Eli Over Easy

By Phil Stamper

A poignant coming-of-age middle grade novel from Phil Stamper (Small Town Pride) in the vein of The Line Tender. After the death of his mother, Eli finds cooking and coding as a way to stay connected to her and the lessons she taught him with the help of the cute boy next door.

The last few months have been pretty tough for Eli. He moved to New York City and left his small town in Minnesota with his extended family and everyone he knows. He hasn’t made any new friends. And his mom died unexpectedly, shattering his whole world. He misses Mom more and more every day, but Dad refuses to talk about her, leaving Eli alone in his grief. 

Then Eli finds a stash of instructional cooking videos his mom made, revealing her dream of being a celebrity chef. With the help of the cute new neighbor boy, Mathias, Eli decides to follow his mother’s recipes using her videos. If he can re-create his mom's special dishes, then maybe a part of her can stay with him forever. But what happens when the videos run out?

From acclaimed author Phil Stamper comes a heartfelt novel about grief, love, loss, and finding your way forward.