If You Can't Take the Heat

Starred review from March 11, 2024
A talented jock discovers a passion for cooking after a grievous injury sidelines him for the summer in this savory 1980s read set in Cleveland. Sixteen-year-old Theo Claverback lives for football, but a broken leg courtesy of a benign bone cyst leaves him on crutches for a lengthy recovery period. Banned from sports indefinitely, Theo embraces his newfound talent for cooking and, with help from new friend Julia, begins working as a prep cook at Margaux, a prestigious French restaurant. Despite his lack of formal training, Theo thrives in the demanding environment. A tumultuous fling with Julia, who works as a server, is the final ingredient in Theo’s transformative summer, but events beyond his control may soon end his time in the kitchen. Combining a “faithful rendering of the time when, and the place where, I grew up” and an “actual story told to me by Matthew Accarrino, executive chef of SPQR in San Francisco,” food writer Ruhlman employs exacting verisimilitude to bring the heat of the kitchen and sensory details of the dishes to life in this vivacious debut. Major characters are white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary.