M.J. Wyn, Alex Kwan, and Lin Cho are gorgeous, sassy, smart, successful, and single. In other words, just your average twenty-something women living in New York City. Sure, they meet for dim sum on Sundays instead of brunch, drink lychee martinis instead of cosmos on a Friday night out with the girls, and gossip over steaming mugs of bubble tea instead of Starbucks, but like women everywhere, the bonds of friendship are stronger than anything that the world can dish out at them.

The novel is composed of three linked novellas, each focusing on a particular girl. The first third of the book features M.J., who dreams of breaking into the Old Boy's Club of sports broadcasting. Alex, a tough-as-nails litigator, is the heroine of the second story. Stockbroker Lin rounds out the tale.

Not only do the women have to work hard to succeed in their chosen fields, each of which have historically been dominated by white males, but they have to deal with the pressures of balancing a modern life with their more traditional families and peers in the Chinese community. Ms. Yu and Ms. Kan beautifully capture the struggle of life in a world where elder relatives give red envelopes to the younger family members, even when the recipient makes more than the giver.

As a woman married to an Asian man, I jumped at the chance to review this book. I laughed out loud during many of the scenes with the families, actually hearing my husband's aunties' voices in my head. All of the descriptions were spot-on and provide a wonderful glimpse into Chinese-American culture, while at the same time proving that the themes in the book are universal. You certainly don't need to be Asian or married to an Asian to love this book.

It would be extremely easy to call this novel the “Asian Dirty Girls' Social Club” or “Amy Tan meets Candace Bushnell.” Such shorthand immediately conveys the flavor and lets you roughly know what to expect, but actually does a disservice to the book itself. Why must we compare it to other books? Why can't we just let it stand on its own? It's definitely strong enough to do so. Some people may call it Asian Chick Lit, but I just call it Chick Lit.

And brilliant chick lit at that.

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