1 of 3 copies available
To her friends, high school senior Liza Yang is nearly perfect. Smart, kind, and pretty, she dreams big and never shies away from a challenge. But to her mom, Liza is anything but. Compared to her older sister Jeannie, Liza is stubborn, rebellious, and worst of all, determined to push back against all of Mrs. Yang's traditional values, especially when it comes to dating.
The one thing mother and daughter do agree on is their love of baking. Mrs. Yang is the owner of Houston's popular Yin & Yang Bakery. With college just around the corner, Liza agrees to help out at the bakery's annual junior competition to prove to her mom that she's more than her rebellious tendencies once and for all. But when Liza arrives on the first day of the bake-off, she realizes there's a catch: all of the contestants are young Asian American men her mother has handpicked for Liza to date.
The bachelorette situation Liza has found herself in is made even worse when she happens to be grudgingly attracted to one of the contestants; the stoic, impenetrable, annoyingly hot James Wong. As she battles against her feelings for James, and for her mother's approval, Liza begins to realize there's no tried and true recipe for love.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 2, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593341520
- File size: 252715 KB
- Duration: 08:46:29
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Lexile® Measure: 650
- Text Difficulty: 2-3
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Reviews
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Josephine Huang performs this sweet novel at the perfect pace. Liza Yang, an avid baker, is smart and driven. But she could still do better, according to her mother, by dating an Asian boy. Mrs. Yang sets up a baking competition filled with eligible young Asian men for just this purpose. Liza, who is trying to prove herself to her mother, is voiced with a clearly enunciated lilt that exudes confidence and youth. Trouble begins when an excellent young baker who has a prickly past with Liza enters the scene. James Wong, dashing and misunderstood, wins the listener's heart. His speech cadence is distinct, and even rapid dialogue is easy to follow. A perfect story for those looking for a fun summer listen. S.K.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine -
July 1, 2021
Gr 7 Up-Her model-yep, as in runway-older sister Jeannie couldn't be more perfect, leaving Liza all too familiar with their Taiwanese immigrant mother's disappointment and frustration. Despite Mom's "no dating while you're in school" rule, she ironically can't get over Liza's lack of appropriate boyfriend. For Mom-never mind Liza-he has to be Asian, tall, and smart, with stable career prospects...and did Mom mention Asian? Though Liza and her mother are mismatched over Liza's love life, the one thing they have in common-absolutely superb baking skills-might prove to be the secret ingredient to yield sweet victories for the whole family. Yen's debut sets Pride and Prejudice over a Houston summer of tasty surprises, read by first-time solo narrator Josephine Huang. The actor/filmmaker/foodie proffers a youthful, energetic performance, but her inexperience is unmistakable as she stumbles through mispronunciations of names-best-selling author Jenny Han, for example-and simple words easily researched for accuracy, including pho and sakura. VERDICT Despite the occasional inaccurate glitches, Yen's toothsome concoction is an irresistible treat for fans of Sandhya Menon, Maureen Goo, and Elizabeth Acevedo.-Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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