And for kids and adults who don’t know the source material, this book is likely to make them want to give it a try! It’s targeted at teens, but My Fine Fellow serves as an enjoyable read for adults as well, especially adults familiar with My Fair Lady.

It’s not what I would have done, but I will say she does it believably and well. Famously, Pygmalion and My Fair Lady suggest different destinies for their protagonist My Fine Fellow takes yet another path, one that wouldn’t have worked in the original but is made workable by Cohen’s various changes to the characters. Elijah seeks to better himself under the guidance of the brilliant but abrasive Helena, all the while keeping secrets from her and Penelope that could derail the whole project. With that, we’re off to the races (see what I did there?) with a story that pays frequent clever tributes to the original while daring to strike out in its own direction. And a poor street vendor named Elijah Little sells pastries that catch the attention of two young Culinarians in training, Helena Higgins and Penelope Pickering. The culinary arts are highly honored, and women have more freedom than their Victorian counterparts-but unfortunately, anti-Semitism, and racism in general, still run rampant. With great imagination and creativity, Jennieke Cohen takes the Pygmalion/My Fair Lady story and moves it to 1833 in an alternate England, where Queen Charlotte rules instead of Queen Victoria. My Fine Fellow by Jennieke Cohen (HarperTeen, 2022)

My fine fellow jennieke cohen