even got a little teary when the characters learned to grow and change. It just came a little too late, it would have been better had Isabella matured and came to realizations about herself throughout rather than all at once at the end, which felt a bit fake.

I honestly feel as if this would have been a much stronger book had the (male) author swapped the genders of the main characters. Not that males can't write female characters, but some of Isabella's actions and reactions were not realistic at all to me. For example, even after she is shown ghostwritten cookbooks by super famous chefs, Isabella STILL thinks that ghostwriting will never allow her to amount to anything. It doesn't seem like a female reaction, it seems like a male one.

I realize this makes it seem like I didn't enjoy this book, but I actually did. I thought it was fun and I'm always, always up for food-related fiction books.

The guts of this book:
Isabelle's dream is to write her own cookbook and she gets plenty of inspiration from her friend that runs a giant used cookbook store. She gets fired from her job and her mom forces her to chose a different path and then it is discovered that a very opinionated celebrity wants to put out her own cookbook. Isabelle is excited at first that she will co-author this book and that it could help her cookbook future. Molly B, the celebrity has no interest in this format. She wants to take all the credit. TO find out that Molly does not cook and rarely eats makes this even harder for Isabelle, plus she is treated terribly.

I usually really enjoy books where food is tied together as the main theme hence why I enjoy Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series. This is labeled as a 'debut' that is mouthwatering and hilarious. It does have its moments with Isabelle (who cooks) and her mom, Jeannie (far from being a cook) who disapproves of Isabelle's decision to be a chef, let alone a food chef. Jeannie believes her daughter should have a more traditional job like an accountant or bank teller. Jeannie herself is retired (?) but believes doesn't need to be fancy and basic out-dated items can just be thrown together (yuck). Isabelle's mom is actually an interesting character and we learn later that she is suffering from a lot in her past.

There is a lot wrong with Isabelle as a main character. So many dreams for herself and determination, but not backbone. She does not stand up for herself, the career she wants and to the peoople that doubt and challenge her. Thank goodness her friend that owns the cookbook store and even her roommate offere some support and guidance....

Again, I usually love books like this and root for the underdog, in this case it is Isabelle. But the actual story was all over the place and Isabelle as a main character does not work. Plus Molly Babcock is a terrible even after finding out the big reveal. Just no.

Cannot recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, Adam Roberts and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for an ARC in exchange for an honest reveal.

Already available

As an avid fan of the Bon Appetit YouTube channel (pre-2020 downfall obviously), I was immediately taken in by the premise of this novel. I adore a novel with great food writing, and this one delivered even more than what I was looking for in the end.

Isabella Pasternak is a Food Person, first and foremost. She’s an infinitely relatable protagonist who’s making her way through life fueled by the perfect scrambled eggs and a passion for cookbook writing when she’s suddenly fired from her job at Comestibles, a multi-media food publication in the vein of Bon Appetit. Luckily, she doesn’t have much time to wallow because she’s immediately offered a job ghostwriting a cookbook for a famous and beautiful TV actress who has fallen out of favor and doesn’t seem to take anything seriously.

Food Person is chock full of foodie references, from Molly Baz to Daniel Boulud; the name dropping is playful and over the top, and it sets the tone of the novel- Isabella is serious about food, and she has taken on the task of anonymously writing a book for someone who seemingly doesn’t eat anything except Hello Fresh meals.

The results of this partnership are unsurprisingly hilarious and conflict-filled. What snuck up on me was a really complex and earnest plot full of misunderstandings, trauma, redemption, and a cast of lovable and well developed side characters- I could live in this world forever. While it’s clear this is a debut and maybe could have used a little bit more polish here and there, I’m fully subscribed to whatever Adam D. Roberts gives us next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the opportunity to be an early reader of this title, which is available now!

When Isabella is fired from her job as a writer for an online food publication, she feels her dream of becoming a cookbook author go up in smoke. Fortunately, she lands a job ghostwriting a cookbook. The only problem is that it's for an actress with a bad girl reputation who needs a project to help clean up her image. Instead, Isabella finds herself becoming a glorified babysitter for Molly, who just won't settle down and work on the project. Oh, and she can't cook and hates to eat. As you might expect, shenanigans ensue, culminating in a disastrous climax. The food descriptions were mouth-watering--this author knows his way around a recipe. This was a fun, humorous, and breezy read--perfect for the beach!

What’s been described as “The Bear” meets “The Devil Wears Prada,” Food Person is for every reader who loves food culture.

As someone who watches Top Chef religiously, reads cookbooks for fun, and enjoys diving into bad behaviors in the food scene, this book was made for me.

However, if none of this sounds like you, it may not grab you quite as much. Without those details, it’s your average story involving messy, entitled behaviors intermingling with a gal who just wants to be appreciated and get noticed in her career and life, which always makes for interesting conflict.

I do need to read the summaries of books better than I have been because I was very much under the impression this was a non fiction about food influencers. It was a very happy mistake on my end.

Food Person is a fun and witty book about the FMC who is tasked with ghost writing the cookbook of a washed up celebrity. The relationship between the FMC and celebrity gets muddled between what is happening here to not quite sure is professional or not. What makes it even more complicated, is the FMC is best friend and roommates with the celebrity’s newest publicist. Nothing could go wrong with relationship dynamics there… let’s add in both the FMC and celebrity have very different views on food. The FMC loves food, and is quite the food person. She loves cooking, reading cook books, exploring flavors and using the finest ingredients. The celebrity on the other hand, is a mess when it comes to food and her relationship with food. The story and relationship unfold and unravels between the two to a fire storm and an explosion (literally).

Food is such a simple and complicated thing. It brings people together and it can drive people apart. Food Person touches upon that. It also comically speaks about how the food personalities and celebrities are not all what they are chalked up to be. Food Person also explores the various emotions food brings out of people and how it can be used to hurt others around them too. Both characters also explore their relationships with their respective mothers and families, and which does involve food. Go figure.

Food Person was a fun and quick contemporary fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it to others.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting to Story graph, Goodreads and socials

Food Person is like merging Top Chef with Entertainment Tonight, it gives a fictionalized insight into the world of cookbook writing something the author is familiar with from his past nonfictions works. There is a gossipy element to the novel which name drops famous chefs both for their culinary feats as well as their social mistakes. It is the literary equivalent of a juicy hamburger at the new celebrity hot spot.

The story centers on Isabelle, who feels a bit adrift after being fired from her job. She has allowed a domineering mother and catty best friend make her feel unworthy. Working as a ghostwriter with a party girl former child star, Molly, seems like an ill fit at first but the story finds Isabelle finding her way towards being not only a successful author, but also more confidence in herself.

I wasn’t expecting the dramatic moment that happened towards the later half of the story, but I liked seeing how it leads to Isabelle working through her judgmental attitude towards Molly and how Molly also works through her own self-absorption. I also enjoyed the sweet romance that develops between Isabelle and a sous chef at an up and coming restaurant.

The blurb for this book reminded me of Food Whore by Jessica Tom, which I adored, so I was eager to read it. Food Person follows hapless (and spineless) 25-year-old Isabella Pasternak, an aspiring cookbook writer living in NYC. After a disastrous firing from her lowly food writer job, Isabella accepts a gig ghostwriting a cookbook for former soap star Molly Babcock (thanks to Isabella's gay bestie Owen, whose dad conveniently runs a talent agency). Of course, Molly's a bit of an unhinged diva...so soon Isabella finds herself wondering if she's bitten off more than she can chew.

What I liked:
• The food descriptions were impeccable and vivid! Adam Roberts clearly did his homework (and dining research!) on the NYC restaurant scene. The novel name checks many famous chefs and restaurants. The mise en place? Divine. Roberts really sets the table for the food cooked and meals consumed in this book.
• The novel has a strong set-up: The first 50% or so moved quickly, and it was easy to get into the story.

What I didn't like:
• Isabella was an inconsistent protagonist. She was both totally spineless but also became oddly moralistic at points.
• The novel glossed over some of its major plot points. In particular, I was disturbed by Isabella's mother, Jeannie, who was (understandably) still grieving the death of her husband four years prior. She had some serious mental health issues, but the book resolved the mother/daughter conflict too quickly.
• The overall plot was predictable! Isabella ended up much closer to the career of her dreams...but I don't think she really learned all that much about how to stand up for herself or how to succeed in a corporate world.

Loved the focus on food here, but I didn't think the characters or plot were notable.

I really like the connections Isabella and Molly build with each other although sometimes it was a bit toxic. Dripping with drama and a ticking time bomb of a book.

“Food Person”, about Isabella, a food writer and aspiring cookbook author who is hired to ghostwrite a cookbook for former celebrity wild child child star Molly, is the debut novel from Adam Roberts and it’s clear in reading it that he himself is a food person. The way he writes makes it pretty clear that Isabella’s love for cooking, cookbooks, food, and food culture, content, and writing, is his love for those things. As someone who also loves those things, I can attest that this book is the perfect summer read for foodie readers and fans of Ruth Reichl and Anthony Bourdain, for people (like me) who like to curl up in bed with a new cookbook, popping in sticky notes to mark which recipes they’d most like to try.

Aside from all the incredibly specific and niche foodie references, my favorite part of the book was the subplot involving Isabella’s mother. I thought it was an interesting and sensitive subject and relationship that was handled well. The rollercoaster of a relationship between Isabella and Molly was also fun and kept me on my toes, never knowing where it was going next.

The pacing and character development was a little uneven and repetitive at times, and the romantic subplot felt a little like it was just tossed in there without being fully earned, but still this was overall an impressive showing from a debut author, I think readers who are foodies or like celebrity/normal person stories will love it, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what he does next!

Food Person is a solid 4. First of all, that cover! The colors are eye catching and vibrant and what it symbolizes with the delicate grooming of something impossible to groom. Let's dive in. Isabella loves food in every aspect. Her heart lies within a cookbook, so much so that she would like to write her own. She is let go from her online food magazine job when she completely fails at a live demonstration. She doesn't know where to turn when an offer to ghostwrite a cookbook for the celebrity Molly Babcock appears. That sounds exciting and glamorous. As it turns out, it's anything but that. Molly is terrible at communicating and Isabella can't squeeze Molly's vision from her for the book. She contradicts everything in a person interested in this endeavor. Does she even eat? She is an infuriating, condescending, hot mess.

I loved the many food portions of the book. Isabella was a wishy-washy character without a hard drive and when Molly was introduced the book took on a chick lit feel. Overall, I enjoyed Food Person and look forward to more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for an advance copy.

Isabella loves food. She dreams of eating at Chez Panisse and loves cookbooks. She is offered a job as a ghostwriter for a cookbook by one of her idols.a fun, insiders look at the food world.

Initially I read a shorter synopsis and the book sounded interesting, then I got it and realized it was much more than I thought. I was expecting a milliennial whine fest, but what I got was a book that was so enrapting, I just about read it all in one night! What do you do when settling has been good enough, but life decides to hand you something totally DIFFERENT and send you off in a direction you weren't expecting? For Isabella, working with Molly is both a dream come true and a nightmare- she gets a writing experience, but no credit. When she finally sees a way to make it work, life throws another curveball and takes her out of the game entirely. with a great mother-daughter dysfunctional dynamic, and a redemption story you aren't expecting, this book will win your heart!

Food Person serves up a deliciously sharp and surprisingly heartfelt story about what happens when a true food lover is hired to ghostwrite a cookbook for someone who... doesn’t actually eat.

Enter Isabella, a recently fired food writer with a deep passion for cooking, and Molly Babcock, a slightly tarnished Hollywood starlet hoping to revive her career through a glamorous, brand-savvy cookbook. What could possibly go wrong?
Plenty, it turns out, but that’s half the fun.

The contrast between Isabella’s genuine reverence for food and Molly’s performative approach to eating fuels much of the humor and tension in the book. Shenanigans abound as the two women clash over everything from recipe tone to artistic vision, all while navigating their own personal baggage. The result is both chaotic and charming.

Adam Roberts’ background as a food writer shines through. The food scenes are vivid and mouthwatering, and the story is sprinkled with clever cookbook and chef references that food lovers like me will appreciate. But you don’t have to be a foodie to enjoy it.
The book thoughtfully explores friendship, family, grief, and personal reinvention, all while poking fun at celebrity culture. If you're a food person, you’ll feel seen. If you're not, you might become one by the final chapter.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy of this book!

This cover is so intriguing, and I was very curious about this book because it overlaps with my day job (I’m a non-fiction and cookbook editor and interact with ghostwriters frequently). In the beginning, I enjoyed this fast-paced romp and all of the food references.

After a disastrous end to her job at a food magazine, Isabella needs a job and hesitantly takes on the role of a cookbook ghostwriter for semi-washed up celebrity, Molly, who’s writing a cookbook to build up her brand again.

However I ended up DNFing this book 50% in because I didn’t truly care about the characters. They often felt like caricatures, with only a few character traits (insecure young professional, jaded celebrity, etc.), and I wanted more from them. I wanted to feel Isabella’s love for food, rather than be told about it.

I also got a bit frustrated by the constant food and pop culture references—it felt like a need to prove the validity of this setting and the larger food world.

While I think readers will enjoyed this light read with its New York City and food references, it ultimately wasn’t quite right for me at this time!