Between Two Names

by Aaron Wang

A multicultural coming-of-age novel where Western pop culture collides with life in 2010s China, written in a memoir-like style with powerful personal reflection.

Chinese student Mark (Cheng) Ma is unexpectedly admitted into his high school’s international program. Lacking confidence and resources, he is forced to navigate this new reality on his own. He soon finds himself further isolated when he uncovers a troubling secret about his teacher, Vivian.

Restless with the knowledge of this discovery, Mark begins to learn more about himself with the help of a new friend, Howard, who teaches him to play ping-pong and introduces him to Western culture. Their friendship grows strained when Mark realizes he has started to develop feelings he doesn’t fully understand.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult

216 pages, Paperback

Published February 8, 2025

About the author

Aaron Wang is a writer based in Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coming-of-age novel of a boy navigating self-identity and community in foreign spaces. Our protagonist, Cheng Ma (or Mark), is loosely based on the author’s experiences as a student in China. Cheng Ma, having only attended local school in China, finds himself in the overwhelming landscape of an international school— where the language, culture, assignments are all vastly different from what he’s grew up with. We step inside the brain of this shy and anxious student as he questions the surrounding systems and philosophies. Aaron Wang writes so that we can feel the protagonist’s social anxiety and linguistic isolation in this time of his life, and as well as his determination to discover a means of fulfillment.
What I love about this book is that it’s not meant to compare schools and cultures in a way that presents one as superior to the other— rather it reveals the brokenness, pains, but also some joys, of these structures. Between Two Names is a quiet, simple novel that invokes nostalgia, universal adolescent themes of belonging, and surprisingly profound ping pong metaphors.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC

[BooksCoffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wang examines the cost of reinventing yourself in a changing China. Mark (Cheng) Ma never expected to find himself in his high school's prestigious international program, where English replaces Chinese and the future seems to point overseas. As he struggles to adapt, a troubling discovery about a teacher and an unexpected friendship reshape his understanding of identity and belonging. Can he find where he belongs between two cultures?

Wang's coming-of-age novel finds its greatest strength in the quiet moments that shape adolescence. The 2010 setting is richly textured, from Gaokao anxiety and English immersion to early smartphones and the rise of Western pop culture in China. Mark is an engaging narrator whose observations of classmates, family, and school life gradually reveal larger questions about identity, class, and belonging.

The reflective pacing occasionally softens the narrative drive, but the memoir-like voice gives the story warmth and authenticity. A diverse cast of classmates adds personality without overwhelming the intimate focus on Mark's journey. A thoughtful portrait of growing up between cultures, told with sincerity and insight. A definite winner.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into Between Two Names expecting a compelling story of cultural identity, and at first, it seemed to promise just that. The level of detail in the narrative was so intricate, I genuinely thought I was reading a memoir—which made it all the more disorienting when the plot began to lose focus.
By chapter 13, I ultimately had to DNF. The storytelling felt scattered, jumping from scene to scene without a clear throughline. While I appreciate layered stories and complex characters, the sheer amount of information—some of it overly granular—pulled me out of the reading experience rather than drawing me in.
This one just didn’t work for me, though I can see how readers who enjoy intensely detailed narratives or memoir-style fiction might have a different experience.
Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and Aaron Wang for this free, advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Sara Aoyama · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to surprise myself here by giving this work five stars. Frankly it needs attention from a good proofreader. Not due to the author not being a native speaker of English, but rather due to a few discrepancies in the timeline.
But this book is such a lovely surprise! It's very fresh and new. It feels so authentic and it gives us a look at high school life in China which I found fascinating. But much more than just that, the author is possibly the most gifted at self-reflection. It's truly a marvel to read his journey. I can't wait to see what he writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It's a brilliant work and I hope it is a breakout success!

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this book made me curious, I've previously read a few novels which described the Chinese high school experience and preparation for the Gaokao, but I don't think I'd ever read any which included the participation in an international program. So Ma's/Mark's experience - the language and culture shocks in particular - were interesting to read about, and I especially enjoyed the second half, when he becomes friends with Howard and the rest of the ping pong club, and finally starts getting out of his shell. What didn't work so well for me was the way the narrative is structured, sometimes without a continuing thread which made it a bit hard to follow.