Sushi for One - Camy Tang

I was thrilled to see the Sushi series (Zondervan) by Camy Tang. Christian fiction is painfully lacking in Asian characters presented in a non-imperialist point of view, and Tang's casual, irreverent style fits that void magnificently. Tang taps into many of the sociocultural experiences that define young singleness in the new milennium - text messaging, fusion cuisine, Christian pop culture, and the 'framily', the close group of friends who serve as a surrogate family. Four cousins, the only Christians in their large, extended Chinese-Japanese family struggles as one of the very few Christians in the clan to maintain her faith while living up to the family's expectations. Tang, blessedly, avoids descending into the stock stereotypes that permeate Asian characters in fiction and media today, but instead presents a richly layered cast of characters, from Lex, the sports nut who holds a dark, painful secret, to beautiful, flirtatious Trish, who is so caught up in the passion of her new boyfriend that she loses her faith and her friends, to Grandma, the matriarch who rules her family with an iron fist, but bears some startling vulnerabilities. Tang's descriptive skills are stellar - you can almost taste the crunchy noodles and sweet dumplings she describes. It's a romance and a buddy comedy and a family drama, and you will turn the last page just wanting to know more and more about this fantastic gang of characters. Sushi for One focuses on Lex, who struggles to find love, though she's hindered by a series of hilarious bouts of bad luck and the memory of an awful experience in the past. You laugh and cry in turn, and are left craving more story as well as a good unagi roll. Tang is unafraid to present flawed, multifaceted Christian characters, women with fears, needs, wants, tempers, materialistic desires, and resentments. The arguments between friends and family are both real and hilarious. Tang is a great writer, and her website Camy's Loft http://www.camytang.com/ is well worth checking out.

Highly, highly recommended. Reviews on the rest of the Sushi Series to come.