Helen Pidd

Meet Elizabeth Zott, a chemist in 1960s California whose career takes an unexpected turn when she becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show. But Elizabeth's approach to cooking isn't your average recipe book - she's daring women to challenge the status quo. Laugh-out-loud funny and shrewdly observant, Lessons in Chemistry is a vibrant debut about one woman's unconventional journey towards making her mark.

This debut novel is a big-hearted story about race and privilege, centered around a black babysitter and her well-intentioned employer. When Emira Tucker is accused of kidnapping the child she's babysitting, her employer, Alix Chamberlain, aims to make it right. However, Emira is mired in personal and financial struggles and is skeptical of Alix's help. As their transactional relationship deepens, both women confront their own realities and the consequences of their actions. With empathy and social commentary, this book explores what it means to make someone "family" and the stickiness of transactional relationships.