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Mambo in Chinatown
Mambo in Chinatown: A Novel | Jean Kwok
From the bestselling author of Girl in Translation, a novel about a young woman torn between her family duties in Chinatown and her escape into the world of ballroom dancing.Twenty-two-year-old Charlie Wong grew up in New Yorks Chinatown, the older daughter of a Beijing ballerina and a noodle maker. Though an ABC (America-born Chinese), Charlies entire world has been limited to this small area. Now grown, she lives in the same tiny apartment with her widower father and her eleven-year-old sister, and worksmiserablyas a dishwasher.But when she lands a job as a receptionist at a ballroom dance studio, Charlie gains access to a world she hardly knew existed, and everything she once took to be certain turns upside down. Gradually, at the dance studio, awkward Charlies natural talents begin to emerge. With them, her perspective, expectations, and sense of self are transformedsomething she must take great pains to hide from her father and his suspicion of all things Western. As Charlie blossoms, though, her sister becomes chronically ill. As Pa insists on treating his ailing child exclusively with Eastern practices to no avail, Charlie is forced to try to reconcile her two selves and her two worldsEastern and Western, old world and newto rescue her little sister without sacrificing her newfound confidence and identity.
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

Charlie works as a dishwasher in the noodle restaurant where her dad works but wants more, so she applies for a receptionist job at a dance studio. She never expects where this will end up taking her. This novel has obvious plot points and was too romance focused for my personal taste, but I enjoyed it. It shows the pull between current and traditional expectations well.

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lilpumpkin2.0
Pickpick

One will not be able to stop reading this. Take my word for it.

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lilpumpkin2.0
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July 7, 2020 Mambo in Chinatown. I started reading this book last Friday and I am already halfway through it. This is one of my first books that I have read by Jean Kwok and I love it! I think it is filled with real life situations and humor. Without finishing it, i can tell it is a WINNER 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Ajessgirl
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Pickpick

I loved it! Such a perfect mix of family, friendship, romance, and personal growth. It takes a lot for a non-thriller to be a "page turner" for me, but "Mambo in Chinatown" was just that. I loved the story and was fully enveloped in Charlie's world, and was so sad when I had to leave.

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mrp27
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#octoberputaspellonyou #danceuntilyoudie

I read this one a few years ago and I remember really liking it despite all the ballroom dancing.

vkois88 It's a pretty cover 6y
34 likes1 comment
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Melli

Read girl in translation and loved it. Saw this today in the dollar tree and remembered it was on my GR tbr I have been reading a lot of mystery/thriller/suspense ( my must fave genres to read) thus one will be a nice change

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jbhops
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Mehso-so

This book was my day trip airplane book today. It was... it was OK. Character development wasn't all there. An almost eyeball-rolling, anticipated story. A small, sad surprise that didn't really seem to fit in. It wasn't bad enough to dump but I wouldn't read it again.

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Tii_the_booknerd
Mehso-so