Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune

Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Lim, Roselle. library edition. ISBN: 9781432870355.

Lush and visual, chock-full of delicious recipes, Roselle Lims magical debut novel is about food, heritage, and finding family in the most unexpected places. At the news of her mothers death, Natalie Tan returns home. The two women hadnt spoken since Natalie left in anger seven years ago, when her mother refused to support her chosen career as a chef. Natalie is shocked to discover the vibrant neighborhood of San Franciscos Chinatown that she remembers from her childhood is fading, with businesses failing and families moving out. Shes even more surprised to learn she has inherited her grandmothers restaurant. The neighborhood seer reads the restaurants fortune in the leaves: Natalie must cook three recipes from her grandmothers cookbook to aid her struggling neighbors before the restaurant will succeed. Unfortunately, Natalie has no desire to help them try to turn things around--she resents the local shopkeepers for leaving her alone to take care of her agoraphobic mother when she was growing up. But with the support of a surprising new friend and a budding romance, Natalie starts to realize that maybe her neighbors really have been there for her all along.