Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That Made Me Famous by Kathryn Williams

This book has a super cute premise, but fell very short of my expectations. The only really interesting parts were scenes from the show when it was actually filming. The judgment scenes we are so familiar with reality TV contest shows, that I found myself craving them. For everything else in the book, I had to stifle a yawn.

There are a lot of pieces to this story. There's Sophie's strained relationship with her father, her growing attraction to her best friend Alex, her desire to cook and be a chef, and then there's being the television show itself. Many different aspects of Sophie's life to balance, and in the end, no one piece got enough attention.She came across as a very flat character. When Luc entered the picture in Napa, I was hoping something would really spark in her personality, but it didn't. Which just made me wonder what happened to Alex? He's another character that really showed very little emotion, and when he did, it felt much too contrived.

Luckily, there is the reality TV show. A fantasy for teens everywhere. Most of the TV scenes felt very rushed, but readers will recognize the format and be pleased with the way the voting and contestants play out on the show. The only other bit that felt thin was the actual cooking. Many teens looking to this book for recipes or long paragraphs on cooking will be disappointed.

Overall I felt underwhelmed, but the few exciting scenes make this story one worth reading.

Overall Rating: 3 Stars