Customer Reviews

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet by Sherri L. Smith
takes place over the course of one day,
starting at a girl's eighth grade graduation. Ana's
entire family and both sets of grandparents come to
her graduation ceremony, which is literally
disastrous: a water pipe breaks, dousing the graduates
just as Ana was beginning her salutatorian speech.
After graduation, at the nudging of her best friend,
she manages to invite her crush Jamie over for dinner.


It sounds simple enough, but it's not. Her
grandparents don't really get along. Ana's mom is
African-American and her dad is Chinese-American. Ana,
her parents, and her bouncy little brother are happy
and well, but the grands always experience a cultural
clash when they are in the same room. The grandmothers
frequently try to one-up each other with gifts and
stories. Now they'll try to do the same as they race
to prepare the perfect dishes for Ana's impromptu
graduation dinner.

As if it weren't trouble enough having all of the
grandparents in the kitchen cooking up completely
different foods, some unexpected guests arrive,
further complicating things. When Ana steps out of the
kitchen and looks around the dinner table, she's bound
to be surprised. Ultimately, her family's different
cultures and tastes blend together and compliment each
other, and the ending, like the meal, is satisfying
for Ana.

A quick G-rated read for middle school students that
encourages the blending and appreciation of different
cultures. Maybe a little predictable, but fairly
innocuous.

I also recommend Smith's previous releases,
Sparrow and Lucy the Giant, to teens.

Ana Shen's biracial family - a Chinese-American father and an Afro-American mother - brings two grandparents in town at the same time - which results in a host of new problems and a confusing blend of cultures for Ana. How best can she honor both her very different grandparents - at a meal during which each expects something different? Add the usual conflicts over friendships and coming of age and you have a sweet mix of dilemmas and encounters.

This was purchased for a children's program at our local library. Can't comment on the book itself, as I haven't read it. But shipping was fast and book was in the condition promised.