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 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. ( )

Shireen is over the moon when she discovers she has been selected as a contest on the Junior Irish Baking Show. It's going to be a great summer, despite the fact that her best friend is in Bangladesh visiting family and her ex-Chris is also a contestant on the show.
Another contestant, Niamh, tries to kindle something with Shireen too. The competition gets a little cut throat and the online hate for the bakers or color is another layer of something to deal with extra to the competition. A fun rom-com read. ( )

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) ( )

i was really enjoying this (maybe 3.75 stars) until i was about 2/3 of the way through. i don't watch any baking shows but i've enjoyed the books i've read that take place on the set of one, and at first this was no exception. i loved the supportive family (i'm enjoying these so much lately, especially in a culture where it's unexpected), the fat-positivity, and the queer acceptance.

the last third or so...didn't ruin it for me, but definitely wasn't as good as it was up until then. niamh should not have turned out to be a saboteur; this book would be infinitely stronger if she hadn't turned into a bad person. if shireen was forced to really think about her feelings, actually apologize to chris, and then chose chris because of their relationship, not because things with niamh turned out badly. this really rankled me and was a really unfortunate choice for the book, and for shireen, i thought. her entire attitude in that latter third of the book just didn't sit right with me; i wish that whole last third had gone a different way, until the very end. i would have liked it more had that last third been better, but i really did enjoy it until then. ( )

This was a cute story about two teens (Shireen and Chris) working at their parent's rival donut shops. The teens have a secret romance (Romeo & Juliet vibes without the sad ending) and both end up on a baking show as teammates, after their break-up. While the story was predictable, it was a fun and quick read.

Priya Ayyar did a great job narrating this novel and I will definitely look for books narrated by Priya in the future. ( )