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Title details for Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen - Available

Sunshine Nails

by Mai Nguyen
Carolina Ðo
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
This "insightful, moving story with striking depth" (Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author) follows a Vietnamese Canadian family in Toronto who will do anything to protect their no-frills nail salon after a new high-end salon opens up—even if it tears the family apart.
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. 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?

"Sharp, witty, and warmhearted, [Mai] Nguyen's debut tackles gentrification, small business ownership, prejudice in the workplace, and—most importantly—the depth of familial ties, and the power of a good manicure" (Shelf Awareness).

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 4, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797157542
      • File size: 288243 KB
      • Duration: 10:00:30

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 1, 2023
      Nguyen debuts with a glittering story of a family nail salon in Toronto. Matriarch Debbie Tran absentmindedly clicks on a one-star review of her business, Sunshine Nails, which sends her into a chaotic shame spiral about the quality of her English and of her own “unkempt” nails, both subjects of the unsatisfied customer’s blistering screed. Making matters worse, a slick salon chain named Take Ten opens a store across the street, riding a wave of gentrification in the neighborhood. Debbie, desperate to compete with the new salon, recruits her daughter, Jessica, who’s recently returned home after a breakup, to help turn Sunshine Nails around. Debbie also starts spying on Take Ten bigwig Savannah Shaw, paranoid that Savannah is sabotaging her. Meanwhile, Debbie’s husband, Phil, is up to his own shenanigans, securing a business loan from a sketchy associate, prompting readers to wonder how far the Trans will go to hold on to their legacy and whether they’ll tarnish it in the process. Nguyen imbues her characters with humanity and nuance, making hay from all their imperfections. Readers are in for a treat.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A full cast of narrators brings this family drama debut to life. Debbie and Phil Tran, Vietnamese refugees who run their own nail salon in Toronto, are barely breaking even. Things worsen when a new high-end salon opens across the street and rents surge in their gentrifying neighborhood. Desperate to save their family business, they recruit their children and niece to help them undermine the competition. The perspectives of the chapters move among the various flawed Tran family members. The narrators' performances ensure that the characters are easy to distinguish, although some characters are less developed. The nuanced deliveries capture complex family dynamics and generational differences as the story explores themes of gentrification, the immigrant experience, and racism. V.T.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      An ensemble cast narrates Nguyen's warmhearted debut, giving voice to multiple members of the Tran family as they navigate changing family dynamics, neighborhood gentrification, and the challenges of finding space in a new country. Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran, owners of a Toronto nail salon, live a comfortable life. However, when a sparkly new salon moves in across the street, it becomes nearly impossible for the Trans to keep their salon afloat. In a desperate bid to save the business, the Trans enlist the support of their daughter Jessica, who has returned home after a nasty breakup, along with Jessica's brother Dustin and their cousin Thuy. The ensemble of talented narrators--Carolina �o, David Lee Huynh, Quyen Ngo, Vyvy Nguyen, and Trieu Tran--bring out each family member's personality and convey the spirit of Nguyen's text, which is sprinkled throughout with Vietnamese phrases. Listeners will likely enjoy Nguyen's descriptions of tasty foods and a sweet love scene between the parents, but insufficient character development occasionally makes it hard to connect. VERDICT Fans of family dramas with multiple perspectives, such as Balli Kaur Jaswal's The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters, will find much to like.--Laura Stein

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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