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Sweet and Sour Hardcover – September 6, 2022

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
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A heartfelt middle-grade novel about ex-best friends, betrayals, and revenge that is best served sour.

Revenge is sweet!

For as long as she can remember, Mai has spent every summer in Mystic, Connecticut visiting family friends. And hanging out with her best-friend-since-birth, Zach Koyama, was always the best part.

Then two summers ago everything changed. Zach humiliated Mai, proving he wasn’t a friend at all. So when Zach’s family moved to Japan, Mai felt relieved. No more summers together. No more heartache.

But this year, the Koyamas have returned and the family vacation is back on. And if Mai has to spend the summer around Zach, the least she can do is wipe away the memory of his betrayal... by coming up with the perfect plan for revenge!

Only Zach isn’t the boy he used to be, and Mai’s memories of their last fateful summer aren’t the whole truth of what happened between them. Now she’ll have to decide if she can forgive Zach, even if she can never forget.

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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    8 - 12 years
  2. Print length
    304 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    3 - 7
  5. Dimensions
    5.75 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  6. Publisher
    Scholastic Press
  7. Publication date
    September 6, 2022
  8. ISBN-10
    1338671596
  9. ISBN-13
    978-1338671599
  10. See all details
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From the Publisher

A heartfelt middle-grade novel about friendship and betrayal
First crushes. Friendship fallouts. Following your heart.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A sweet taste of youthful summer and a reminder of how extreme friendship fails can be." – Booklist

"An endearing book exploring the ups and downs of friendship." – Kirkus Reviews

"This book gave me Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han vibes but for middle grade. Sweet and Sour is the perfect summer contemporary read." – Maleeha Siddiqui, author of Barakah Beats

"Looking for a sweet summer love story? Look no further than Debbi Michiko Florence's absolutely fabulous Sweet and Sour―it has all the feels of first crushes, long summers, and the joys of being BTS ARMY!" – Wendy Shang, award-winning author of The Great Wall of Lucy Wu and The Secret Battle of Evan Pao.

"Nobody does sweet friendships like Debbi Michiko Florence! Florence's books are the kind I hoard until the day my kids graduate from picture books, then I will bring these gems out and say, 'FINALLY, let me introduce you to the joy that is Debbi Michiko Florence.' Sweet and Sour, like her previous works, is full of joy while also tackling the complicated layers that come with friendship and growing up. I could not have enough of Mai and Zach!" – Jesse Q. Sutanto, National Bestselling author

About the Author

Debbi Michiko Florence is the author of Keep It Together, Keiko Carter, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and New England Book Award finalist, Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai, and the Jasmine Toguchi chapter books. A third-generation Japanese American and native Californian, Debbi lives in Connecticut with her husband, rescue dog, and rabbit. Visit her online at debbimichikoflorence.com.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic Press (September 6, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1338671596
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1338671599
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

About the author

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Debbi Michiko Florence

Debbi Michiko Florence

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Debbi Michiko Florence is the author of over 20 books for children and tweens. Her upper middle grade novels are Keep It Together, Keiko Carter; Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai (Kirkus starred review, Amazon Best Books); Sweet and Sour; and the forthcoming This Is How I Roll. She is also the author of three chapter books series including Jasmine Toguchi (the Amelia Bloomer and CCBC Choices lists, and a Cybils Award winner) and co-authored a picture book biography, Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites (starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist). Her newest books are for the Jasmine Toguchi chapter book series: Brave Explorer, Peace-Maker, Bridge Builder, and Great Gardener!

You can read more about Debbi on her website debbimichikoflorence.com and follow her on Twitter @DebbiMichiko and Instagram @debbi_michiko_florence

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
21 global ratings
Sweet Story About Friendship and First Love
5 Stars
Sweet Story About Friendship and First Love
I teared up at poignant moments in this heartwarming, middle grade novel about friendship, budding romance, and learning to express true feelings. The author does a great job capturing tween angst and expertly weaves in lessons about acceptance, honesty, and being true to yourself. I also enjoyed the information about birding and Japanese culture. I loved the flashbacks showing the development of Zach and Mai’s relationship and was sad when this sweet story ended. Can we get a sequel showing them in their teen years?
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Top reviews from the United States

Deborah Freedman
5.0 out of 5 stars Navigating friendship
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2023
Captures perfectly that time when kids are still kids, but navigating friendships somehow seems more complicated than it used to. And there are so many confusing new feelings...
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M. Davis
4.0 out of 5 stars Middle school relationships
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2022
Middle grade realistic fiction. Mai and her family spend every summer with the Koyama family in Connecticut. Her mom's best friend lives there with her family. Zach Koyama is a bit older than Mai, but they have become best friends as well. Last year was the first year they spent the summer apart, since Zach's dad was on a 2-year tour in Japan for work. Mai is having a whole lot of sweet and sour memories about their past, and is not sure she can forgive Zach for what she overheard at the end of their last summer together. But as they both celebrate their summer birthdays and introduce each other to new friends, Mai has to decide to lean in to her grudge, forgive Zach, or perhaps something in between.

This book had a lot of relationship drama in it. There were questions of friends vs more than friends, best friends being jealous of other friends, and sibling and parent issues as well. Mai had a lot of relearning to do when it came to her relationships. I liked that the characters found out that when it came to friends, it was okay to have several good friends and not just one best friend. I also liked the bits of Japanese culture and language that were included.
One person found this helpful
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Karen Yingling
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Tween Beach Read
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2022
Mai's family lives in California, but are able to spend six weeks every summer with her mother's best friend. The Koyamas have a house near Mystic, Connecticut, twins who are six, and a son a year older than Mai, Zach. Mai and Zach have been best friends forever, but right before the Koyamas moved to Japan for two years, Zach didn't stand up for Mai when two of his friends said racist things about her. Since she hasn't seen him for two years, her resentment has festered, and she arrives in Connecticut working on a plan to get back at him. Her friend Lila, who is back in California playing in a rock band (the two are HUGE BTS fans), video chats with her frequently, and is going to come to visit later in the summer. It's hard to ignore Zach, who has come back from Japan with small, thoughtful gifts for her and who spent time modeling when he was gone. His friends from school spend a lot of time at the house, and Mai enjoys being able to talk to Celeste, the girlfriend of Zach's friend. She's fun and positive, which also makes it hard for Mai to hold onto her grudge. The summer is bookended by the two's birthdays; Zach's at the beginnings, and Mai's at the end, and there is all kind of fun in between; getting ice cream in town, playing with the twins, and hanging out on the beach. It's not as much fun for Mai, however, who tries to think of ways she can hurt Zach. Lila is all for this plan until she visits and sees that Zach really is well meaning and doesn't seem to know he has angered Mai. Tween relationship, however, can turn quickly, and Mai manages to run afoul of both Lila and Celeste during Lila's visit, but manages to straighten things out. After Zach kisses her, she has very mixed emotions, and stops talking to him because she is so conflicted. Will Mai be able to finally discuss matters with her long time best friend honestly so that she can move past her anger?
Strengths: Summers in a resort community. Life long friends you only see once a year. Friends who are boys who become ridiculously attractive. Ice cream on the beach. Sigh. So many appealing things happen in this book, but they are overshadowed by overwhelming, life changing tween angst. Perfect. As someone who still has grudges against people I went to high school with, I can completely understand Mai's feelings about Zach, and it's good to observe that she really suffers through all of the emotions associated with the perceived slight, and that the resolution isn't easy. The Mystic, Connecticut setting is great fun, and the supporting characters like Celeste add another layer of interest. I loved that Mai wears dresses! Add to this some Japanese culture, misunderstandings between people that are worked out in exemplary fashion, and the thrill of romance, and Sweet and Sour is quite an appealing read.
Weaknesses: As an adult, the teen angst seemed a bit much, but my readers will love this. They will also understand the appeal of BTS and boys wearing eyeliner. I didn't care for it in the 80s, and don't see the appeal now, so I am REALLY old! Also, the dancing current bands do is more about speed and precision than grace and fluidity, so it looks like they are having seizures. I'm going to go rock on the porch now and wave my cane at passersby.
What I really think: Florence's Keep it Together, Keiko Carter and Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai are very popular in my library with readers of the Scholastic WISH novels, and I think this summer of romance and revenge will be frequently recommended among my students. Now, if it could just encourage the girls to realize that wearing dresses are not evil, that would be great!
2 people found this helpful
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M Killian
5.0 out of 5 stars An age-appropriate, fun first read of summer!
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2023
This middle grade story is told from the perspective of 12-year-old (almost 13) Mai as she reunites with her former best friend Zach two summers after he betrayed her. If she has to see him again, she wants revenge. The only problem is, he doesn't know that he betrayed her and still thinks they're besties.

Mai is realistically immature in her stubborn quest for revenge (She's 12!), but Zach is making it really hard to hate him. He's kind and friendly and extremely patient with her all summer. He tries to get her to talk about what's bothering her, but she refuses, preferring to carry out her revenge plot to resolve their issues. As an older reader, this can seem very frustrating. Just talk to him! But this behavior and response to his betrayal does ring true to the age of the characters. Lots of young teens don't know how to communicate well and use actions to get their point across. I think readers of this age will be able to relate to Mai and they will swoon over Zach. Sounds like a middle grade winner to me!
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Laff Family
5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT Book!
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2023
My Filipino American daughter absolutely loved this book! The cover drew her initially and the fact that the author was Asian intrigued her even more. It’s been really difficult finding books for my youngest child. She’s the athlete in the family and has never had any interest in reading. For her to not be able to put this book down speaks volumes. I can’t wait to buy more books by this author. Thank you!
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lynn1919
5.0 out of 5 stars Heartfelt and heart-filled!
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2022
Debbi Michiko Florence has done it again and written a heartfelt and heart-filled book about middle grade, which can be filled with both the sweet and the sour. She uses such beautiful, descriptive language to make us feel like we are really there with Mai and Zach in lovely Mystic CT. The book acknowledges how complicated our memories and feelings are at that age, when so much seems to be changing and when friendships feel like the most important thing in our lives. Can Mai trust Zach again, even though they’ve been friends for so long, after what he did? And can she trust herself to know? I loved reading about the history that brought them together as friends and what it will take for that to continue. And it has the perfect ending! Highly recommended!
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Top reviews from other countries

JF
4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet and Sour
Reviewed in Canada on May 3, 2024
Verified Purchase
Lovely book and thank you seller for fast delivery
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