Back to the Good Fortune Diner

There were so many things about this book that I liked. I loved reading Tiffany's point of view where Chris was concerned. The differences between how she was feeling inside and how that projected to the world (she was freaking out, desperately trying not to jump his bones--he sees an ice queen who isn't at all interested in him that way) was amusing. Chris's struggles with his teen-aged son, and Tiffany's ultimate ability to connect with the teen were well written. I liked Tiffany's issues with coming back home to a small town from the big city and the way that she'd always felt on the outside--at school, in town, and in her family. I enjoyed the characters of both Tiffany and Chris, as well as Tiff's brother Daniel and Chris's son show more Simon. So far, so good.

This novel had a really strong start and dealt with some pretty heavy issues, but ultimately I thought the ending was too rushed and simplistic. There were some major problems going on here. Tiffany and her family faced some pretty heavy-duty racism and bigotry from a character, and snap! it was fixed. Both Tiffany and her brother struggled with the idea that the rest of their family wouldn't react well to their having serious relationships with people who weren't Chinese--in fact, at one point their mother told Daniel that as long as his girlfriend was "a good Chinese girl. That's all we want" everything would be fine. In the end, though, both characters have committed to their relationships but nothing at all is said about how the rest of the family feels about it--did the issue just go away? Or did it never really exist? We'll never know. As for the biggest issue in the novel--Tiffany believing she belongs in the city working vs. Chris having a life back in their hometown--it just kind of goes away. I definitely wasn't sold on the life change that the character undergoes here.

In the end, I liked most of the book but the resolution left me wanting. I'd be interested in reading more from this author, though, as I did really enjoy much of the novel. show less