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Reviews

Reviews

by Curtis Chin - Memoir, Nonfiction

1980s Detroit was a volatile place to live, but above the fray stood a safe haven: Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine, where anyone --- from the city’s first Black mayor to the local drag queens, from a big-time Hollywood star to elderly Jewish couples --- could sit down for a warm, home-cooked meal. Here was where, beneath a bright-red awning and surrounded by his multigenerational family, filmmaker and activist Curtis Chin came of age; where he learned to embrace his identity as a gay ABC, or American-born Chinese; where he navigated the divided city’s spiraling misfortunes; and where he realized just how much he had to offer to the world, to his beloved family and to himself.

by Gary Braver - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Detectives Kirk Lucian and Mandy Wing are charged with investigating a reported suicide of a Cambridge woman in her backyard. After further investigation, the hanging appears staged. Once Kirk and Mandy’s suspicions are confirmed, they make a list of suspects. Clues begin to connect the recent murder to the decades-old mysterious death of a beautiful 16-year-old Romany exchange student who perished when a treehouse she was sleeping in caught fire. The girl, Vadima Lupescu, had done “odd” things among her American peers that stirred up prejudices and suspicions, leading to her brutal death --- and cover-up. As Kirk and Mandy investigate the bizarre rumors --- that Vadima had “gypsy powers” and put curses on those around her --- they discover a cauldron of dark secrets.

by Yunte Huang - Biography, Nonfiction

Born into the steam and starch of a Chinese laundry, Anna May Wong (1905–1961) emerged from turn-of-the-century Los Angeles to become Old Hollywood’s most famous Chinese American actress, a screen siren who captivated global audiences and signed her publicity photos --- with a touch of defiance --- “Orientally yours.” Now, more than a century after her birth, Yunte Huang narrates Wong’s tragic life story, retracing her journey from Chinatown to silent-era Hollywood, and from Weimar Berlin to decadent, prewar Shanghai, and capturing American television in its infancy. As Huang shows, Wong’s rendezvous with history features a remarkable parade of characters, including a smitten Walter Benjamin and (an equally smitten) Marlene Dietrich.

by Alexandra Chang - Fiction, Short Stories

TOMB SWEEPING probes the loyalties we hold: to relatives, to strangers and to ourselves. In stories set across the US and Asia, Alexandra Chang immerses us in the lives of immigrant families, grocery store employees, expecting parents and guileless lab assistants. A woman known only to her neighbors as “the Asian recycling lady” collects bottles from the streets she calls home. A young college grad ponders the void left from a broken friendship. An unfulfilled housewife in Shanghai finds a secret outlet for her ambitions in an undercover gambling den. Two strangers become something more through the bond of mistaken identity. These characters, adeptly attuned to the mystery of living, invite us to consider if it is possible for anyone to entirely do right by another.

by Sheena Yap Chan - Leadership, Nonfiction, Self-Help

In 2021, women represented 54.3% of the US workforce but only held 35% of senior leadership positions. Of that percentage, only 2.7% of Asian women were seen in management roles. While there have been great leaps for women in the workplace in the last decade, women of color still fall behind. THE TAO OF SELF-CONFIDENCE sets a foundation to help Asian women start being seen as leaders in work and life rather than by our stereotypes. In this book, you'll read about getting to the root causes of what's holding you back and stepping into your greatness; cultural and historical issues that affect our leadership potential; and finding and gaining more confidence as your authentic self.

by Lisa See - Fiction, Historical Fiction

According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine. Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom. But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife --- embroider bound-foot slippers, pluck instruments, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.

by Laura Dern and Diane Ladd - Memoir, Nonfiction

Laura Dern and Diane Ladd always had a close relationship, but the stakes were raised when Diane developed a sudden life-threatening illness. Diane’s doctor prescribed long walks to build back her lung capacity. The exertion was challenging, and Laura soon learned that the best way to distract her mom was to get her talking and telling stories. Their conversations along the way began to break down the traditional barriers between mothers and daughters. They discussed the most personal topics: love, sex, marriage, divorce, art, ambition and legacy. In HONEY, BABY, MINE, Laura and Diane share these conversations, as well as reflections and anecdotes, taking readers on an intimate tour of their lives. Complementing these candid exchanges, they have included photos, family recipes and other mementos.

by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex - Memoir, Nonfiction

It was one of the most searing images of the 20th century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow --- and horror. As Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest, billions wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling --- and how their lives would play out from that point on. For Harry, this is that story at last. A landmark publication, SPARE is full of insight, revelation, self-examination and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.

by Peter Rupert Lighte - Memoir, Nonfiction

STRAIGHT THROUGH THE LABYRINTH chronicles the true story of a gay Jewish scholar of China caught in the crosshairs of the very history he has studied. Suddenly ensnared in Hong Kong's handover back to China in 1997, Peter Lighte, intent on adopting a Chinese baby, navigates his way through daunting bureaucracy and unforeseen drama --- and prevails, likely becoming Hong Kong's first adoptive gay father. A second daughter soon follows, a story no less fraught, convincing him that purposeful synchronicity can thrash anything in the way of love.

by John Irving - Fiction

In Aspen, Colorado, in 1941, Rachel Brewster is a slalom skier at the National Downhill and Slalom Championships. Little Ray, as she is called, finishes nowhere near the podium, but she manages to get pregnant. Back home, in New England, Little Ray becomes a ski instructor. Her son, Adam, grows up in a family that defies conventions and evades questions concerning the eventful past. Years later, looking for answers, Adam will go to Aspen. In the Hotel Jerome, where he was conceived, Adam will meet some ghosts. In THE LAST CHAIRLIFT, they aren’t the first or the last ghosts he sees.