Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Lessons in Chemistry

From the opening pages I was pulled into the story of Elizabeth Zott. Her story of being a woman in science during the 1960s, her struggles in the workplace, her demise, and ultimate redemption was darkly funny and had such an interesting third-person point of view. We enter the minds of various characters, including the dog, Six-Thirty, but without any sense that anything is magical or fantastical. He’s just sentient and cares for his people and we get to see that. Can you tell I really liked the dog? I also loved Elizabeth’s precocious daughter, Mad. I felt a little nod to Matilda except that Madeline has a wonderful attentive mother. There was a kinship I felt to Reverend Wakely, not in his beliefs and doubts but in his workplace fatigue. Working with people in a ministerial position, even the most wonderful people, can be exhausting! In fact, its a bit of a thankless profession in the same way that being a housewife or mother was in the 1960s and still can be today. I loved the way Elizabeth works through her grief and depression, albeit after a long time ignoring it. The family she creates and the people who consider her their best and only friend point to Elizabeth’s extraordinary ability to see the overlooked and discarded. My enjoyment came down just a tad because I felt the handling of religion and faith was slightly heavy-handed and definitely negative. This didn’t affect my entire view, but I did bring down what might have been a 5-star book for me.

The bottom line: I’m so glad I finally picked this up after numerous recommendations from friends!

— NOTES —
Genres: historical, literary
POV: third-person
Content: sexism, rape, sexual harassment
Romance: discussions about sex, nothing explicit I can remember

— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS —
(all out of 5)
Pace: 5
Enjoyment: 4
Craft: 5
Gut: 4.5
Total: 4.625

Content Warnings

meroree's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

lil_saddie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Holding two truths at the same time: I enjoyed many aspects of this book and think the story telling was quite good with so many threads being woven together expertly and always taking Zott as deadly serious as she took herself. I enjoyed how fluidly the story could change POV and narration to give so many perspectives.
Some spoilers further:
However, I wish I had checked for content warnings before reading because there are considerable themes of SA. I’m struggling with how necessary these multiple scenes and references were as a plot point since this wasn’t based on a true story. I know it was incredibly common in the workplace without consequence in a way that we have improved somewhat as a society today. But for a modern audience when 1 in 6 women have faced SA personally, who is the audience this narrative is trying to convince the severity of the situation to? We know the realities, and Zott being mistreated in the workplace without SA as part of the story feels like it should have been impactful enough. Not to mention how glossed over instances of pedophilia was for male characters. I guess in sum o feel those very triggering topics could have been handled bett

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katlinstirling_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

I loved this book I’m not gonna lie. I loved the way it was written, I loved the characters and the storyline everything! Completely heartbreaking in parts and I was so angry with the sex discrimination and abuse towards women, I did actually throw the book a few times! I don’t care what anyone says this is a 5-star read to me!! ❤️

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mememusa's review against another edition

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3.0

Even the dog is neurospicy.

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mollymorrell's review against another edition

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funny informative inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A story of female empowerment and gender discrimination in STEM, recounted through a humorous and intelligent lens. I found the pace of this book perfect - the packed storyline and endearing characters really make it an ‘unputdownable’ novel.

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lrose02's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was a whirlwind. Elizabeth is a beautifully rich main character who defies society at every turn in a way that is completely understandable to a modern female reader. The first twist of the book is heartbreaking especially as it happens so soon. The love story is not quite a subplot,

although brief

, as it drives the rest of the book. There’s so much character development from all side characters and so many of them are fleshed out. The ending was a happy one and hopeful too, and it made me happy to close the book knowing it’s a standalone. Everything made sense, it wasn’t rushed but still felt nicely wrapped up. The only downside were the few graphic SA scenes that added to the plot but also could not have been needed to be described so vividly.

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