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Restaurant kid : a memoir of family and belonging / by Phan, Rachel,author.;
"A warm and poignant narrative about finding one's self amidst the grind of restaurant life, the cross-generational immigrant experience, and a daughter's attempts to connect with parents who have always been just out of reach. When she was three years old, Rachel Phan met her replacement. Instead of a new sibling, her mother and father's time and attention were suddenly devoted entirely to their new family restaurant. For her parents--whose own families fled China during Japanese occupation and then survived bombs and starvation during the war in Vietnam--it was a dream come true. For Phan, it was something quite different. Overnight, she became a restaurant kid, living on the periphery of her own family and trying her best to stay out of the way. As Phan grew up, the restaurant was the most stalwart and suffocating member of her family. For decades, it's been both their crowning achievement and the origin of so much of their pain and suffering: screaming matches complete with smashed dishes; bodies worn down by long hours and repetitive strain; and tenuous relationships where the family loved one another deeply without ever really knowing each other. In Restaurant Kid, Phan seeks to examine the way her life has been shaped by the rigid boxes placed around her. She had to be a "good daughter," never asking questions, always being grateful. She had to be a "real Canadian," watching hockey and speaking English so flawlessly that her tongue has since forgotten how to contort around Cantonese tones. As the only Chinese girl at school, she had to alternate between being the sidekick, geek, or Asian fetish, depending on whose gaze was on her. Now, three decades after their restaurant first opened, Phan's parents are cautiously talking about retirement. As an adult, Phan's "good daughter" role demands something new of her--and a chance to get to know her parents away from the restaurant. In Restaurant Kid, Phan deftly combines candour, wit and insight to craft a vibrant and important narrative on the strength and foibles of family, and how we come to understand ourselves."--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Phan, Rachel.; Phan, Rachel; Children of immigrants; Restaurateurs; Restaurateurs; Chinese Canadian women;

The mismatch : a novel / by Jafari, Sara,author.;
"For a woman who just wants to get her first kiss out of the way, a young rugby star her parents would never approve of seems like the perfect mismatch. But she has no idea how intoxicating one kiss can be ... Soraya Nazari is ready to make her mark on the world--if only she knew what that was going to be. Caught between her strict Muslim family's expectations and her own, Soraya can't help feeling like a fish out of water as she navigates life as a new college graduate. And there is the small matter that Soraya has never been kissed at the age of twenty-one. If she can tick that off the list, surely everything else will fall into place. Enter Magnus Evans: rugby player, man-about-town, and everything Soraya's parents would disapprove of. She knows she could never fall in love with Magnus--and for that reason he is perfect for now. But as Soraya spends more time with Magnus, she wonders if she has written him off too quickly. Maybe in the process of getting to know him better, Soraya will finally start to understand herself."--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Domestic fiction.; Interethnic dating; Young women; Families; Adult children of immigrants; Iranians; Man-woman relationships;

Almost brown : a mixed-race family memoir / by Gill, Charlotte,1971-author.;
"An award-winning writer retraces her dysfunctional, biracial, globe-trotting family's journey as she reckons with ethnicity and belonging, diversity and race, and the complexities of life within a multicultural household. Charlotte Gill's father is Indian. Her mother is English. They meet in 1960's London when the world is not quite ready for interracial love. Their union, a revolutionary act, results in a total meltdown of familial relations, a lot of immigration paperwork, and three children, all in varying shades of tan. Together they set off on a journey from the United Kingdom to Canada and to the United States in elusive pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness--a dream that eventually tears them apart. Almost Brown is an exploration of diasporic intermingling involving parents of two different races and their half-brown children as they experience the paradoxes and conundrums of life as it's lived between race checkboxes. Eventually, her parents drift apart because they just aren't compatible. But as she finds herself distancing from her father too--why is she embarrassed to walk down the street with him and not her mom?--she doesn't know if it's because of his personality or his race. As a mixed-race child, was this her own unconscious bias favoring one parent over the other in the racial tug-of-war that plagues our society? Almost Brown looks for answers to questions shared by many mixed-race people: What are you? What does it mean to be a person of color when the concept is a societal invention and really only applies halfway if you are half white? And how does your relationship with your parents change as you change and grow older? In a funny, turbulent, and ultimately heartwarming story, Gill examines the brilliant messiness of ancestry, "diversity," and the idea of "race," a historical concept that still informs our beliefs about ethnicity today"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Gill, Charlotte, 1971-; Gill, Charlotte, 1971-; Identity (Psychology); Immigrants; Race awareness in children.; Racially mixed families; Racially mixed families; Racially mixed people; Racially mixed people; Racially mixed women; Women authors, Canadian; Race;

Key player / by Yang, Kelly.;
LSC
Subjects: Soccer stories.; Tang, Mia (Fictitious character); FIFA Women's World Cup; Immigrant families; Immigrants; Chinese Americans; Women soccer players; Motels; Middle schools; Racism; Sports journalism; Friendship;

Wild Irish rose / by Bowen, Rhys,author.; Broyles, Clare,author.;
"New York Times bestselling author Rhys Bowen, now writing in partnership with her daughter, Clare Broyles, transports and enthralls readers through the incomparable Molly Murphy Sullivan. Wild Irish Rose is the next novel in this beloved mystery series, a cause for celebration for readers and critics alike. New York, 1907: Now that she's no longer a private detective--at least not officially--Molly Murphy Sullivan is looking forward to a time of settled tranquility with friends and family. Back in New York, where her own story began, Molly decides to accompany some friends to Ellis Island to help distribute clothing to those in need. This journey quickly stirs up memories for Molly. When you're far from home and see people from your country, every face looks like a family member. That evening Molly's policeman husband, Daniel, is late returning home. He comes with a tale to tell: there was a murder on Ellis Island that day, and the main suspect is the spitting image of Molly. The circumstances are eerily similar to when Molly herself arrived on Ellis Island, and she can't help but feel a sense of fate. Molly was meant to be there that day so that she can clear this woman's name"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Cozy mysteries.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Cold cases (Criminal investigation); Immigrants; Murder; Murphy, Molly (Fictitious character); Women private investigators;

Evil eye : a novel / by Rum, Etaf,author.;
Raised in a conservative and emotionally volatile Palestinian family in Brooklyn, Yara thought she would finally feel free when she married a charming entrepreneur who took her to the suburbs. She's gotten to follow her dreams, completing an undergraduate degree in Art and landing a good job at the local college. As a traditional wife, she also raises their two school-aged daughters, takes care of the house, and has dinner ready when her husband gets home. With her family balanced with her professional ambitions, Yara knows that her life is infinitely more rewarding than her own mother's. So why doesn't it feel like enough? After her dream of chaperoning a student trip to Europe evaporates and she responds to a colleague's racist provocation, Yara is put on probation at work and must attend mandatory counseling to keep her position. Her mother blames a family curse for the trouble she's facing, and while Yara doesn't really believe in old superstitions, she still finds herself growing increasingly uneasy with her mother's warning and the possibility of falling victim to the same mistakes. Shaken to the core by these indictments of her life, Yara finds her carefully constructed world beginning to implode. To save herself, Yara must reckon with the reality that the difficulties of the childhood she thought she left behind have very real, and damaging, implications not just on her own future but that of her daughters.
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Social problem fiction.; Novels.; Blessing and cursing; Businesspeople; Families; Generational trauma; Immigrant families; Immigrants; Marriage; Mothers and daughters; Palestinian American women; Palestinian Americans; Psychic trauma; Racism in the workplace; Racism; Self-actualization (Psychology) in women; Self-realization in women;

What will people think? : a novel / by Hamdan, Sara,author.;
Mia Almas has a secret. By day, she works at a respectable job as a media fact checker -- a position her conservative, Arab grandparents approve of -- and, by night, she takes to the stages of New York City comedy clubs. She holds herself back in a lot of ways, especially in the romance department, but being on stage lights her up and makes being a wallflower the rest of the time more bearable. That is, until Phaedra, her stylish and bold new neighbor, inspires Mia to take a few risks. As Mia pursues a forbidden romance with her boss, her standup gets better and bolder, leading to a surprise spotlight that exposes her secret gig. Horrified and worried that her rebellious act could mean big consequences for her reserved Palestinian-American family, Mia frantically dives into damage control. But all of her efforts to pull back from the spotlight expose a family scandal from the 1940s that could change everything ... Equal parts funny and tender, What Will People Think? is a heart-bursting exploration of what it means to discover and embrace the hidden parts of yourself, and how love in all forms can make you whole.
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Family secrets; Immigrant families; Man-woman relationships; Palestinian Arabs; Stand-up comedy; Women comedians;

The dragons, the giant, the women : a memoir / by Moore, Wayétu,author.;
"When Wayétu Moore turns five years old, her father and grandmother throw her a big birthday party at their home in Monrovia, Liberia, but all she can think about is how much she misses her mother, who is working and studying in faraway New York. Before she gets the reunion her father promised her, war breaks out in Liberia. The family is forced to flee their home on foot, walking and hiding for three weeks until they arrive in the village of Lai. Finally, a rebel soldier smuggles them across the border to Sierra Leone, reuniting the family and setting them off on yet another journey, this time to the United States. Spanning this harrowing journey in Moore's early childhood, her years adjusting to life in Texas as a black woman and an immigrant, and her eventual return to Liberia, The Dragons, the Giant, the Women is a deeply moving story of the search for home in the midst of upheaval. Moore has a novelist's eye for suspense and emotional depth, and this unforgettable memoir is full of imaginative, lyrical flights and lush prose. In capturing both the hazy magic and stark realities of what is becoming an increasingly pervasive experience, Moore shines a light on the great political and personal forces that continue to affect many migrants around the world, and calls us all to acknowledge the tenacious power of love and family"--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Moore, Wayétu.; African American women authors; Refugees; Immigrants; Liberian Americans; Families;

The jazz club spy : a novel / by Rich, Roberta,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."A sweeping, New York-set historical novel following a Jewish cigarette girl who moonlights as a spy and attempts to bring justice to her family on the eve of World War II"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Historical fiction.; Spy fiction.; Novels.; Betrayal; Immigrants; Jews; Russians; Women spies;

Blackouts to bright lights : Canadian war bride stories / by Ladouceur, Barbara,1949-; Spence, Phyllis,1943-;
Subjects: War brides; World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945;
© c1995., Ronsdale Press,