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Wry humor, lively dialogue, and a compassionate take on being a single woman under a traditional mother's matchmaking thumb enliven this insightful debut.
Ginger Lee has come to New York to be someone--not to be with someone. Yet she's taking too long, according to her mother, who thinks a job is just a paycheck and that the solution to Ginger's problems is a nice professional Korean husband. Ginger could not disagree more, but unable to stand up to her mother, she sets upon a two-pronged plan: She'll sabotage the dates her mother arranges while stepping up her efforts to win a promotion at á la Mode magazine. She is confounded at every turn, however, by men who reject her before she can reject them and by style fiends better practiced in the art of office warfare. Finally free of her prejudices and preconceptions, Ginger finds that only by embracing her mother and her Asian roots will her happiness blossom. In Full Bloom heralds the arrival of a bright talent on today's literary scene.
Anna Maxted, author of Running in Heels
A smart, funny, elegantly written book, full of wit and intelligence. Emily Barr, author of Backpack and Baggage
I couldn't put it down! Caroline Hwang leads the reader to expect one thing, then hits us with the unexpected every time. She brings Jane Austen's themes storming into the twenty first century–and convention goes out the window. Jennifer Weiner, author of Good in Bed and In Her Shoes
Witty, insightful, and sharp as a pair of this season's Pradas, In Full Bloom offers a bouquet to any reader who's ever gone looking for love with her mother looking over her shoulder. Melissa de la Cruz, author of Cat's Meow
In Full Bloom made me laugh, cringe in recognition, miss my family, and thank god I had never worked as a fashion assistant! Caroline Hwang has written a funny and sad novel, a truthful portrait of life in the fashionable fast lane as it is lived by a second generation Asian-American woman attempting to resolve both sides of her identity. Wendy Holden, author of Farm Fatale
Warm and quirky.
If you liked In Full Bloom, try these:
by Gish Jen
Published 2005
Powerfully evoking the contemporary American family in all its fragility and strength, Gish Jen has given us her most exuberant and accomplished novel about the new "half-half" American family.
by Meghan Daum
Published 2004
'Daum brings a crisp, wisecracking voice to her novel about Lucinda, a life-style correspondent for a morning television show, who, in search of a more interesting life, leaves New York for Prairie City, a fictional Midwestern town.'
All the Men I've Loved Again by Christine Pride
Christine Pride's solo debut explores a woman's love triangle in her 20s that unexpectedly resurfaces in her 40s.
