Sunshine Nails

                                         *free review copy* 

Title: Sunshine Nails

Author: Mai Nguyen 

Publisher: Atria 

Release Date: 7.4.23

Publisher’s Summary 

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.

My Review

First of all, let's take a moment to admire this cover--summer vibe perfection!

Now, for the story...

Debut author Mai Nguyen draws on her personal and cultural history to expertly weave heavier themes of gentrification, privilege, and freedom with hilarious family hijinx and perfectly timed humor. I drank up every page and loved her cast of characters. 

I also found her acknowledgments to be especially heart-warming: 

"I was eight when my parents opened a nail salon in Halifax, Nova Scotia. When I got older, I learned there were thousands of nail salons all over North America run by Vietnamese immigrants who wanted to paint a new life for themselves after the Vietnam War. That’s why I wrote Sunshine Nails. For all the immigrant nail techs out there. I hope you enjoyed being the main characters for once."

I recommend this one pretty widely as I think almost anyone who reads it will like it.