Release date: July 4, 2023
Publisher: Atria
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Synopsis:
A tender, humorous, and page-turning debut about a Vietnamese Canadian family in Toronto who will do whatever it takes to protect their no-frills nail salon after a new high end salon opens up—even if it tears the family apart. Perfect for readers of Olga Dies Dreaming and The Fortunes of Jaded Women.
Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a comfortable life for themselves in Toronto with their family nail salon. But when an ultra-glam chain salon opens across the street, their world is rocked.
Complicating matters further, their landlord has jacked up the rent and it seems only a matter of time before they lose their business and everything they’ve built. They enlist the help of their daughter, Jessica, who has just returned home after a messy breakup and a messier firing. Together with their son, Dustin, and niece, Thuy, they devise some good old-fashioned sabotage. Relationships are put to the test as the line between right and wrong gets blurred. Debbie and Phil must choose: do they keep their family intact or fight for their salon?
Sunshine Nails is a light-hearted, urgent fable of gentrification with a cast of memorable and complex characters who showcase the diversity of immigrant experiences and community resilience.
Review:
If you like character driven family stories this was really good. I truly enjoyed following the Tran families experience as Vietnamese Canadians who struggle to keep their long running family business afloat after a new nail salon opens across the street from them. There was a lot of really good witty humor to be found in the authors writing style and the balance between this and the immigrant experience was really well done. You hear from every member of the family in alternating viewpoints and they’re all relatable in some way. I thought the portrayal of a dysfunctional family was spot on and full of heart as well as really well done as far as showing the intricacies of their unique family dynamic. Overall this was a strong debut and I’ll be looking forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.
Overall rating: 4/5
Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.
Novelgossip 