Biracial Literature using Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet by Sherri L. Smith

  Ana is a fourteen year old girl who is about to graduate from middle school and enter the intimidating world of high school.  Before she moves into high school, however, she has to work out some personal things.  Her father is Chinese American and her mother is African American and all of her relatives are around quite often.  However, even though a lot of her relatives are often around, not everyone gets along together.  Ana uses a post-graduation dinner plans to bring together her family and friends, despite all of the differences. 

            This was another book that didn’t really combine the different cultures involved but instead focused on the differences and diversity.  When it comes time to cook food for the dinner, Ana’s different family members cannot agree on what to cook.  The Chinese side of things clashes with the African American side until the latter portion of the book.  The most effective biracial books combine the different cultures into one familial unit instead of keeping them separate.  Many times the problems that biracial children feel they have are results of not being able to decide which side of the culture they should identify with the most.  A book that keeps those sides separate don’t do anything to help these problems.  In its defense, however, Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet does accomplish this feat late in the book.  The family members come together to have a successful dinner.  It would have been nice to have the book spend more time wit the families getting along together, but alls well that ends well.