The Soy Luck Club

A 19-year-old Indian-American's breakthrough debut novel garnered a rumored half million dollar advance for a chick-lit book oriented (ha!) to young women who are westernizing as fast as they can. Of interest is the fact that the youth's original manuscript was "much darker" until "17th Street Productions, a so-called book packager that specializes in developing projects in young-adult and middle-grade fiction" such as Sweet Valley High, the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series, etc. got their hands on it. Check out their website and then, quick, brush your teeth.

Can you say "sellout"? On the other hand, can you say "all her student loans paid off and a nice down payment on an apartment in Manhattan"?