Crazy Rich Asians meets Love & Gelato in this hilarious, quirky novel about a Chinese-American teen who is thrust into the decadent world of Beijing high society when she is sent away to spend the summer in China.
Iris Wang is having a bit of a rough start to her summer: Her boyfriend cheated on her, she didn’t get into any colleges, and she has no idea who she is or what she wants to do with her life. She’s always felt torn about being Chinese-American, feeling neither Chinese nor American enough to claim either identity. She’s just a sad pizza combo from Domino’s, as far as she’s concerned.
In an attempt to snap her out of her funk, Iris’s parents send her away to visit family in Beijing, with the hopes that Iris would “reconnect with her culture” and “find herself.” Iris resents the condescension, but even she admits that this might be a good opportunity to hit the reset button on the apocalyptic disaster that has become her life.
With this trip, Iris expects to eat a few dumplings, meet some family, and visit a tourist hotspot or two. Instead, she gets swept up in the ridiculous, opulent world of Beijing’s wealthy elite, leading her to unexpected and extraordinary discoveries about her family, her future, and herself.
I had high hopes for this book. Everyone, who knows me would think me and this book were a match made in heaven from the synopsis. I picked up this book despite all the negative reviews, because I feel I am a very forgiving reader. It's ok with me if a character is self absorbed or reckless or selfish, as long as at the end of the journey, there is growth.
I will admit, that Iris did grow some during this book, but I feel like there it took way too long for her to get there. There were these moments, where I thought she was heading in the right direction, and then she would immediately regress. It was very frustrated.
I also think the humor didn't work for me. I wasn't amused, when I think I was supposed to be.
I did like the theme of family in the story. Those were the highlights for me.
I don't normally finish books, which rate this low, but I wanted to know if Iris made any progress. There were actually times I empathized with Iris, but then she would do two more things that aggravated me.
Sad to say, me and this book were not a good match.
