“Charmed my socks off.” —David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite and Mosquitoland “A soulful and hilarious debut.” —Booklist (starred review) “Effervescent.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “An earnest, funny, and emotional story.” —Book Riot
An incisive, laugh-out-loud contemporary debut about a Taiwanese-American teen whose parents want her to be a doctor and marry a Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer despite her squeamishness with germs and crush on a Japanese classmate.
At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents’ master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies.
With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can’t bring herself to tell them the truth—that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese.
But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels?
This book...is now in my top 3 contemporary reads. I loved that while it had romance in it, it wasn't the focus of the book. I loved that while I may not be able to relate to everything Mei went through, I was able to relate to a lot of it. I know what it is to have so much pressure on you from your parents. I get having a mom who freaks out, causing you so much embarrassment (however, I am thankful my mom never followed through with her threats to do what Mei's mother actually did). I just loved this book so much!
