Buddha Baby

July 18, 2005
Lindsay Owyang, the protagonist of Wong Keltner's second novel, is like the story itself: up-beat, bighearted, fun to spend time with and lacking focus. She works at two low-paying jobs and is "deluded enough to think her noncommittal career choices as artistic." The drama starts when Lindsey's unofficial fiancé leaves town (a lovingly rendered San Francisco), and a childhood crush, Dustin Lee, arrives on the scene determined to seduce Lindsey. But Lindsey (a third-generation Chinese Californian) isn't attracted to Chinese men... or is she? The novel meanders through Lindsey's flirtation with infidelity and, more interestingly, her peeks into the history of San Francisco's turn-of-the-20th-century Chinatown, which make her suddenly aware of her heritage. Fans of Keltner's The Dim Sum of All Things
will enjoy her tripping wordplay ("his slice of life was not made completely of wonder bread") and spot-on description (a piano teacher's fingers resemble "waterlogged segments of baby corn"), but these pleasures are diluted with cheap-shot puns (wok this way) and implausible scenarios. These story lines gain momentum in the last third of the book, and though the stakes are never quite believable, Keltner ends with straight-from-the-heart emotional insight, an unexpectedly strong finish to an uneven read.

August 15, 2005
This second novel to feature Lindsey Owyang (the first being last year's "The Dim Sum of All Things") focuses on many of the same themes as its predecessor, namely, Lindsey's love life and her struggle to understand her Chinese heritage. Lindsey is still dating Michael (a.k.a. the "white devil"), with whom things are now going strong. In fact, Michael has just proposed marriage when he is conveniently -in terms of the plot line, anyway -called away on business until the end of the novel. Lindsey spends her time alone reconnecting with Dustin Lee, a former classmate who shares her feelings of isolation in the Chinese community and who happens to be hot! She's also interested in finding out more about her paternal grandparents, and since no one in her family is very forthcoming, she does some investigating of her own, coming up with enough tidbits to get them talking. Lindsey's spunky and indefatigable attitude is sure to please those who enjoyed the first work as well as those looking for a Chinese American twist to their chick lit. Recommended for all public libraries. -Karen Core, Detroit P.L.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2005
Lindsey Owyang made her first appearance in " The Dim Sum of All Things" (2004). The sassy Chinese American returns, and now that she's found love, her new quest is discovering more about her family's background. She has taken a part-time job at the Catholic grammar school she once attended, which has brought back the feelings of not belonging that troubled her as a child. She also realizes that she knows very little about her grandparents, and some mysterious photos send her in search of family history. Further complicating matters, Dustin Lee--a childhood crush--has suddenly reappeared. Although she's in love with Michael, she's more than a little curious about what it would be like to date a Chinese guy. Keltner maintains her sense of humor even as she deals with the complex emotions surrounding cultural displacement and family relationships, and fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this funny, multifaceted novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)