Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet

Ana Shen, half chinese and half black, cringes when people say that she has a marvelously biracial, multicultural family. At her graduation ceremony from junior high, just as she is about to give her salutatorian address, the water main of the school bursts filling the football field with water. And if that isn't bad enough, the principal has to cancel the dance scheduled for later that evening. Ana is devastated. She's dreamed of dancing with her crush, Jamie for such a long time. When Ana sees Jamie after the ceremony, she impulsivly invites Jamie and his dad over to dinner with her family. Ana can't believe she actually asked both her grandmothers to cook. They've only cooked a meal together a few times, all with disasterous results. So it's off to a Chinese grocery store with her mom and grandma to get ingredients for her grandma's Chinese food. Her dad takes her other grandma to a store for her gumbo ingredients. Being in the house and helping both grandmas cook is beyond stressful for Ana! Her grandmas collide with their different bags of rice leaving Ana to pick it up off the floor so they don't waste good rice. The food ends up turning out well but Ana is shocked when she sees an uninvited guest at her door, Amanda, her classmate who also likes Jamie. However will Ana deal with a whole dinner of Amanda making her moves on Jamie? And what embarrassing things will her grandparents say? This book successfully portrays a biracial family with just the right combination of humor and matter-of-factness.

Reviewed by: jb

Date read: 8/7/2012

ISBN-13: 9780385734172

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