A Taste for Love

December 1, 2020

Gr 7 Up- Determined to push back against the traditional values held by her Taiwanese immigrant mother, Liza Yang constantly battles against the model minority student image that her mother tries to mold her into. Different from her over-achieving older sister Jeannie, one thing that Liza and her mother have in common is their love for baking. Once she has agreed to help Mrs. Yang at their family bakery's annual baking competition, Liza finds herself surrounded by contestants-all from well-off Asian families-that her mother has picked for her to date. Attracted to hot contestant James Wong, Liza finds it hard to fight her feelings for him and for approval from her mother. She is destined to try her own recipe for love. A plot-driven romance with a happy ending, Yen's debut is filled with mouth-watering descriptions of jelly cakes, egg waffles, matcha cookies, boba tea, and char siu bao. Yen, a child psychiatrist, writes with a great deal of insight into the adolescent mind. This spotlight on a tight-knight Asian American family and community is ripe for a film adaptation. VERDICT A fun story about family and friendship, this romance will circulate well in public and high school libraries.-Raymond Wang, Community College of Baltimore Cty., MD

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2021
High school senior Liza Yang is used to her mother's matchmaking schemes, but her latest strategy takes the cake. Liza is flattered when her mother invites her to be a judge for the annual Yin and Yang Bakery and Restaurant's Junior Baking Competition, which began as a way to promote her parents' business. However, her happiness turns into frustration when she discovers her mother's ulterior motive: She's handpicking contestants in order to find a nice Asian boy for Liza. The only upside is that Liza is certain she can rule out two of the contestants as suitors. Easygoing Ben Chan is dating Liza's best friend, Grace, and handsome but reserved James Wong, his cousin, left a poor impression on Liza at their first meeting. When James takes the lead in the competition and reveals an unexpectedly thoughtful side, Liza finds herself reconsidering her opinion of him. This is a story that highlights love not only through the romance storyline, but also in the push-pull dynamic between immigrant parents and their children, moments of sisterly banter and bonding, and bubble tea shared between best friends. Mouthwatering descriptions of steamed buns, matcha cookies, and other treats sprinkled throughout the novel will have readers searching for the nearest Asian bakery. Main characters are Taiwanese American. Scrumptious. (Romance. 13-18)

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February 1, 2021
Grades 8-11 Liza Yang knows what she likes. Unfortunately, her dreams don't align with those of her traditional Taiwanese mother, who wants her to date a nice Asian boy and choose a practical career. Liza adores her parents' Yin & Yang Bakery and wants to go to culinary school--and she dates plenty of guys her mom wouldn't approve of. With her latest relationship up in flames and her parents pushing her to pursue accounting in college, Liza agrees to be a guest judge for her mother's annual baking contest--only to discover, to her horror, that the contestants are all boys her mother considers viable dating options. Worse, the star baker is James Wong, who could be cute if he wasn't so uptight. Liza is a warmly familiar, modern teen, and many readers will recognize themselves in her and her story, which takes a surprise turn just as they'll think they've figured out its beats. Pride and Prejudice gets a taste of The Great British Bake Off in this debut, which hits all the right notes.

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