Sweet and Sour
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A heartfelt middle-grade novel about ex-best friends, betrayals, and revenge that is best served sour.
Revenge is sweet!
For as long as she can remember, Mai has spent every summer in Mystic, Connecticut visiting family friends. And hanging out with her best-friend-since-birth, Zach Koyama, was always the best part.
Then two summers ago everything changed. Zach humiliated Mai, proving he wasn’t a friend at all. So when Zach’s family moved to Japan, Mai felt relieved. No more summers together. No more heartache.
But this year, the Koyamas have returned and the family vacation is back on. And if Mai has to spend the summer around Zach, the least she can do is wipe away the memory of his betrayal... by coming up with the perfect plan for revenge!
Only Zach isn’t the boy he used to be, and Mai’s memories of their last fateful summer aren’t the whole truth of what happened between them. Now she’ll have to decide if she can forgive Zach, even if she can never forget.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Every year, Mai Hirano and Zach Koyama, along with their respective Japanese American families, spend the summer together at the Koyamas' vacation home in Mystic, Conn. But unexpected news causes the Koyamas to move suddenly to Tokyo, and a painful betrayal between Zach and Mai sours their friendship. The pair haven't spoken in two years when the Koyamas return, and Mai is ready to exact revenge on her former best friend. Except Zach isn't anything like she remembers; he speaks Japanese and dresses "like a K-pop idol," and, worst of all, acts like their fallout never happened. Confused and hurt, Mai struggles to navigate this seemingly different person, and to decide whether she wants to maintain her distance or explore a new and uncharted dynamic. Chapters titled "Sweet" and "Sour" alternate between good and bad memories, juggling the tweens' past and present as they forge ahead toward an uncertain future. Centering tumultuous adolescence and its effects on emotional health, Florence (Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai) effectively explores complex relationships between friends and family in this uplifting summer read. Ages 8–12.
