Terroryaki! by Jennifer K. Chung is the perfect book for Halloween, or any time that you want a spooky food truck on your radar.
Quote: It’s three months to the wedding, and Daisy’s Taiwanese parents are still shunning her sister’s hopelessly white fiance. To escape the prenuptial drama, food-obsessed Daisy goes on the hunt for a mysterious take-out truck whose dishes are to die for. Literally.
Terroryaki! is a playfully appetizing first bite. This is Jennifer K. Chung’s first novel and it’s the winner of the 33rd Annual 3-Day Novel Contest, which runs every Labour Day Weekend. The writing is gritty and fast paced, exactly what you’d expect from a novel crafted in 3 days, but it’s also quite accomplished. The novel opens as follows:
Quote: Samantha was getting married, and Mom didn’t like it. She thought Sam’s fiance was a bad match for her and predicted that Sam would be divorced within a year. I kinda liked the guy, Patrick often joined me on weekly expeditions to new restaurants, but Mom didn’t care about my opinion. Patrick wasn’t Asian enough for her, probably because he wasn’t Asian at all. Besides, Mom and Sam have had a rocky relationship ever since Sam went away to college, and Mom was always bugging me about Sam, asking if I’d talked to her or if she’d posted on Facebook. I always shrugged and said, “I dunno.”
This is a funny, spicy and slightly creepy tale of food, family, love, Seattle, and the best, if slightly cursed, teriyaki food truck in Seattle. Daisy is a teriyaki connaisseur and blogger. Samantha is a lawyer and the bride to be. Patrick is the dumbfounded fiance. Mom and Dad are keen on their Taiwanese soap operas and overly dramatic. Plus there’s the curse, piratesque teriyaki food truck driver, and the Nordic, slightly insane, terrifying wedding planner. Poor Daisy needs to do more than just save the wedding day.
100% worth a read.