A review by helloits_jen
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I don’t think I even have the words to describe how I feel about this book. Elizabeth Zott is an icon, she is strong and powerful and amazing and the way she is represented as a woman in science is just fantastic. Obviously the culture is much different now but there is still an inherent bias in science (just look at the number of female nobel prize winners compared to male!!) and this is a brilliant representation of how so many women were treated! But I think Elizabeth is such a role model, she is so independent and determined, even when she is basically diminished to her cooking skills - I love love love that she managed to still get the chemistry in there too!! But even the cooking show, even though she was a scientist at heart she still managed to reach out and improve the lives of so many women. I think the darker themes in the book (slight spoiler/trigger warning -
such as the sexual assault
) are so upsetting and unfortunately probably a realistic representation of life for many women at the time. Elizabeth Zott is my hero, I think she is such an inspirational character and I hope somewhere out there she has inspired women to pursue their dreams and smash the patriarchy! 
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