Sweet and Sour by Debbi Michiko Florence - ADVISABLE

Sweet and Sour by Debbi Michiko Florence, 304 pages. Scholastic Press (Scholastic). 2022 $18.00 Language: G (2 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G (2 kisses); Violence: G. 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

12yo Mai and 13yo Zach have been friends since they were little kids. Their moms are best friends and they spend their summers together in a vacation home in Connecticut. But Zach and his family have lived in Japan the last 2 years, and that previous summer something happened between Mai and Zach and Mai is still really mad about it. When Mai finds out Zach did some modeling in Japan and now has an Instagram, she wonders if she can enact her revenge by taking his photo and posting embarrassing pictures on his account. 

A lite romance, it’s more about creating, maintaining and repairing friendships. Mai spends the bulk of the book angry at Zach, and plotting revenge while the flashbacks slowly unfold what had happened. Some are sweet - times when she and Zach were best friends and others are sour - when they were 10/11 and Mai felt Zach betrayed their friendship. Sweet and Sour is a cute story perfect for upper elementary and middle schoolers. Mai and Zach are Korean, his family has lived in Japan for the last 2 years so they speak some Japanese 

Lisa Librarian