Hi friends, happy Monday, I hope you’re all doing well! Today I’m posting my review of Mai Nguyen’s novel Sunshine Nails.

This novel was short-listed for Canada Reads 2024.

Sunshine Nails by: Mai Nguyen: The Tran family have made their home in Toronto over the last few decades opening and operating a nail salon, Sunshine Nails. But when a new very prestigious salon from the US rolls in on the same street, the Tran family have to find a way of keeping the lights on and the business open. This was such a beautiful story that wove life as an immigrant with culture, work life culture and family. At first the reader thought this had too many points of view. Everyone in this family had a POV and it got a to be a bit much to start, but once you dove a little deeper into the story, it became relevant as to how each of these stories and POVs came together to tell one cohesive narrative. Each character had a part to play in the overall arc. It was such a journey to read about each of these characters; they all had their own struggles, but were really good at putting their family before their struggle. It made this story so enriching to read about such flawed characters. They all had to fail at something, and it really humbled them; they each had this sort of wake up moment that shook them up to see what they really needed to see, and that made this so special. It could get really emotional when we saw each of the characters start to work with each other instead of against each other. This really brought into question the things you’d do for family and how bonded you can become. This was a really well told story; the pacing started off a little slow in the beginning, but it really took off about mid-way and the reader found themselves so immersed in the world they didn’t want to leave. The plots just kept coming and the reader had no idea where anything was going to lead. The highs and lows in this were kinda extreme, but they worked really well and had the reader feeling an array of emotions, from amused to poignant. This was such a compelling and gripping story and a great look into the Asian immigrant story, would definitely recommend.