"Rarely has [this story] been told with such grace, lightness and humor as in this delightful novel by the author of the best-selling Girl in Translation (2010)."
- Chicago Tribune
"Dreams Take Flight in Jean Kwok's Mambo in Chinatown...a great story of cultural conflict and reaching for your dreams."
- Boston Herald
"Best Books of 2014: Mambo in Chinatown. Western convention clashes with traditional Eastern culture when a young, impoverished Chinese-American woman dips her toe into the glittering world of professional ballroom dancing-and finds love."
- Woman's Day
"Best Books of June, Top 10 Fiction List. Heady and entertaining: Mambo in Chinatown."
- iBooks
"In her winning second novel (after Girl in Translation, 2010), Kwok infuses her heartwarming story with both the sensuality of dance and the optimism of a young woman coming into her own."
- Booklist
"Summer Books Preview 2014, titles to keep you reading: Mambo in Chinatown. A young Chinese-American woman is torn between her family duties and tradition in New York's Chinatown and the contemporary life she discovers through ballroom dancing."
- Los Angeles Times
"A poignant tale of self-discovery from the bestselling author of Girl in Translation."
- Advance (June cover title)
"One of This Summer's Hottest Page-Turners: Mambo in Chinatown. A riveting story about a young woman who ultimately finds her calling and manages to exceed everyone's expectations - including, most important, her own."
- Real Simple
"The kind of book where I put it down, closed my eyes, and the characters were still dancing in my mind. Sweet and lovely, filled with old-world tradition, Chinese superstition, and the complicated dance of forbidden love."
- Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Songs of Willow Frost
"Kwok has created a charming heroine into whose dance shoes readers can easily step. Charlie faces many of the same dilemmas that plague modern young women: balancing the demands of family and career without sacrificing too much of either, choosing whether or not to pursue love when it may mean giving up a fulfilling work life. Kwok has a gift for conveying the passion and sensuality of ballroom dancing in her energetic prose."
- Shelf Awareness