Bad Asians

by Lillian Li

From the acclaimed author of Number One Chinese Restaurant comes an affecting novel about an unforgettable group of friends trying to make their way in the world without losing themselves, or one another.

Diana, Justin, Errol, and Vivian have been told their entire lives that success is guaranteed by following a simple checklist. They worked hard, got good grades, and attended a great university―only to graduate into the Great Recession of 2008. Despite their newly minted degrees, they're unemployed, stuck again under their parents’ roofs in a hypercompetitive Chinese American community. So when Grace―once the neighborhood golden child, now a Harvard Law School dropout―asks to make a documentary about the crew, they say yes. It’s not like her little movie will ever see the light of day.

But then the video, “Bad Asians,” goes viral on an up-and-coming media platform (YouTube, anyone?). Suddenly, two million people know the members of the group as cruel caricatures, each full of pent-up frustrations with the others. And after a desperate attempt at spin control goes off the rails, they are flung even further off course from the lives they’d always imagined. As they grow up and grow apart, the friends desperately try to figure out who they are and what it means to live a successful life in the new millennium.

Li’s novel is both an exploration of Asian American identity and a portrait of a generation shaped by the rise of the internet and the end of the American dream. An epic tale of friendship and coming of age, Bad Asians asks: What if the same people who made you who you are end up keeping you from who you’re meant to be?

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Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook, Literary Fiction, Friendship, Adult Fiction, Asian Literature

336 pages, Hardcover

First published February 17, 2026

About the author

Lillian Li is a graduate from the University of Michigan's Helen Zell Writers' Program, where she received her MFA in fiction. Her first novel is forthcoming from Henry Holt (Macmillan) in 2018. Her work has appeared in Granta, Guernica, Glimmer Train, and Jezebel. She writes for the Michigan Quarterly Review. Currently, she lives in Ann Arbor, teaching at the University of Michigan, and slinging books at Literati Bookstore. Visit her website for more info.

Reviews

[emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

going viral seems like the worst thing that can happen to a person

(thanks to the publisher for the arc / review to come)

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from Netgalley, and was immediately sucked in. As a 90's raised millennial, so much of this was nostalgic, but especially the introduction of social media into our everyday lives. I really appreciated the depth of each character and their back stories. Parts reminded me of Crazy Rich Asians, and not just because the main characters are Asian, but also because of the deeper personalities that lie beneath the mask of what everyone else sees which is similar in that series as well. However, since I took my time with it, some stories got lost in the rush of memory. Definitely recommend to millennial and just before as the target audience.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bad Asians feels like a book club pick type of book. There are a lot of things to discuss and unpack over the course of the story, and characters that are conflicted and complicated.

The main gist of the book is that four friends and a relationship they had with each other is irrevocably changed by a former classmate who creates a video documentary about them during the recession years in 2008-2009.

The group are not only in the unfortunate position of trying to find jobs in a bad economy, they are also from a hyper competitive Chinese community where expectations of children are sky high.

When the video comes out, Grace’s editing has made Diana, Justin, Vivian, and Errol into Asian stereotypes, an act that has dangerous consequences not only for their friendship, but their careers-and it turns Grace into a wild success at the same time.

The book follows the four friends in the aftermath and explores the different paths it sets them on, while questioning if their relationship with each other would have withstood the test of time even without the radical intervention of ‘Bad Asians’.

I wanted to like this more than I did, because books about relationship dynamics can be really interesting. But I struggled with multiple things. First was that I didn’t really like any of the characters much. Second is that I find books centered around the idea that social media can be life-changing annoying, even if it’s true. I read books to get away from social media, not to be dragged kicking and screaming back into it.

Finally, it just didn’t hold my attention. Unlike books where you can’t put them down, I struggled to pick this one up once I did put it down. Despite the shocking posting of the video, there just wasn’t anything in the story that kept me invested-not the characters, and not the events of their lives as they unfolded. Maybe another reader would relate to one of the characters and feel a deep connection with this book, but I just got bored.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Ming]

DNF at 54%. But I should have stopped earlier and foolishly hoped something significant would change.

The writing is technically sound and evocative at times. She gets the psychology of her characters. However, three major factors prevent me from reading beyond 54%. One the "bad" thing they did is not that bad. It just plainly isn't so awful or worthy of any viral attention. Two, I was not invested in these characters. I didn't care who they were and how any event/action affected them. And three, the glacial pacing led me to care less about who they are and what they did.

Thanks to Henry Holt & Company and Netgalley for this DRC.

[Angie Miale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A interesting character study and drama about millennial malaise- this time specific to 1st and 2nd generation Asian immigrants.

A group of 4 friends from a private school are the subject of a documentary called "Bad Asians" that goes viral on YouTube. Their frenemy Grace takes advantage of them and films them and interviews them. The way they are portrayed is not flattering, but it is well done. The book is about the aftermath of this and how it occurred. Themes are around relationships and groups of friends, found family and how those closest to us know us and then become complete strangers.

Here are 4 people who did everything right and the economy and world just passed them by. This is them coming to terms with their parents' legacy and expectations and how they chose to integrate into adult life. All 4 main characters ad internal demons and all had really interesting and compelling character ARC. I can definitely relate to the struggles and the nostalgia over the course of the novel. I can't quite call it historical fiction, but it is a time span that shows how much we change from our early 20's to the late 30's.

I particularly enjoyed the audiobook performance, only one narrator, but she had great pacing and different voices that I felt were authentic to the author's intentions for the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC. Book to be published February 17, 2026.

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to my Asian American Literature professor, Victor Mendoza (U of M), for teaching this book and providing us with advanced reader copies of Bad Asians! Thank you to Lillian Li herself for coming into our class and answering our questions and having a fruitful discussion about the book (and signing my copy)!!

This book was full of contradictory emotions. I simultaneously enjoyed my reading and was stressed tf out. I couldn't help but feel both pitiful of the characters and annoyed that they couldn't have made better decisions. But, I feel like that is what friendship ultimately is. It's a lot of forces that push and pull on each other, threatening to break the tie and unravel. Lillian spoke on how she was interested in a story about a friendship breakup and what makes friends stay together that is different from romantic or familial relationships. I've def had a bad friend breakup before, and I think the main thing about it is that it simmers. They continue to linger in the back of your mind and you think about reaching out but then worry about their feelings and back out, and I feel like Bad Asians captured that well.

Full disclosure I was not in a mind of consciousness when the recession happened, so I don't know first-hand experiences of it. But, I do know experiences of being compared to other successful Asian kids (and perhaps being the one people compared their children to, which, I'm truly sorry if that was the case 😭) and having the "American Dream" surround getting into an Ivy League and getting a good job. I think the pressure and envy was well written, because at the end of the day, these characters desire personal success above all, and the external factors from the economic recession to their internet presence holds them back from that.

I do wish Vivian got a little more character development, as I didn't really feel her change as viscerally as Diana, Errol, Justin, and even Grace. I did, however, greatly enjoy the interweaving of perspectives, as each chapter had their own tone and vibrancy to them. I can't wait for everyone else to read Bad Asians!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC on Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my very own. This book really hit close to home for me. Also being a first generation born and raised in the U.S. this book resonates the hopes and dreams an Asian parent bestows on their child and the pressures one may feel not to be a "bad Asian". This group of friends going through life trying to discover who they really are outside their parents wishes is a fascinating one. I loved how the book thoroughly went through each characters' stories because you become invested in what is going to happen to them next. I also love at how the end you get to learn more about the parents and their backstories. Even if you are not of Asian decent, I feel like we can all relate to not wanting to disappoint our families. This book will make you feel all of that.

[Freefall (semi-ia, find me on discord)]

i have since stopped underestimating asian intellectuals' ability to traumatize me. i'm ready to be scared!!!

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m going to round up a bit to 3.5 ⭐️. I received an DRC and started reading this because I got such a kick out of Lillian Li’s, Number One Chinese Restaurant. This one started off slow, as the story didn’t seem to have a clear direction. As I continued reading the pacing picked up and I became slightly invested in the four friends and was curious to see how their lives would play out. It seems to be a recurring theme in Asian fiction( at least in my reading experience) that parents pressure their children to succeed in school, careers and marriage.

This narrative theme is prevalent in Bad Asians as the group of friends are driven in ways by their parents that leads the friends to act in ways towards each other that causes a rift in how they relate to one another.

When “Grace Li (who) was the golden child of their neighborhood. She’d graduated summa cum laude from Harvard…..”Grace decides to create a movie about the four friends who’ve been inseparable since grade school, and guess what?

She turns Justin, Errol, Diana, and Vivian into internet sensations, all without even realizing it! This upends the lives of the four and interrupts their trajectories. They all suffer somehow from the notoriety, leading them to employ another internet sensation to gain control of their narrative. That decision turns out to be disastrous, creating more problems than it fixes.

Ultimately this story is about the pressure to be great, and the desire to seen as such by their parents, each other and in a nod to this current generation, by social media culture. The conclusion was anticlimactic, and it left me disappointed. Not a bad read, just short of very good. Big thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt. Book will drop in February 2026

[Mai H.]

ANHPI TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co.

[MrsHarvieReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bad Asians by Lillian Li is a coming of age and long term friendship story featuring 4 Asian Americans from junior high school through adulthood. The 4 friends have been conditioned by their parents from early childhood to excel in school in order to attend the best universities, only to graduate during a tough job market in 2008. Drama ensues when a former classmate’s viral documentary “Bad Asians” shows the group in an unflattering light. Their competitive sides emerge and each start to spiral in their own ways as they are thrust into the spotlight.

I wanted to enjoy this novel more but I think I’m simply the wrong audience for the story. I had difficulty relating to most of the characters, although I did root for Justin. I appreciated the author’s perspective on growing up under parental pressure, especially how the characters' ideas of success changed as they matured. I benefited from listening to the audiobook which was enhanced by the narrator’s subtle voice changes to differentiate the characters. Although this novel didn't quite work for me, I can see how its social commentary would be valuable to others. 3/5⭐️

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an advanced listener copy of Bad Asians in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Luv2TrvlLuvBks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unsure if it was the writing style ? the characters? but couldn't connect with this read.

Don't think a reader necessarily needs to identify with a character or a character's journey, but, do think that the reader needs to be sufficiently engaged that the reader cares about what happens to the characters. I didn't. And this feeling negatively impacted the read.


This ARC was provided by the publisher, Henry Holt & Company | Henry Holt and Co., via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Lillian Li and Macmillan Audio for sending me the audio arc, I am so grateful!
My overall thoughts on Bad Asians are conflicting. First and foremost, I really enjoyed learning about my fellow Chinese-American characters in Bad Asians. While my experiences really aren’t anything like theirs, so I can’t talk much about the authenticity of it, I still loved just being able to feel like these people may be people I know.
Yet, I’m conflicted because the book just isn’t the one I thought I was signing up for.
I think that the title and the book synopsis are a little misleading. Are the characters bad asians? Sure, in the sense that they say some bad things, but this book does not depict Asians who are privileged, yet vindictive, and relatable. It’s not an exploration of what it means to be a Bad Asian, or even the concept of “bad asian”. Ultimately, without spoiling anything, these characters aren't bad asians-they're not even bad people.
I did like these characters, even though they weren't bad, and how they were set up. I understood all the motivations and thinking behind the characters. Still, I sometimes felt like they never fully rose above their cliches and stereotypes, because their motivations were so straightforward.
I think part of the mission of this book, and what it does most well, is showcasing how Asian stereotypes can be real. Li shows how they can be fully embodied by real human beings because of past experiences, and also how assigning those stereotypes can affect a person’s future experiences. This book does a great job of encouraging us to humanize others: realize that everybody has a story of their own that pushes them into making poor decisions, becoming a seemingly one-note cliche, etc. Yet, because that whole mission does rely on cliches as a huge character crutch, I personally didn’t identify or feel that represented by these characters.
The book has a lot of other themes too. Notably, regarding belonging, what it means to help others, and what success is. Because I’m currently reading Enlightenment texts on the side, I was really interested in Li’s second theme: what it means to help others. Through the lens of Asian-American families, she starts to craft her own take on the social contract: what are the boundaries where helping turns into hurting? Yet, she doesn’t really continue this theme into a substantial assertion, which is a shame.
Li primarily focuses on the other two: what it means to belong and what success means. It’s a wonderful exploration of those two themes, but the liberal use of time skips often skips past the moments when the stakes of these themes are highest, and we only encounter their impact in retrospectives rather than real time.
Relatedly, because of the crutch on retrospectives, the importance of scenes easily got lost on me. Because themes were mainly established way later in the book, I frequently didn’t grasp the importance of a chapter and misconstrued the takeaways. That lack of early establishment (overuse of retrospective) does a disservice to the book, in my opinion, because scenes are introduced, and I don’t know if they have a hundred different thematic directions or are directionless. I only understood once I actively try to re-piece the entire book back in my head after I finished the book.
Overall, I still enjoyed this book, especially because I haven’t found much contemporary fiction that focuses on Chinese-Americans. It was great to listen to characters that had some shared experiences with me–Saturday Chinese schools, eating scallion pancakes—while at the same time, those characters are also nothing like me. I really appreciated how much it made me realize the diversity of our community. What I got out of most from these books is just the characters. I enjoyed learning about their lives!

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I ever think about joining in on a documentary with my friends, I’ll remember what happened to these four. There was an element of eerie-ness that almost turned this book into a full-fledged thriller. I also appreciated the cultural aspects of this book.

[Zach Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

March has been a rough month for reading. The trope "every character is an unlikable horrible person" rarely lands, and it sure didn't for this book. Aside from some funny moments, this book was hard to get through.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won an advance copy of "Bad Asians" from a giveaway in exchange for an honest review. 

Li's novel follows a friend group fractured by a viral-video-gone-wrong circa 2009. The overnight success of the titular video, "Bad Asians," alters the trajectories of all those involved, for better and for worse. 

Millenials will connect with the depiction of the rise of social media and the post-recession jockeying for entry-level jobs. But the novel's core commentary centers the expectation of "success" for first-generation Chinese-Americans. Who defines your success? Do you have an obligation to succeed? How does the pursuit of success dominate the choices you make? Particularly in its third act, the novel speaks gracefully and empathetically on bridging the cross-generational understanding of success.

The novel is structurally tidy, bringing its characters full circle, and may strike some readers as contrived. Overall, it keeps a swift pace and well balances its ensemble cast. 4/5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many Asian American children of immigrants are pressured into being a "good Asian" and the pressure is immense. Here we have a friend group who become not so good Asians aka Bad Asians due to circumstance and/or rebellion. What made this particularly effective is the advent of social media and being on display. And, loved how the book tracks this group for years and how these "kids" start realizing things about themselves and their parents. The reality is, we are all good and bad Asians since we contain multitudes.

I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.

[Bel lvndrgms3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴.”

Four friends, Vivian, Diana, Justin and Errol, first generation Chinese-Americans who grew up together in the DC suburbs encounter hardships in a difficult job market in 2008-2009. Raised to be nothing short of exceptional by their ambitious parents, not finding the ideal and high-powered jobs is disappointing. Now they’re floundering until another friend, Grace, former golden child and now aspiring filmmaker asks them to be subjects of a documentary. The result is Bad Asians, depicting them in a less than flattering light. Years later the viral video still haunts them as the four friends try to figure out how to escape from its shadow.

This was intense. I understood perfectly the cultural mindset of working hard and overachieving, the gossip mill within immigrant communities, and the constant one-upping of each other. I also understood the sacrifices and hopes the parents had for their kids. Each of them was impacted differently by their upbringing, and then the documentary. Even before the doc they were stuck in limbo, not sure what they were pursuing for themselves, disaffected by their parents who still had such firm holds on them.

Chin’s amazing narration captures their ennui, angst and uncertainty. It’s a very angst-ridden read with so many layers for each character. I liked Li’s insightful writing and descriptions which made their emotions so tangible.

𝗕𝗮𝗱 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 is powerful commentary of life through a millennial gaze. The pressure to live up to the weight of cultural expectations. When the American Dream becomes unattainable. It’s also about personal responsibility. At some point they needed to own their decisions, and there’s growth eventually. It’s a perfect book for thoughtful discussion.

Thanks to @macmillan.audio for my ALC in exchange for an honest review.

[Danis Miller-Bucholz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novel that addresses many timely and important themes, but it almost seemed like the author was trying to make a statement about too many different issues within one text, so unfortunately it didn't really engage me or make me want to keep reading. The novel follows 4 Asian American millennial friends and their journey during the 2008-2009 recession and beyond. The novel explores the pressure they felt from their parents and their community to succeed in school and therefore have financially secure, rich lives. The four friends end up starring in a video entitled "Bad Asians", which goes viral and ends up impacting each of them and their relationships with each other in a variety of ways. The novel tries to explore so many important topics, like what it means to be a second generation Asian American, how one's life can change due to social media, and how millennials have struggled in ways that prior generations did not. However, for me, I just didn't really feel a connection to this novel. I didn't feel invested in or even that interested in the characters, the pacing of the plot felt inconsistent, and at times the novel felt rather dark and depressing. I just felt like the author was trying to address too many complex societal issues and it resulted in a novel that just felt a little bit all over the place and not very cohesive. The ending also felt a little abrupt/disappointing. This novel just wasn't for me.

[Chapters & Chives · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very relatable and impactful. It follows the coming of age journeys of four characters who are promised success and high social status in return for their good grades, hard work, and university degrees. However, their millennial experiences are very different - university degrees don't reap as high rewards as they used to, the market is crashing in 2008, the job market is like winning the lottery, and they have to return to live in their parents houses. Can anyone else relate? I sure can, as today's economy and market is also crashing!

Lillian Li ties these experiences back to the hyper competitive nature of American Asian culture and shows how it makes the millennial experience, and society's transition over to technological dependence, even harder on these four childhood friends.

Narrator Katharine Chin provides a captivating voice to the four characters and I was able to binge this book within a couple of days. The only thing I wish was different is for more emotion - Chin maintains a fairly calm voice throughout the novel, and it doesn't capture how truly devastating and frustrating the millennial experience is, where there's little reward for your hard work and all your degrees don't amount to much in the end.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read and it's very relatable!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bolinda Audio for the ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt and Co. for the ARC and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

I feel a bit mixed with this book. Growing up as a millennial Asian American, I was thrilled to see things that were such a formative part of my adolescent years referenced in this book like early viral YouTube (shout out to Wong Fu!), weekend Chinese school, the parental expectations to be successful, and the dichotomy of living in the US but holding ourselves to standards from back home in Asia. I empathized with the main characters’ struggles to live up to the pressures their parents put on them to bring them honor and success and I liked how the story visited them at several times in their lives to see how things have changed. Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting to the characters individually and some of the choices that they made.

Regarding the audiobook, Katharine Chin did a wonderful job with different voices for each characters. Her narration helped the story move along and really brought me into the world.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

i devoured this story of asian-american immigrants navigating live post-grad. set in the early 2000s, this story was both nostalgic and relatable. while i (and probably every asian-american) could definitely relate to overbearing parents and the pressure of high expectations, i wonder if it’s time to expand past this common perception of asian-americans. we are more than our test scores, university admissions, and successful careers.

i didn’t love any of the characters, but that somehow made me enjoy the story even more, because they felt very human — not everyone in real life would be an easily lovable protagonist.

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4
I loved the late 2000s setting, just when the recession happened and when the Internet was becoming somewhat different. We follow four characters, all Asian American, who have just starred in their neighbour Grace's YouTube video as the Bad Asians, a short video that shows them with all of their flaws, failures, secrets... The novel follows the aftermath of this video and their attempts to regain control, via a doomed collaboration with another YouTuber.
It was an interesting theme and I liked the characters but the pace after the first third felt a bit slow... Each chapter showing the consequences of another video or article and each time the characters meeting again after being estranged.

Free ARC sent by Netgalley.

[Cherry · Rating 2 out of 5]

If reality tv were a book, this is it. Easy read but just had no real story to it. Felt like I was watching a reality tv show but in the beginning it just scatted all over the place and you quickly forgot if you were reading present time or past. No real flow.

[Gracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Read this if you like general fiction, friend group drama, and have nostalgia for the early days of YouTube when Asian Americans like Ryan Higa, Wongfu Productions and Michelle Phan were dominating the scene.

Would have loved the drama to be juicier though but perhaps this was more realistic in how small conflicts grow and people drift apart. Five main characters is also a lot of characters to try and develop deeply in 300 pages so there were a few moments where I just felt distant to what was happening, and the ending felt a tiny bit rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. I thought Katharine Chin did a great job narrating the audiobook. Bad Asians is out now.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

i might need to reread it before saying anything

rtc

[Grace]

March 11 2026

dnf at 50ish pages. Didn’t find the characters appealing—even though one is literally an Asian named Grace

[Sabina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an achingly nostalgic read, and an uncomfortably accurate one for those who have graduated college and may or may not still be living with their parents 😵‍💫 following four friends from childhood to accidental viral stardom and its inevitable fallout, this story had me SAT as I devoured the increasingly messy narrative. Full of intimacy so intense that it turns dysfunctional, warring perspectives that puts reality into a thousand different lights, and people who love so hard they can’t help but hurt each other, this was an exploration of early adulthood that made me see myself and my own friends and family in a clearer (and perhaps more sympathetic) frame. Li captures reality in camcorder snapshots and prose-in-motion. You MUST add this to your TBR and 2026 anticipated releases. Do so or fear my wrath!!!

[Lucy]

2.5

Didn't like any of the characters - it was a lot of drama and messy as well. Just didn't get that into it.

Received a free copy from Netgalley.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. It's a story that spans almost 9 years, dealing with four Chinese American friends who, post-graduation, find themselves unable to find successful and fulfilling employment when the Great Recession hits. The four friends are the ambitious and overbearing "mama bear" Diana Zhang (think Monica on FRIENDS), the closeted bisexual gym bunny Justin Yu, the technically brilliant but socially awkward Errol Chen, and his girlfriend, the fashionable Vivian Wang. In this period of unemployment, failed dreams and mutual depression, they reconnect with their childhood acquaintance Grace Li, who dropped out of law school to become a documentary filmmaker. Grace makes a documentary about the four friends, which later goes viral under the title "Bad Asians," and which portrays them in a very negative manner. When the four friends rally together to try to reframe the narrative, things go from bad to worse, and the group is torn apart. The remainder of the novel focuses on their attempts to rebuild their lives and careers after the social media fallout, and the events that conspire to bring them back together.

This book is constructed in an interesting manner, and is very well-written (to cite just one example, I like how a gym office's couch is described as " . . . an oblong pancake of sadness"), with a fascinating look at a close-knit and multigenerational community of Chinese Americans in the North Potomac region of Maryland (though the book also has a few chapters set in New York City). But I would say my favorite thing about it were the well-drawn characters and the manner in they interacted with each other, and seeing the ways in which they changed as people over a timespan of almost a decade. I was almost sad to part ways with them upon turning the final page of the book, actually. If there's a message that one can take from this book, I think that it could be to not fixate on one's past, but instead to look to the future. Or, to quote a line of dialogue from the novel, "The worst story you can tell yourself is, 'what if.' The best, 'what's possible now.'"