What do readers think of Soy Sauce for Beginners by Kirstin Chen? Write your own review.

I must be getting old because I found this book to be too "chick lit" for me. Gretchen, at least for the better half of the book, was unlikeable and self-centered. The best part of Soy Sauce for Beginners was learning how soy sauce was made!

I enjoyed the book because it was well written but not very compelling. Gretchen's struggle is self-absorbed and shallow. It may be typical of a culture where it nuance in not easily expressed. She did not notice others or question her assumptions until the end of the novel. It ended with not much depth of character analysis.
It was thoughtful as an discussion of soy sauce, artisanal or otherwise. However, the conflict between cousins was expected and too stereotyped.