The book is a coming of age story. I enjoyed the beginning but then the tone changed and I unfortunately had to stop reading it as I felt I was being preached to.

Preeti has always lived between two worlds- India and the US- but she's built her life in the US. Now, however, she's learning that she can go home again and that there's something to be gained and valued from India. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

"The Taste of Ginger" by Mansi Shah is a brilliant South Asian adult fiction novel that masterfully captures themes of family, racism, caste, and first-generation immigration. Shah's seamless portrayal of India and its vibrant surroundings creates an immersive experience, evoking personal memories of visits to extended family. The flawed yet relatable protagonist, Preeti, undergoes a remarkable journey of personal and relational growth, resonating with readers as she navigates her identity as a young brown woman. Shah skillfully develops strong sibling relationships and explores the nuances of generational gaps within South Asian families, emphasizing the importance of continuous effort and open communication. The novel fearlessly addresses sensitive topics such as racism and caste, encouraging readers to examine their own biases and fostering empathy and understanding. Shah's depiction of South Asian culture is vivid and authentic, allowing readers to deeply connect with the narrative.

"The Taste of Ginger" is an outstanding exploration of complex themes, offering a compelling portrayal of the South Asian experience. Mansi Shah's ability to capture the essence of India, create relatable characters, and foster meaningful conversations makes this book a must-read. With its thought-provoking narrative and celebration of diverse cultures, "The Taste of Ginger" leaves a lasting impact on readers, inspiring them to reflect on their own identities, relationships, and societal dynamics.

I enjoyed this first hand account of an Indian immigrant trying to find her balance between two cultures. It was a really interesting insight into prejudice and discrimination.

Wanted to love this and I think it’s a story with a lot of potential. It still had many thought provoking moments for me, but felt more like reading a series of events rather than really pulling me into the story.

I really enjoyed this, I like reading about other cultures and their experiences.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

While I enjoyed this, I think it suffered from a huge pacing issue. The most interesting sections of this book occur in the last 30% or so, which meant I had a to slog through the first slow bits to get to the good stuff. Through the majority of the book, the characters lack depth and their dialogue feels unnatural (a “shocking event” is advertised, but it’s hard to feel emotionally invested in it when you don’t care much about the people it is happening to). After that 70%, the characters start to feel like real people and things actually start to happen, but then the book is over.

I will say I liked the exploration of culture and community, and the juxtaposition of Preeti and her family. But I think if more was focused on the events later on in the book, I’d have like the story more as a whole.

This book was unlike anything I have ever read before. It was so interesting and one I know so many will enjoy!

I don't believe that I have ever read a book like The Taste of Ginger before--there is just something so refreshing and real about this story, which I very much appreciated.

The Taste of Ginger by Mansi Shah is a coming-of-age story about a woman named Preeti Desai, whose identity is torn between two cultures. When Preeti was seven, she and her family moved from India to the United States, where she spent years assimilating to the American culture, effectively pushing her Indian heritage, family, and traditions aside. However, when she hears about a terrible accident that has happened to a family member in India, she returns to her native country, where she must face her family and her heritage, and discover just what it is that they mean to her.

I will admittedly say that my knowledge of Indian culture is very limited. However, my limited knowledge did not hinder my understanding of the book or my enjoyment of the story whatsoever, and I found that I actually learned quite a bit while reading I enjoyed learning about Indian culture and traditions, particularly those related to the caste system, which I was very unfamiliar with. I also love how Shah was able to inform the reader by addressing several larger themes—immigration, racism, familial expectations, self-discovery—while also keeping the book very engaging.

This book pulled at my heart-strings and I loved getting to know exactly who Preeti was, even if, at times, her actions and decisions were questionable or seemed immature and childish. I loved her journey of self discovery and of trying to make sense of who it is, exactly, that she is.

I definitely recommend this one! It was a short and quick read, and one that you’ll learn something from, too!

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital review copy

I really liked this book. I wished most of the Indian representation was slightly more accurate but overall I enjoyed the pace of the story and was intrigued throughout. Its a debut novel and I would definitely love to read more of the author's work!

I read half of this but couldn't seem to get back into it. The storyline wasn't exciting enough to keep me reading until the end of the book.

Really enjoyed this and read it very quickly. A new author for me and one I will definitely keep an eye on for more

The Taste of Ginger is the story of one immigrant’s coming of age, in both America and India. Preeti is 7 when she comes to America with her older brother and parents. She and her brother immerse themselves in American culture trying to assimilate, while hanging onto their Indian culture. Ultimately, it is a novel about identity, belonging and family. Well written with developed characters, the reader is lucky enough to go on part of Preeti’s journey.

𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳? -Indian Proverb

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁
🪁Preeti Desai is currently living in Los Angeles and the only attorney of Indian descent at a prestigious law firm.
🪁She has a strained relationship with her mother, who wants Preeti to adopt a more traditional Indian approach to home and marriage.
🪁A family emergency causes Preeti to return to India, where, immersed in India's rich culture, she gains a new perspective that will help her make decisions about her career, relationships, and future.

𝗜 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁
This book successfully covers several heavy topics: family dynamics, immigration, racism, western vs. Indian culture, job burnout, loss, caste society, and homophobia without muddying the waters. The story around the family tragedy was beautifully written and full of emotion. I enjoyed reading about Ahmedabad, Gujarat, particularly the regional foods. the kite cutting festival and (fictional) little photography shop.

At times I found Preeti's behavior frustrating. At thirty years old, she is an intelligent, accomplished woman who boasts her legal education trained her to think "several steps ahead and being careful with what I said," yet her behavior often showed the opposite, allowing her emotions to cloud her judgment. However, it was reassuring to see her learn and grow and reflect on her behavior.

This is one woman's experience of living in two vastly different countries and one story cannot possibly represent both cultures and ideologies. Through Preeti's story, we can appreciate the complex challenges experienced by many immigrant women – maintaining the culture and traditions of one country while also navigating a very different way of life in the new country.

This is a contemporary fiction with an interesting blend of different emotions in it. The book focuses on the lead character named Preeti Desai. She is a fist generation immigrant and this book focuses on her life and her relationships with other characters involved in the book. The plot is kept simple and easy, nothing much fancy thus it does sounds realistic most of the times. The plot takes the reader on a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings. The narration of the book is so smooth and easy that the readers are able to enjoy the spirit of the book. Each character shines throughout the book as the author has well potraited each and every character. Plus each had their own story to tell and it was put together well in synchronised manner. The book is being layered nicely with the situation and incidents that were quite interesting to read. The characters in the plot kept me hooked till the end. Each has been given sufficient scope to contribute to the plot. The language used is lucid. It is definitely a good read for all the readers.

💫 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑/𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖💫

Thank you @letstalkbookspromo for choosing me to be on the tour for @mansishahwrites wonderful debut novel.

This was a brilliant South-Asian adult fiction that includes themes such as family, racism, caste, first class immigration and so much more.

I loved how Shah captured the essence of India seamlessly. I have never been to India, but I was easily able to visualise through the authors brilliant writing.

The personal growth that the mc goes through is tremendous, and I loved watching it unfold. I like that the author brings attention to the conflicts that she faced being a brown girl raised in America. The old and new generation dynamic was greatly done.

This was an incredible debut novel that everyone should pick up and read.

In the beginning, I appreciated how the main protagonist, Preeti Dasai, feels pressured to get married to an Indian man while living in the United States with her Indian family. In an immigrant family, there are pressures to attend and graduate from a prestigious university as well as to pursue a career with financially stable prospects. Unfortunately, Preeti never got to fully explore her love of photography as a career until after she graduated. I also understand from first hand experience that it's common to identify the host country as your home country and come back to the motherland feeling foreign amongst your own kin while being perceived as a foreigner in the host country. I did assimilate into white American culture to not get bullied or harassed and only know English fluently as my mother tongue. As the story progressed, I couldn't get behind Preeti Dasai and couldn't stand her behavior while she was in India with her family.

I am feeling quite in between with this one. I really enjoyed how the story started but I felt it getting draggy and repetitive more than halfway through.

This story follows Preeti, a first generation immigrant living in Los Angeles. She is struggling to juggle between what she really wants to do with her life and what her parents want for her. That has undoubtedly caused a strain in their relationship. When a family tragedy happened, Preeti went back to her home country and there, she learnt more about her heritage and she reconciled with her parents for instilling culture and tradition in her despite her wanting to blend in and be an American. She slowly discovers who she is through this journey.

I really love the dynamics of Preeti’s family and how close she is with her brother. I also love how Shah included the sense of belonging as a first generation immigrant and how hard it is to juggle between your own culture and what society expects of you. There were also clear depiction of the difficulties immigrants face when trying to fit into the American culture and this was shown through Preeti’s family. Preeti’s parents were driven to survive through financial stability and place all their hopes in their children to have a bight and successful future. I feel the distinction between the Caste system was well portrayed here and I felt for Preeti’s frustration at how rigid and restrictive the system is.

I honestly didn’t like Preeti’s character much. I felt she was quite selfish with her choices and was quite disrespectful to her mother. Granted that her mother is not the easiest person to be with, Preeti never gave a thought to why her mother is the way she is and did not give her a chance to explain. Preeti was also adamant about clinging on to her American upbringing and was quick to dismiss the cultural norms while she was in India, leaving her parents to explain her actions. Thankfully, she had a few breakthroughs in the end even if it took her a while to get there.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc.

I enjoyed this story. A story about finding your identity while dealing with the idea of loss. Very easy to relate to the characters and feel their pain.

Preeti Desai is reeling from her recent break up with the love of her life. Her conservative Indian parents had always disapproved of her live in relationship with Alex, a white American. It had caused a huge rift between her and her mother. When tragedy strikes, she finds herself traveling to India and rediscovering her roots and what it means to live within two very different countries and cultures.

This book was a bit slow to start and I had a hard time being invested in it, however, it picked up after a few chapters and I found myself relating to so much. As an Indian-American, finding my place within both countries and having someone describe those thoughts and feelings so perfectly was a breath of fresh air. To know I wasn't alone in how I felt growing up, and still feel today. I appreciated how the story played out realistically. This was not a happy yappy love story, but it was a happy ending, however unconventional, I appreciated how everything played out. Some of the points regarding cultural differences were so spot on. I found myself highlighting several parts of the book! That said, I think a lot of modern India was misrepresented in the book. Even miniscule things bothered me because they weren't true for the India I know now, and being set in big city like Ahmedabad, it was hard to accept some things.
I definitely recommend this book, especially for anyone trying to understand just a bit of Indian culture.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!