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Sunshine Nails  By  cover art

Sunshine Nails

By: Mai Nguyen
Narrated by: Carolina Do, David Lee Huynh, Quyen Ngo, Vyvy Nguyen, Trieu Tran
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Publisher's summary

A Real Simple Must-Read Book of Summer 2023

“Mai Nguyen has proven herself to be a real standout.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author

A tender, humorous debut about a Vietnamese Canadian family in Toronto who will do whatever it takes to protect their no-frills nail salon after a new high end salon opens up—even if it tears the family apart. Perfect for listeners of Olga Dies Dreaming and The Fortunes of Jaded Women.

Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a comfortable life for themselves in Toronto with their family nail salon. But when an ultra-glam chain salon opens across the street, their world is rocked.

Complicating matters further, their landlord has jacked up the rent and it seems only a matter of time before they lose their business and everything they’ve built. They enlist the help of their daughter, Jessica, who has just returned home after a messy breakup and a messier firing. Together with their son, Dustin, and niece, Thuy, they devise some good old-fashioned sabotage. Relationships are put to the test as the line between right and wrong gets blurred. Debbie and Phil must choose: do they keep their family intact or fight for their salon?

Sunshine Nails is a light-hearted, urgent fable of gentrification with a cast of memorable and complex characters who showcase the diversity of immigrant experiences and community resilience.

©2022 Mai Nguyen (P)2022 Simon & Schuster Audio

Editorial Review

Nailed it!
As someone who once spent an entire summer giving myself a manicure every other day to sharpen my skills, I am very much a lover of all things nails. That said, I do like to occasionally book an appointment to let an expert create perfectly gleaming talons. Hence, my immediate interest in this debut from Mai Nguyen that pits a mom-and-pop nail shop run by a Vietnamese Canadian family against a gentrifying franchise behemoth coming to steal customers and endanger their livelihood. Woven into this tale of family and work is a view of the varied immigrant experience, showing how it can shape fortunes, identities, our closest relationships, and the decisions we are forced to make. I’m loving this full cast recording and plan to take it with me along for the ride on an upcoming summer road trip! —Kelley S., Audible Editor

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Awesome book

I truly loved this audio book!
I highly recommend it to you.
Please enjoy it as much as I have

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Read It!

I really enjoyed the story. Sometimes simple everyday life IS a beautiful story. Loved the narrator's and their characters.

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  • J
  • 07-21-23

Sweet fun story with good narrators

This is a nice story about family and struggle. The experience of immigrants is a strong theme without being too dark or preachy. The narrators are good. I have mixed feelings about the ending.
I’m really surprised that this isn’t a top seller. I found it as an editor pick and I’m really glad that I did. I’d definitely read more by this author.

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cute, fun, easy listening summer read

fun book, woth great storyline. my only complaint about this book was the narration of the character Phil. It was so over the top of putting on Asian accent that it was almost offensive.

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Very relatable

Great read and very relatable for Asian Americans. Loved the story line and the narrators did well in conveying the story.

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  • PC
  • 01-04-24

Easy listen

Not much really happens in the story. And character development not awesome. Very superficial knowledge of each character

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Loved It!

Awesome from start to finish.
Good story line of everyday life the narrators did a wonderful job.
I truly loved it!

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Great Characters

I loved this wonderful story about immigrants trying to live the American dream. The characters were well developed. This book had a good ending but I would like a continuation of this story, and isn’t that what a great book does - has you thinking about the characters long after the book has ended. The narrators were fantastic. More, by this author and narrators, please.

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loved it!

I found it well written, interesting, and I really enjoyed the descriptions and the different points of views.

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Lighthearted Story

The story was relatable and was an interesting read. Definitely glad I purchased this audio. Looking forward to more books from this author!

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