by Samantha White
Northwest Asia Weekly
donut trap
by Julie Iron
Avon, 2021
Jasmine Tran, who has no boyfriend and no job prospects, came home after college and worked in her parents’ doughnut shop. Her day job now includes donuts, Netflix and sleep, and she just wants to break free. But then soaring rents threaten the store’s survival, and her parents need Jasmine’s help even more.
Then she meets Alex Lai, her college crush, and things start to look up. Successful, good-looking, Chinese, and the ideal boyfriend in the eyes of her parents. But things changed after a disastrous parents meet dinner. Jasmine also had her own doubts.
Now Jasmine must figure out if she really wants to be with Alex, how to save her family business, and what she wants to do with her life.
“The Donut Trap” is about a young woman coping with family stress. Regardless of our background, wanting to live up to our parents’ expectations is a feeling that many feel. But when you add the immigration experience to the mix, it just adds another layer of stress. We want to make the sacrifices and struggles of our parents worth it, and Jasmine is no exception. As the story progresses, we see the impact all of this has on Jasmine, both now and in the past.
It is also a story about the Cambodian diaspora and its diversity. Jasmine’s parents grew up in Cambodia, of Chinese descent, and when they fled the Khmer Rouge, came to Vietnam before coming to the United States. So the growth of jasmine includes aspects of all these cultures. While my family is (mostly) Cambodian, we have extended family and friends that fit this description or are in a similar situation. Just like not all Asians are the same and not all Cambodians are the same, I appreciate Tieu including this detail. I also appreciate that this is not a story about the Jasmine family surviving the genocide. It’s part of her story, but Tieu does a good job of showing that Jasmine is more than just her family’s trauma.
Lupe Wong can’t dance
Donna Barbara Iguera
Levine Darling, 2020
Lupe Wong’s big goal in life is to become Major League Baseball’s first female pitcher. Her goal in the short term is to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, who is Chinacan/Mexinese — Chinese and Mexican American — just like her. But she won’t be able to see him until she gets a straight-ahead on her next report card. All grades point to the seventh grader meeting her hero, but then – terrifyingly – she learns she’ll have to do square dancing in gym class.
Being a champion for a cause – from the worthy, like expanding the match options for school exams to more than just a few bubbles, to the possibly unworthy, like complaining to the BBC about the “length of time between seasons” Doctor Who “—Lupe realizes this will be her next fight.
“Lupe Wong” tells the story of a girl who is not afraid to speak her mind. Sure, she can be stubborn at times, but that also means she doesn’t go with the flow — especially when she thinks injustice has happened. Sometimes it backfires, especially when she doesn’t think things through, with dire consequences (at least for preteens).
Barba Higuera does a great job of combining humor with topics like the importance of being true to yourself and the importance of saying something for the right reasons. Lupe is an interesting character and it’s great to see her grow throughout the story. Her movement to end square dancing in sports was a little selfish at first (she was only 12, after all), but by the end, we see her transformed, becoming more thoughtful and compassionate. Her evolution reminds readers of all ages that we can all take time to stop and think before speaking or acting.
the taste of love
by Jennifer Yen
Razorbird, 2021
For most people, Lisa Yang is perfect. But for her very traditional Taiwanese mom, Lisa is too stubborn and rebellious—needs to be more like her older sister Jenny. One thing Lisa and her mom agree on is their love of baking. So when her mom gave her a bigger role in the family bakery’s annual junior baking competition, Lisa set out to prove she was actually a good daughter.
But when she saw that all her competitors were Asian American boys, Lisa knew her mom was on to something—especially matchmaking. Despite being annoyed at her mom, Lisa is even more annoyed when she finds herself actually attracted to one of the “bachelors” – the stoic but hot James.
“The Taste of Love” is a funny retelling of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” My favorite part is the baking contest. All of the men were handpicked by her mom, and while they looked good on paper, real life is another story entirely. Clearly, hilarity ensues — especially since some of them have little to no baking skills.
This is definitely one of those books you don’t want to read when you’re hungry. Yen’s description will make you want to eat everything from boba to Korean BBQ to dumplings. In a society where anything ‘too different’ is easily ridiculed, I appreciate Liza’s unabashed love for all different types of Asian food, and normalizing different aspects of our daily lives rather than exoticizing us or “otherization”.
In the end, I’m just Alyssa. I talked about the worrying part of the relationship with her mom, and her relationship with Jenny and her role as a sister. Trying to be perfect and living up to the pressure of older siblings is something I’m still dealing with today. But when Lisa learns the value of being who you are and following your passions, she reminds readers that in any situation, we are enough people.
Samantha is available at info@nwasianweekly.com.
