Nicole Chen, It’s Boba Time for Pearl Li!, HarperCollins Publishers, June 2024, 368 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780063228634
Pearl Li’s family fits right into Silicon Valley, California. Pearl’s parents are tech entrepreneurs and her sister, while still in high school, is a rising mobile app developer. Pearl herself, however, is heavily into arts and crafts, and loves crocheting amigurumi, tiny figures of animals and snack foods, on which she stitches little faces which are so kawaii!
Fortunately for Pearl, when it feels like her family doesn’t understand her at all, she can escape to Boba Time, a traditional Taiwanese bubble tea café, where mentor and confidante Aunty Cha knows her favourite selection and allows her to crochet in peace. As summer holidays commence, Pearl has plans for time spent with her best friends, Priya and Cindy, lots of crochet and plenty of Boba time – but Aunty Cha may have to sell the business, and Pearl’s plans are thrown into disarray. Can she raise the funds needed to save Boba Time by going into business selling her amigurumi? And will her friends, Priya and Cindy understand and be there to help her? What will her parents think of her non-tech business?
It’s Boba Time for Pearl Li! is a gorgeous story about crafting, entrepreneurship, friendship, and parental and cultural expectations. Readers will warm to Pearl, who is an authentic and likeable (though somewhat egocentric) character and be interested in the cast of family and friends in this good-natured title. Although Pearl doesn’t always choose the best way to negotiate the obstacles in her path, she eventually learns that honesty and staying true to your passion are not mutually exclusive. The Boba tea recipe, and glossary of business terms and profit calculations at the end of the book are an added bonus, and will no doubt excite and inspire young readers, from 8 years and up.
Reviewed by Kay Oddone