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Win Me Something
A NPR, Electric Lit, and Entropy Best Book of the Year A Washington Post , Shondaland , NPR Books, Parade , Lit Hub, PureWow, Harper’s Bazaar , PopSugar, NYLON , Alta, Ms. Magazine, Debutiful and Good Housekeeping Best Book of Fall
A perceptive and powerful debut of identity and belonging―of a young woman determined to be seen. Willa Chen has never quite fit in. Growing up as a biracial Chinese American girl in New Jersey, Willa felt both hypervisible and unseen, too Asian to fit in at her mostly white school, and too white to speak to the few Asian kids around. After her parents’ early divorce, they both remarried and started new families, and Willa grew up feeling outside of their new lives, too. For years, Willa does her best to stifle her feelings of loneliness, drifting through high school and then college as she tries to quiet the unease inside her. But when she begins working for the Adriens―a wealthy white family in Tribeca―as a nanny for their daughter, Bijou, Willa is confronted with all of the things she never had. As she draws closer to the family and eventually moves in with them, Willa finds herself questioning who she is, and revisiting a childhood where she never felt fully at home. Self-examining and fraught with the emotions of a family who fails and loves in equal measure, Win Me Something is a nuanced coming-of-age debut about the irreparable fissures between people, and a young woman who asks what it really means to belong, and how she might begin to define her own life.
A perceptive and powerful debut of identity and belonging―of a young woman determined to be seen. Willa Chen has never quite fit in. Growing up as a biracial Chinese American girl in New Jersey, Willa felt both hypervisible and unseen, too Asian to fit in at her mostly white school, and too white to speak to the few Asian kids around. After her parents’ early divorce, they both remarried and started new families, and Willa grew up feeling outside of their new lives, too. For years, Willa does her best to stifle her feelings of loneliness, drifting through high school and then college as she tries to quiet the unease inside her. But when she begins working for the Adriens―a wealthy white family in Tribeca―as a nanny for their daughter, Bijou, Willa is confronted with all of the things she never had. As she draws closer to the family and eventually moves in with them, Willa finds herself questioning who she is, and revisiting a childhood where she never felt fully at home. Self-examining and fraught with the emotions of a family who fails and loves in equal measure, Win Me Something is a nuanced coming-of-age debut about the irreparable fissures between people, and a young woman who asks what it really means to belong, and how she might begin to define her own life.
272 pages, Paperback
First published November 2, 2021
121 people are currently reading
12885 people want to read
About the author
Kyle Lucia Wu
5 books88 followersKyle Lucia Wu is the author of the novel Win Me Something (Tin House Books 2021), and the co-author of An Asian American A to Z: A Children's Guide to Our History, out May 2nd, 2023 from Haymarket Books.
She is the Deputy Director at Kundiman, a nonprofit dedicated to nurturing writers and readers of Asian American literature. She is a senior editor at Joyland, and teaches writing at Fordham University and The New School. She has received the Asian American Writers’ Workshop Margins fellowship and residencies from the Byrdcliffe Colony, the Millay Colony, Plympton’s Writing Downtown Residency, and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center.
She is the Deputy Director at Kundiman, a nonprofit dedicated to nurturing writers and readers of Asian American literature. She is a senior editor at Joyland, and teaches writing at Fordham University and The New School. She has received the Asian American Writers’ Workshop Margins fellowship and residencies from the Byrdcliffe Colony, the Millay Colony, Plympton’s Writing Downtown Residency, and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center.
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May 27, 2022
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Weirdly enough, at first, I rather disliked this book but, the more I read, the more I found myself warming up to its protagonist Willa Chen.
I initially picked this book up because of its ‘nanny’ premise as Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid and Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson are all-time favourites of mine. After reading the first few pages I was reminded of Luster by Raven Leilani but here I found the narrator quite irritating. The prose too tries too hard to be snappy and edgy, both through its imagery and its, often flowery, metaphors. I am not too keen on narrators who present themselves as wronged on all fronts, and, for quite some time, Willa struck me as self-victimising, especially when it came to her parents. Her passivity too was a source of frustration but, as I continued to read, this unwillingness and inability to act on her part endeared to me. She’s so used to minimising or straight up dismissing her experiences and encounters with racism and sexism that her immediate response to someone saying something offensive is to doubt herself (is she overreacting? is she misperceiving their words/actions? are they just being ignorant or malicious?).
Willa is one of those main characters who is in her early twenties and leading a rather directionless life. Her divorced parents have gone on to have ‘new’ families and she rarely is in touch with them. Willa feels conflicted about her Chinese American identity. She often doesn’t feel or is made to feel, neither Chinese nor American enough. Willa’s sense of otherness and aloneness are further exacerbated by her disconnection from her parents, in particular her father.
After a lukewarm college experience, Willa ends up working for the Adriens, who are a wealthy white family based in Tribeca. Willa looks after their only daughter, Bijou. Similarly to the narrators of Luster and Lucy, Willa feels drawn to Nathalie, Bijou’s mother. Willa tries to act as the nanny the Adriens’ want but tries as she might to fit in with them she cannot reconcile herself to their extremely privileged lifestyle. They, in turn, seem wholly unaware of Willa’s true family history, partly because Willa herself omitted and or lied about quite a few details, partly because they are rather self-absorbed. They also make unfortunate remarks about Willa, at times patronising her or making her feel small and obscure. The novel strings together many every-day moments from Willa’s life as Bijou’s nanny so we get quite a lot of scenes revolving around cooking or that take place during mealtimes. I liked the tensions that the author is able to create in these seemingly ordinary environments (such as the kitchen). There are many instances where Willa messes up or makes some (sometimes downright idiotic) mistake that make me feel both embarrassed on her behalf and rather sympathetic towards her. The author captures the confusion and anxiety many people feel in their twenties. Time and again Willa is made to feel as if her job as a nanny is not a ‘real’ job or that she has yet to become a fully-grown adult. While the Adriens’ are often oblivious of Willa’s real feelings and when with them Willa does put a front, she does become infatuated with their family. Her routine as a nanny offers comfort, in fact, it shields her away from actually confronting her parents and or her future.
Of course, as I said, the Adriens’ home is not a perfect refuge. Willa is often confused by Nathalie’s confiding in her, only to, later on, treat her like ‘house staff’. She also comes into contact with their relatives, and they turn out to be pretty vile. She endures humiliating jabs and or dismissals at her expense and has to put up with looking after sexually inappropriate young boys. The worst of the bunch is Nathalie’s younger brother whose microaggressions make Willa feel understandably ill at ease.
I can see how many readers will find Willa infuriating. She rarely acts or speaks up for herself. Her fear of rejection and abandonment are such that she retreats inward, keeping her true self hidden from others. Her general confusion about her identity is exacerbated by her Chinese American heritage. Time and again she’s asked questions on the lines of ‘what are you’, which serve only to alienate her further from others. Willa makes plenty of stupid choices along the way (do not read if you can’t stand second-hand embarrassment) and rarely thinks things through. Even so, I ultimately found her to be an endearing character. She’s so lonely and alone that you can’t quite bring yourself to judge her as you would someone with a ‘solid’ support system. And, boy oh boy, the discomfort she feels around others, especially Nathalie’s brother was so well-conveyed. His looks plus the way he accompanies his offensive comments with plenty of ‘I’m just joking’ smiles and laughs, well, they succeed in making Willa doubt herself.
Willa's story arc was truly compelling and I appreciated just how self-critical she comes to be by the end. I did find myself wishing for her to confront certain people but I guess that we don't always have the opportunity to do that in real life.
I will say that not all of the characters were as nuanced as Willa. Bijou’s father is more or less a non-presence. Bijou, well, she didn’t strike me as a, particularly believable child. I get that the author was being satirical, but she sacrifices authenticity in her attempts to poke fun at this type of wealthy, white, & wannabe-sophisticated American family. Quite a few chapters take place during Willa’s childhood and they struck me as a bit artificial. This type of narrative structure (alternating between now and then) is a bit overdone and here it wasn’t wholly necessary.
I think that readers who enjoyed YZ Chin's Edge Case and Alexandra Chang's Days of Distractions and are looking to read more books exploring the realities of being a young Asian American woman in contemporary America should definitely check this one out. Additionally I can see this book appealing to fans of Brandon Taylor, Rachel Lyon, and even Lily King.
re-read: as I suspected re-reading this made me like it a lot more. I loved Willa's introspective nature, the way she articulates her loneliness and sense of otherness, and the remote yet intimate quality of her voice. I also appreciated the flashbacks a lot more this time around and I found the moments they explored to be quite fitted to whatever was just happening in the 'now'. The ending was both believable and satisfying although part of me still wishes that we could have seen Willa become less passive.
Weirdly enough, at first, I rather disliked this book but, the more I read, the more I found myself warming up to its protagonist Willa Chen.
I initially picked this book up because of its ‘nanny’ premise as Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid and Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson are all-time favourites of mine. After reading the first few pages I was reminded of Luster by Raven Leilani but here I found the narrator quite irritating. The prose too tries too hard to be snappy and edgy, both through its imagery and its, often flowery, metaphors. I am not too keen on narrators who present themselves as wronged on all fronts, and, for quite some time, Willa struck me as self-victimising, especially when it came to her parents. Her passivity too was a source of frustration but, as I continued to read, this unwillingness and inability to act on her part endeared to me. She’s so used to minimising or straight up dismissing her experiences and encounters with racism and sexism that her immediate response to someone saying something offensive is to doubt herself (is she overreacting? is she misperceiving their words/actions? are they just being ignorant or malicious?).
Willa is one of those main characters who is in her early twenties and leading a rather directionless life. Her divorced parents have gone on to have ‘new’ families and she rarely is in touch with them. Willa feels conflicted about her Chinese American identity. She often doesn’t feel or is made to feel, neither Chinese nor American enough. Willa’s sense of otherness and aloneness are further exacerbated by her disconnection from her parents, in particular her father.
After a lukewarm college experience, Willa ends up working for the Adriens, who are a wealthy white family based in Tribeca. Willa looks after their only daughter, Bijou. Similarly to the narrators of Luster and Lucy, Willa feels drawn to Nathalie, Bijou’s mother. Willa tries to act as the nanny the Adriens’ want but tries as she might to fit in with them she cannot reconcile herself to their extremely privileged lifestyle. They, in turn, seem wholly unaware of Willa’s true family history, partly because Willa herself omitted and or lied about quite a few details, partly because they are rather self-absorbed. They also make unfortunate remarks about Willa, at times patronising her or making her feel small and obscure. The novel strings together many every-day moments from Willa’s life as Bijou’s nanny so we get quite a lot of scenes revolving around cooking or that take place during mealtimes. I liked the tensions that the author is able to create in these seemingly ordinary environments (such as the kitchen). There are many instances where Willa messes up or makes some (sometimes downright idiotic) mistake that make me feel both embarrassed on her behalf and rather sympathetic towards her. The author captures the confusion and anxiety many people feel in their twenties. Time and again Willa is made to feel as if her job as a nanny is not a ‘real’ job or that she has yet to become a fully-grown adult. While the Adriens’ are often oblivious of Willa’s real feelings and when with them Willa does put a front, she does become infatuated with their family. Her routine as a nanny offers comfort, in fact, it shields her away from actually confronting her parents and or her future.
Of course, as I said, the Adriens’ home is not a perfect refuge. Willa is often confused by Nathalie’s confiding in her, only to, later on, treat her like ‘house staff’. She also comes into contact with their relatives, and they turn out to be pretty vile. She endures humiliating jabs and or dismissals at her expense and has to put up with looking after sexually inappropriate young boys. The worst of the bunch is Nathalie’s younger brother whose microaggressions make Willa feel understandably ill at ease.
I can see how many readers will find Willa infuriating. She rarely acts or speaks up for herself. Her fear of rejection and abandonment are such that she retreats inward, keeping her true self hidden from others. Her general confusion about her identity is exacerbated by her Chinese American heritage. Time and again she’s asked questions on the lines of ‘what are you’, which serve only to alienate her further from others. Willa makes plenty of stupid choices along the way (do not read if you can’t stand second-hand embarrassment) and rarely thinks things through. Even so, I ultimately found her to be an endearing character. She’s so lonely and alone that you can’t quite bring yourself to judge her as you would someone with a ‘solid’ support system. And, boy oh boy, the discomfort she feels around others, especially Nathalie’s brother was so well-conveyed. His looks plus the way he accompanies his offensive comments with plenty of ‘I’m just joking’ smiles and laughs, well, they succeed in making Willa doubt herself.
Willa's story arc was truly compelling and I appreciated just how self-critical she comes to be by the end. I did find myself wishing for her to confront certain people but I guess that we don't always have the opportunity to do that in real life.
I will say that not all of the characters were as nuanced as Willa. Bijou’s father is more or less a non-presence. Bijou, well, she didn’t strike me as a, particularly believable child. I get that the author was being satirical, but she sacrifices authenticity in her attempts to poke fun at this type of wealthy, white, & wannabe-sophisticated American family. Quite a few chapters take place during Willa’s childhood and they struck me as a bit artificial. This type of narrative structure (alternating between now and then) is a bit overdone and here it wasn’t wholly necessary.
I think that readers who enjoyed YZ Chin's Edge Case and Alexandra Chang's Days of Distractions and are looking to read more books exploring the realities of being a young Asian American woman in contemporary America should definitely check this one out. Additionally I can see this book appealing to fans of Brandon Taylor, Rachel Lyon, and even Lily King.
re-read: as I suspected re-reading this made me like it a lot more. I loved Willa's introspective nature, the way she articulates her loneliness and sense of otherness, and the remote yet intimate quality of her voice. I also appreciated the flashbacks a lot more this time around and I found the moments they explored to be quite fitted to whatever was just happening in the 'now'. The ending was both believable and satisfying although part of me still wishes that we could have seen Willa become less passive.
August 1, 2021
4 STARS
This book hit a little too close to home. It was uncomfortable for me reading this novel because of just how much I relate to the main character and her experiences. When I first saw the description, I was instantly hooked just because I don't often see myself in media. But this book did an absolutely fantastic job at describing what the biracial experience is.
Win Me Something is an adult literary debut by Kyle Lucia Wu. As a half-Chinese and half-White girl, Willa Chen has always felt out of place. When Willa accepts a job to be a nanny for a wealthy family in New York, she finds herself lost and not belonging in a world where she is neither and outsider nor a participant in their glamorous world.
I can't describe how seen I felt in this book. So many of Willa's experience throughout the novel felt like they were chosen from my life. Willa's character was amazing to read about. Seeing someone who feels like they don't belong, yet they do at the same time, is such a strange in-between feeling that many mixed people can relate to. There were a couple of lines in the novel that felt extremely personal. The microagressions that Willa faced were all too familiar. I was a bit bored at times, but Win Me Something was such an incredible book that I wish I could have read sooner.
This book hit a little too close to home. It was uncomfortable for me reading this novel because of just how much I relate to the main character and her experiences. When I first saw the description, I was instantly hooked just because I don't often see myself in media. But this book did an absolutely fantastic job at describing what the biracial experience is.
Win Me Something is an adult literary debut by Kyle Lucia Wu. As a half-Chinese and half-White girl, Willa Chen has always felt out of place. When Willa accepts a job to be a nanny for a wealthy family in New York, she finds herself lost and not belonging in a world where she is neither and outsider nor a participant in their glamorous world.
I can't describe how seen I felt in this book. So many of Willa's experience throughout the novel felt like they were chosen from my life. Willa's character was amazing to read about. Seeing someone who feels like they don't belong, yet they do at the same time, is such a strange in-between feeling that many mixed people can relate to. There were a couple of lines in the novel that felt extremely personal. The microagressions that Willa faced were all too familiar. I was a bit bored at times, but Win Me Something was such an incredible book that I wish I could have read sooner.
December 16, 2021
[3.5] I liked this quiet, well-written novel about a 24-year old woman whose Chinese father and white mother have divorced and built second families - leaving her out. Willa is uneasy in her own skin, unsure who she is, and recreates the outsider role for herself in her job as a live-in nanny. The downside of this book is that she is so unformed that as a character, she is verges on being bland (and boring). At this stage of her life, there is no there, there.
December 1, 2021
As lovely as the cover, a quiet, introspective/reflective, truly exquisitely written coming of age/slice of life book about Willa - a young 20s, very unsure of herself, Chinese-American nanny for a privileged NYC family - working to develop a nascent sense of purpose, self-identity, and belonging while contending with a near-constant stream of race-, class-, gender- and age-based microaggressions.
The books dips gracefully back and forth in time to shed light on how Willa’s experience as one of the few biracial Asian kids in her community and as the sort of part-time / latchkey kid of her now-divorced Chinese father and white mother - both of whom have gone on to build their own new family lives from which she feels in some part excluded - have contributed to her sense of disconnection and isolation. This sense is strengthened during her in-home au pair stay with a wealthy and privileged TriBeCa family whose existence outside of their professional careers is nearly entirely centered around the wants and whims of their sweet and gifted but thoroughly doted-upon, blonde and white daughter, the appropriately-named Bijou, who often seems as self-possessed and composed and worldly as Willa feels self-doubting and wobbly and lost. Willa gradually seems to develop a true sense of attachment to and care for Bijou while also grappling with the fundamental differences between their respective experiences in the world and their resulting self-perspectives.
The author does an amazing job portraying Willa’s dynamic ambivalence around her situation, including harboring mixed feelings of envy alongside desperate approval-craving alongside mild scorn toward Bijou’s parents. There is a certain wistfulness that pervades the book, but the author also seems to pull off a clever, subtle unreliable narration trick in which glimpses of hope glimmer through and the audience is able to see some potential opportunities for Willa to ground and reconnect with family, to better perceive her value and worth, to recognize some instances in which things may not be quite as bleak for her as they feel, and in which Willa may soon be ready and better able to get out of her own way.
Again, I do mean the writing is absolutely beautiful - I’m wholly stunned this is a debut author, although not at all surprised to read that she is also a professor of creative writing.
**There’s like kind of an unspoken, below-the-surface, updated Gen Z/Millennial-cusp Henry James or Edith Wharton thing kind of going on here at times and I was really digging it!**
Some Sofia Coppola film vibes here also - but with valuable Asian-American (instead of just rich white girl) rep and perspective.
Absolutely cannot wait to read another from her!
The books dips gracefully back and forth in time to shed light on how Willa’s experience as one of the few biracial Asian kids in her community and as the sort of part-time / latchkey kid of her now-divorced Chinese father and white mother - both of whom have gone on to build their own new family lives from which she feels in some part excluded - have contributed to her sense of disconnection and isolation. This sense is strengthened during her in-home au pair stay with a wealthy and privileged TriBeCa family whose existence outside of their professional careers is nearly entirely centered around the wants and whims of their sweet and gifted but thoroughly doted-upon, blonde and white daughter, the appropriately-named Bijou, who often seems as self-possessed and composed and worldly as Willa feels self-doubting and wobbly and lost. Willa gradually seems to develop a true sense of attachment to and care for Bijou while also grappling with the fundamental differences between their respective experiences in the world and their resulting self-perspectives.
The author does an amazing job portraying Willa’s dynamic ambivalence around her situation, including harboring mixed feelings of envy alongside desperate approval-craving alongside mild scorn toward Bijou’s parents. There is a certain wistfulness that pervades the book, but the author also seems to pull off a clever, subtle unreliable narration trick in which glimpses of hope glimmer through and the audience is able to see some potential opportunities for Willa to ground and reconnect with family, to better perceive her value and worth, to recognize some instances in which things may not be quite as bleak for her as they feel, and in which Willa may soon be ready and better able to get out of her own way.
Again, I do mean the writing is absolutely beautiful - I’m wholly stunned this is a debut author, although not at all surprised to read that she is also a professor of creative writing.
**There’s like kind of an unspoken, below-the-surface, updated Gen Z/Millennial-cusp Henry James or Edith Wharton thing kind of going on here at times and I was really digging it!**
Some Sofia Coppola film vibes here also - but with valuable Asian-American (instead of just rich white girl) rep and perspective.
Absolutely cannot wait to read another from her!
April 8, 2022
This was a pleasant surprise -- I downloaded it without reading the description and found myself enjoying it a great deal. Willa was a wonderful character and I loved the time I spent with her. The final few chapters in particular were very touching and excellently written. I look forward to reading more by Kyle Lucia Wu -- and Natalie Naudus's narration was great, I was pleased to see she has narrated a lot of books I am interested in, so I'm sure I'll be listening to her again before too long.
Read
April 17, 2022Families with children could always use an extra set of hands, but however nice it might be to hire a nanny, someone tasked with caring for the kids and possibly helping with housework, it’s not always that easy to be one. The perspective of the nanny, an outsider welcomed - sometimes excruciatingly briefly – into the private world of a family, and everything the job entails has fascinated the literary world in recent years; Kiley Reid’s 2019 novel “Such A Fun Age,” longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, stars a Black nanny working for a white family in Philadelphia and this year, the heartbreaking debut novel “Win Me Something” by Kyle Lucia Wu focuses on a biracial nanny in New York City, struggling to understand the meaning of family as she attempts to meld into one.
Click here to read the rest of my review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette!
Click here to read the rest of my review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette!
February 19, 2025
a beautiful & contemplative literary novel about the aching for belonging, family, identity. restrained, propulsive, and powerful.
October 28, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of
Win Me Something.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
Willa Chen is a biracial Chinese American who has never fit in; not with her family, her friends, or the world.
Her divorced parents are now remarried with new children of their own.
When she accepts a nanny position with an affluent family, she is drawn to their 'perfect' home life, the mother is the epitome of what Willa imagined a mother should be, unlike her own mother, her precocious charge Bijou is bright and curious, and Willa soon imagines becoming a part of their lives, fitting in seamlessly where she doesn't fit in with her parents' new lives.
Willa's plight is relatable and understandable; the not so subtle racist jabs at her ethnicity from ignorant people, but Willa's passivity is palpable, reinforcing a common stereotype of Asian minorities, especially the women.
For me, this made Willa unlikable.
She constantly wonders why people don't speak to her, engage with her, but as she notes toward the end of the novel, perhaps it's because she doesn't do the same.
Her docility and inaction reinforces the stereotype she's been trying to shake herself out from under, with her family and the family she's caring for.
I understood her angst, her desire to find a place where she belongs whether in a family or a group of friends, inability to know what she wants to do with her life. She's only 24!
Not many people know what they want to do with their life, and no one knows what the future holds.
I'm not 24 anymore and I'm still wondering if I should do something else with my life or if I missed out on stuff when I was young.
Willa doesn't feel recognized and seen, especially by her family, because she doesn't respect and see herself for who she is.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to belong, seeking your identity, so you look, you research, you learn all you can about yourself and hopefully you'll be able to find your yourself and where you belong,
if you don't see yourself for who you are and who you want to be, then no one else will.
Unlike some reviewers, I liked the ending.
I thought it was positive, hopeful, offering readers a chance to see that maybe, one day, Willa might see herself for who she truly is.
What that is no one knows. Only Willa does.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
Willa Chen is a biracial Chinese American who has never fit in; not with her family, her friends, or the world.
Her divorced parents are now remarried with new children of their own.
When she accepts a nanny position with an affluent family, she is drawn to their 'perfect' home life, the mother is the epitome of what Willa imagined a mother should be, unlike her own mother, her precocious charge Bijou is bright and curious, and Willa soon imagines becoming a part of their lives, fitting in seamlessly where she doesn't fit in with her parents' new lives.
Willa's plight is relatable and understandable; the not so subtle racist jabs at her ethnicity from ignorant people, but Willa's passivity is palpable, reinforcing a common stereotype of Asian minorities, especially the women.
For me, this made Willa unlikable.
She constantly wonders why people don't speak to her, engage with her, but as she notes toward the end of the novel, perhaps it's because she doesn't do the same.
Her docility and inaction reinforces the stereotype she's been trying to shake herself out from under, with her family and the family she's caring for.
I understood her angst, her desire to find a place where she belongs whether in a family or a group of friends, inability to know what she wants to do with her life. She's only 24!
Not many people know what they want to do with their life, and no one knows what the future holds.
I'm not 24 anymore and I'm still wondering if I should do something else with my life or if I missed out on stuff when I was young.
Willa doesn't feel recognized and seen, especially by her family, because she doesn't respect and see herself for who she is.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to belong, seeking your identity, so you look, you research, you learn all you can about yourself and hopefully you'll be able to find your yourself and where you belong,
if you don't see yourself for who you are and who you want to be, then no one else will.
Unlike some reviewers, I liked the ending.
I thought it was positive, hopeful, offering readers a chance to see that maybe, one day, Willa might see herself for who she truly is.
What that is no one knows. Only Willa does.
October 29, 2021
The first 100 pages started strong as I was very interested in Willa's life as a nanny. Even though I was intrigued to know her past, the plot fell flat and lacked momentum, despite the different timelines (which I often enjoy).
I wish there was a more nuanced approach to her identity as a biracial person. Having said that, I quite enjoyed her dynamic with her father. While the writing was captivating, I wasn't invested enough in the characters or the story - I found the characters (including MC) plain and the story forgettable.
[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Tin House - in exchange for an honest review ]
I wish there was a more nuanced approach to her identity as a biracial person. Having said that, I quite enjoyed her dynamic with her father. While the writing was captivating, I wasn't invested enough in the characters or the story - I found the characters (including MC) plain and the story forgettable.
[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Tin House - in exchange for an honest review ]
April 26, 2022
I finished this not even a full 24 hours ago and I remember barely anything about it. Such was the utterly forgettable nature of this book.
I'm going to keep this review short because I don't really have much to say about this one. I found it to be a largely underwhelming read, tonally flat and narratively meandering. Win Me Something feels like a lethargic book, like it doesn't have the energy to give the reader anything that's even remotely interesting or exciting. Because of that, it reads as very dull, one-note: we go from one scene to the next, from past to present, without a sense that the narrative is progressing, or going anywhere, really. It's less a narrative and more a series of observations with some reflections tied to them. And for some novels that execute this well--I'm thinking of something like A Winter in Sokcho--that's enough, but that is certainly not the case here. Win Me Something is a short novel with short chapters, so part of me wants to say that maybe it could've used a bit more space to develop its story, but no: I don't think length is the issue here. It's the lack of substance; Win Me Something feels so flimsy, like it's barely holding itself together. Needless to say, I didn't find it anywhere near substantial or interesting enough to sustain my interest.
I'm going to keep this review short because I don't really have much to say about this one. I found it to be a largely underwhelming read, tonally flat and narratively meandering. Win Me Something feels like a lethargic book, like it doesn't have the energy to give the reader anything that's even remotely interesting or exciting. Because of that, it reads as very dull, one-note: we go from one scene to the next, from past to present, without a sense that the narrative is progressing, or going anywhere, really. It's less a narrative and more a series of observations with some reflections tied to them. And for some novels that execute this well--I'm thinking of something like A Winter in Sokcho--that's enough, but that is certainly not the case here. Win Me Something is a short novel with short chapters, so part of me wants to say that maybe it could've used a bit more space to develop its story, but no: I don't think length is the issue here. It's the lack of substance; Win Me Something feels so flimsy, like it's barely holding itself together. Needless to say, I didn't find it anywhere near substantial or interesting enough to sustain my interest.
September 30, 2021
This was a beautiful story about a young biracial woman living in New York who feels so disconnected, separate, and other. Her parents were divorced and she never felt like she had a real home with her mom or her dad. They both went on to have more children with their new partners. She was always getting racist comments thrown at her from kids at school and people in her life about being Asian, but she never felt fully connected to her Asian heritage. In this novel we are following Willa as she becomes a live-in nanny for a wealthy family in New York. She starts to feel like she belongs to them and finally starts to feel like she has a home, but as time goes on, things change and she realizes that her home is where she makes it and people do love her when she lets them in. I would recommend this story to anyone who loves a story about family dynamics, race, class, and finding your way through the world as a young adult. The prose was nothing short of exquisite and I can't wait to pick up another book by this author in the future.
January 21, 2022
this book hit me harder than i thought. i think i'd even rate it closer to a 4.5, if i were to give half stars.
i think one reason why Wu's writing resonated with me so deeply was because of the way she perfectly captures revealing details and moments that i've felt so often, but have always thought were impossible to put into words. i am always impressed by authors who can make such acute observations about people and life, and Wu does it in such a quiet, subtle way that cuts deeply.
at the same time, i'm not sure exactly how to name it, but some parts felt a little heavy-handed to me. i think a few descriptions were more elaborate than they needed to be, in a way that was distracting. or some of the moments felt too delivered, like they were handed right to me on a plate. this is definitely me being picky, as i have quite specific preferences about the balance between beautiful prose vs overly-detailed prose. i don't think this was a gaping flaw, and definitely not one that detracted from the book's impact on me.
this is definitely a plodding, muted novel, which is absolutely not a bad thing. it represents the type of confusion of one's early-to-mid '20s, the same vibe almost as Severance by Ling Ma, Normal People by Sally Rooney, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, and Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi, to name a few. although, i think Wu's execution is better than that in some similar books i've read, as i didn't feel bored (something i've experienced in the past with these kinds of stories) and i think the length of this novel is just right.
Wu hits so many good emotional beats. this is a story that'll stick with me, i think.
i think one reason why Wu's writing resonated with me so deeply was because of the way she perfectly captures revealing details and moments that i've felt so often, but have always thought were impossible to put into words. i am always impressed by authors who can make such acute observations about people and life, and Wu does it in such a quiet, subtle way that cuts deeply.
at the same time, i'm not sure exactly how to name it, but some parts felt a little heavy-handed to me. i think a few descriptions were more elaborate than they needed to be, in a way that was distracting. or some of the moments felt too delivered, like they were handed right to me on a plate. this is definitely me being picky, as i have quite specific preferences about the balance between beautiful prose vs overly-detailed prose. i don't think this was a gaping flaw, and definitely not one that detracted from the book's impact on me.
this is definitely a plodding, muted novel, which is absolutely not a bad thing. it represents the type of confusion of one's early-to-mid '20s, the same vibe almost as Severance by Ling Ma, Normal People by Sally Rooney, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, and Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi, to name a few. although, i think Wu's execution is better than that in some similar books i've read, as i didn't feel bored (something i've experienced in the past with these kinds of stories) and i think the length of this novel is just right.
Wu hits so many good emotional beats. this is a story that'll stick with me, i think.
November 11, 2021
This book didn’t really go anywhere or do anything. It started out beautifully and all the characters were well designed, but I didn’t feel as if there was a plot or any sequence of events.
September 30, 2021
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
𝑰𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒃 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.
When the story opens, Willa Chen is about to be interviewed for a job as a nanny for the Adrien family. This is a step up from the last couple she worked for, Nathalie and Gabe are living the life people like Willa can only dream about, with their enormous apartment in downtown Manhattan. Immediately she feels self-conscious, unremarkable, her attire boring and cheap beside beautiful Nathalie. Willa is leaving behind one service industry (bar at night, coffee shop in the morning) for a job that will give her back hours to finally create a life. This her chance for open-ended days, certainly Willa doesn’t love children. The last family she had worked for, the Erickson’s, didn’t make many demands nor require much effort into caring for their children, it was easy money. She was a babysitter, plain and simple. She wasn’t hired to shape their children’s futures, wasn’t expected to conjure gourmet meals in the kitchen nor speak to them in Mandarin. An Asian American, Nathalie assumes she would speak her father’s language, or at least “be in touch with her culture.” It is a sensitive subject for Willa, remembering how as a teenager she tried to be less Asian, thanks to cruel teasing by her peers. It feels like a check against her now with Nathalie’s probing , where culture and taste is illuminated.
Bijou isn’t your average child, in fact, Willa is envious of her cushy world, one where someone is paid to wait on you, a life that is full of activities to challenge and mold a child into their fullest potential. Her childhood couldn’t be further from the Willa’s. College educated, this isn’t the life she imagined for herself and the question arises, where would she be if she had been showered in the care and attention that are afforded people like Bijou? Willa admits she wasn’t neglected, certainly people have much harder upbringings than her, but as she moves in with the Adriens she can’t help but compare her own family and how much of an outcast she has always been. I think this is why she has a hard time truly relaxing and fitting in, she never quite trusts her place in her own life. It began with her parents.
Loneliness doesn’t encompass the emotional landscape of her life, how the split between she and her parents left her without a solid identity. She is far more distanced from her father whose Chinese culture she knows next to nothing about, always having felt the weight of strangers expectations as her looks leave no doubt to her ethnicity, but it is her white mother who mostly raised her. Her father hasn’t taught her much, not about his past and the shy interactions she has when she visits him speaks volumes about her longings for a deeper bond. It’s not much better with her mother, whose new life leaves her feeling excluded too. Willa is always more like a guest no matter where she lives and works, her needs never acknowledged and while it’s true she is guilty of never asking for more, it may well be that she was never given the security to trust that she could and still be loved.
She has felt discarded and unprotected for too long. Willa is wounded by the past and I think it holds her back. Well past the age of eighteen she is still waiting for life to begin, clueless about her next steps, never thinking much about the future, just sort of floating along. It’s nothing new, not everyone has spectacular careers lined up after college. Is determination, ambition in our genes? I don’t know, but it’s a fact not everyone that needs guidance gets it. The class divide is a reality too, there is no denying children like Bijou have an edge anymore than Willa’s half siblings love and attention will likely serve them well. You can see an interesting dynamic in someone so much younger than Willa ‘schooling her,’ already so sure of herself and her place in the world where Willa is lost. She truly is struggling to figure out who she is while both admiring and envying her employers. I was engaged, at times I wanted to shake her, you won’t get anywhere spinning in circles. It is thought provoking, because she is cut off from half of her identity (her father’s culture), and it robs her of something vital. She is an American-born Chinese girl who, as she states, “wasn’t really Chinese enough.” She doesn’t have an anchor in either world. It’s a heavy weight to bear. Solid read.
Publication Date: November 2, 2021
Tin House
𝑰𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒃 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.
When the story opens, Willa Chen is about to be interviewed for a job as a nanny for the Adrien family. This is a step up from the last couple she worked for, Nathalie and Gabe are living the life people like Willa can only dream about, with their enormous apartment in downtown Manhattan. Immediately she feels self-conscious, unremarkable, her attire boring and cheap beside beautiful Nathalie. Willa is leaving behind one service industry (bar at night, coffee shop in the morning) for a job that will give her back hours to finally create a life. This her chance for open-ended days, certainly Willa doesn’t love children. The last family she had worked for, the Erickson’s, didn’t make many demands nor require much effort into caring for their children, it was easy money. She was a babysitter, plain and simple. She wasn’t hired to shape their children’s futures, wasn’t expected to conjure gourmet meals in the kitchen nor speak to them in Mandarin. An Asian American, Nathalie assumes she would speak her father’s language, or at least “be in touch with her culture.” It is a sensitive subject for Willa, remembering how as a teenager she tried to be less Asian, thanks to cruel teasing by her peers. It feels like a check against her now with Nathalie’s probing , where culture and taste is illuminated.
Bijou isn’t your average child, in fact, Willa is envious of her cushy world, one where someone is paid to wait on you, a life that is full of activities to challenge and mold a child into their fullest potential. Her childhood couldn’t be further from the Willa’s. College educated, this isn’t the life she imagined for herself and the question arises, where would she be if she had been showered in the care and attention that are afforded people like Bijou? Willa admits she wasn’t neglected, certainly people have much harder upbringings than her, but as she moves in with the Adriens she can’t help but compare her own family and how much of an outcast she has always been. I think this is why she has a hard time truly relaxing and fitting in, she never quite trusts her place in her own life. It began with her parents.
Loneliness doesn’t encompass the emotional landscape of her life, how the split between she and her parents left her without a solid identity. She is far more distanced from her father whose Chinese culture she knows next to nothing about, always having felt the weight of strangers expectations as her looks leave no doubt to her ethnicity, but it is her white mother who mostly raised her. Her father hasn’t taught her much, not about his past and the shy interactions she has when she visits him speaks volumes about her longings for a deeper bond. It’s not much better with her mother, whose new life leaves her feeling excluded too. Willa is always more like a guest no matter where she lives and works, her needs never acknowledged and while it’s true she is guilty of never asking for more, it may well be that she was never given the security to trust that she could and still be loved.
She has felt discarded and unprotected for too long. Willa is wounded by the past and I think it holds her back. Well past the age of eighteen she is still waiting for life to begin, clueless about her next steps, never thinking much about the future, just sort of floating along. It’s nothing new, not everyone has spectacular careers lined up after college. Is determination, ambition in our genes? I don’t know, but it’s a fact not everyone that needs guidance gets it. The class divide is a reality too, there is no denying children like Bijou have an edge anymore than Willa’s half siblings love and attention will likely serve them well. You can see an interesting dynamic in someone so much younger than Willa ‘schooling her,’ already so sure of herself and her place in the world where Willa is lost. She truly is struggling to figure out who she is while both admiring and envying her employers. I was engaged, at times I wanted to shake her, you won’t get anywhere spinning in circles. It is thought provoking, because she is cut off from half of her identity (her father’s culture), and it robs her of something vital. She is an American-born Chinese girl who, as she states, “wasn’t really Chinese enough.” She doesn’t have an anchor in either world. It’s a heavy weight to bear. Solid read.
Publication Date: November 2, 2021
Tin House
October 27, 2021
This forthcoming, debut novel from Kyle Lucia Wu recounts the experience of a young woman who becomes a live-in nanny for a wealthy New York family. For me, the protagonist of Win Me Something, Willa Chen, feels like a familiar character – someone we’ve all known. After graduating college she’s left without a clear direction in either her professional or personal life. She ends up a nanny by chance, and her relationships develop throughout the narrative more out of convenience versus intention. She reflects at length about her childhood and family relations, but her reflections don’t seem to have a significant impact on her decisions or progress – she struggles to find her place with her “hired” family as much as she did with her own.
While I found the story and characters familiar and even relatable at times, I was also a little bit disappointed in them. There wasn’t anything especially surprising or gripping about their development – it felt hard to root for the protagonist because she barely rooted for herself. And while there are some meaningful comments on class and race throughout this debut, they didn’t take up quite as much space as I would have liked.
This is an easy, modern read with a familiar caste of characters and relatable struggle, but all told it left me somewhat underwhelmed.
While I found the story and characters familiar and even relatable at times, I was also a little bit disappointed in them. There wasn’t anything especially surprising or gripping about their development – it felt hard to root for the protagonist because she barely rooted for herself. And while there are some meaningful comments on class and race throughout this debut, they didn’t take up quite as much space as I would have liked.
This is an easy, modern read with a familiar caste of characters and relatable struggle, but all told it left me somewhat underwhelmed.
July 21, 2021
This is an exquisite novel about a young woman who feels herself separate from everything. Willa is bi-racial and feels replaced by her parents “second” families. Rather than trying to relate, she withdraws. She doesn’t feel Chinese or white, she feels that the world looks down on her because she is a misfit in both communities.
Much of this inner-life and isolation is dissipated when she inadvertently becomes a nanny for the wealthy, privileged Tribeca family, the Adrians. She becomes attached to their daughter, Bijou. Once again she faces separation because she is neither servant nor family member. She is drawn to the mother, Nathalie, but finds herself hurt and confused.
Though I often find it hard to relate to young protagonists, Willa is so beautifully drawn that I found her and the setting engaging. Like “The Nanny Diaries” and “Prep” I found myself immersed in the story and the writing, not the demographics.
Honestly, I can’t think of any woman, daughter or mother who will not enjoy this novel. I highly recommend this to book groups of all ages.
Thank you Netgalley for this lovely little jewel.
Much of this inner-life and isolation is dissipated when she inadvertently becomes a nanny for the wealthy, privileged Tribeca family, the Adrians. She becomes attached to their daughter, Bijou. Once again she faces separation because she is neither servant nor family member. She is drawn to the mother, Nathalie, but finds herself hurt and confused.
Though I often find it hard to relate to young protagonists, Willa is so beautifully drawn that I found her and the setting engaging. Like “The Nanny Diaries” and “Prep” I found myself immersed in the story and the writing, not the demographics.
Honestly, I can’t think of any woman, daughter or mother who will not enjoy this novel. I highly recommend this to book groups of all ages.
Thank you Netgalley for this lovely little jewel.
April 9, 2022
I have always loved coming of age novels and I love Win Me Something. Willa is in her early twenties and doesn't know what do with her life. So she takes a nannying job with a nice girl -- with a ridiculously pretentious name (Bijou) in the the fanciest apartment in Tribeca and starts to feel like she belongs. Like she might be part of the family. Which she is not. She is the help. She has to pay for her own Mandarin lessons which is ironic and she is half Chinese and cannot speak the language. This is a quiet book. There were places for explosions that did not happen. Willa did not get caught wearing her bosses incredibly fancy dress and she did not have sex with her boss' attractive younger brother. But in the course of her year, she changes. A beautiful book.
October 13, 2023
3.5 for sure.
I saw people calling this book “quiet” and I think that’s kinda true. Although some of the passages felt like a slap in the face. I’m not usually a “just vibes” book reader but this was me trying to do something new. So yay!
I wish there would’ve been a bit more character shifting by the end bc I really wanted to leave Willa feeling less lost (maybe I’m projecting🫢). And I wanted to know more about Bijou but I still really liked where the book ended.
I saw people calling this book “quiet” and I think that’s kinda true. Although some of the passages felt like a slap in the face. I’m not usually a “just vibes” book reader but this was me trying to do something new. So yay!
I wish there would’ve been a bit more character shifting by the end bc I really wanted to leave Willa feeling less lost (maybe I’m projecting🫢). And I wanted to know more about Bijou but I still really liked where the book ended.
December 28, 2021
Willa has never felt like she belongs. She is half Chinese but has no connection to that side of herself or her Chinese father. She relives some of her childhood experiences as a nanny to Bijou, who has grown up privileged and loved.
This book reminds me of Such a Fun Age in regards to the complex relationship between the nanny, the child, and the employer. There are also subtle undertones of racism throughout, due to ignorance, privilege, and a lack of understanding.
There is not a clear plot in this book. We follow Willa as she meanders through life and becomes more entangled in the Adrien family. She struggles with navigating her own identity and sense of belonging while witnessing a totally different childhood than the one she grew up with.
This book is particularly relatable for me but may not be for every audience.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tin House Books for the ARC.
This book reminds me of Such a Fun Age in regards to the complex relationship between the nanny, the child, and the employer. There are also subtle undertones of racism throughout, due to ignorance, privilege, and a lack of understanding.
There is not a clear plot in this book. We follow Willa as she meanders through life and becomes more entangled in the Adrien family. She struggles with navigating her own identity and sense of belonging while witnessing a totally different childhood than the one she grew up with.
This book is particularly relatable for me but may not be for every audience.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tin House Books for the ARC.
January 30, 2022
10000/5 stars
Have you ever read a book so intimate and so close to your heart that you cry reading it? Not because it was necessarily sad, but because you felt so seen and so close to the main character. That was this book for me. Growing up as a biracial, Asian-American woman, I have always been looking for a place to belong. And maybe, I haven't found that place yet, but maybe this book brought me closer to the realization that I do belong. And that I am not entirely alone in my thoughts.
Thank you Kyle Lucia Wu for writing this book. Thank you for making me feel seen. Thank you for reminding me that being two halves of something doesn't mean that I'm not a whole.
Have you ever read a book so intimate and so close to your heart that you cry reading it? Not because it was necessarily sad, but because you felt so seen and so close to the main character. That was this book for me. Growing up as a biracial, Asian-American woman, I have always been looking for a place to belong. And maybe, I haven't found that place yet, but maybe this book brought me closer to the realization that I do belong. And that I am not entirely alone in my thoughts.
Thank you Kyle Lucia Wu for writing this book. Thank you for making me feel seen. Thank you for reminding me that being two halves of something doesn't mean that I'm not a whole.
November 23, 2021
Definitely one of the best novels of 2021. Such a piercing yet delicate read. I devoured WIN ME SOMETHING in a weekend and am bereft that I can’t read it again for the first time.
January 6, 2022
I don't usually like books where nothing really happens, but the nothing that happens here is really something.
January 9, 2022
‘Win Me Something’ by Kyle Lucia Wu is a novel about belonging. The main character, the Chinese-American Willa Chen, feels like she does not belong anywhere.
When she starts working as a nanny for the wealthy Adrien family, this only highlights her feelings of displacement as she compares her life with that of her wealthy employers.
Racism and class difference are some of the themes that are central to the novel as they are some of the reasons Willa feels she does not fit in.
As the story progresses you learn more about Willa’s past and why she feels like an outsider even within her own family. However, I didn’t feel like I really got to know Willa very well and this made it hard to fully understand the relationships she has with her own family and the Adriens. This made it hard to connect with Willa and the people around her.
When she starts working as a nanny for the wealthy Adrien family, this only highlights her feelings of displacement as she compares her life with that of her wealthy employers.
Racism and class difference are some of the themes that are central to the novel as they are some of the reasons Willa feels she does not fit in.
As the story progresses you learn more about Willa’s past and why she feels like an outsider even within her own family. However, I didn’t feel like I really got to know Willa very well and this made it hard to fully understand the relationships she has with her own family and the Adriens. This made it hard to connect with Willa and the people around her.
April 24, 2023
2 stars- it was okay.
While the audio was engaging, the main character made me uncomfortable and the plot went nowhere. This is definitely a more character-driven novel, and while I enjoyed the introspection, I need actions to back up any character development. This book was just too symbolic and not explicit enough; things were hinted at, symbols were thrown in, literary devices were everywhere, but I had very little evidence of any real change. Mostly, this just felt like a 7 hour lamentation of loneliness and not belonging, with nothing to show for it in the end.
Longer, more specific review below. All main points are in bold if you'd rather skim :)
what I liked:
-the writing was pretty good. There were some great quotes and some really articulate thoughts and expressions. I also enjoyed the language devices the author used; a lot of the symbolism and metaphors were brilliant.
-the diversity.
-the discussions about race were good, and the subtle racism Willa experiences is so reflective of modern day society, it hurt. I'm always appreciative of authors who bring these problems to light.
-Willa's experiences of loneliness and not belonging are relatable and understandable. It's a very realistic plight, especially for those who are biracial or are ethnically different from those they are surrounded by.
what I didn't like:
-this book is character-driven, and thus the ending really depends on character development. However, the ending was too symbolic and not explicit enough for me; I want to see the character development, not infer it. It seems like Willa has grown a bit, but how can I be sure when none of her actions, present day, reflect this? It makes the book feel pointless— the end goal was character development, but readers just end up following Willa's fruitless journey.
-expanding on the ending: it was really unsatisfying and quite abrupt. I feel like it leaves so much up in the air and unresolved. Does Willa actually change? Has her mentality changed? Does she find what she's looking for? Does she push herself into being less passive? We don't know. I'm not even sure that Willa knows. The book ends on this hopeful possibility that she could change, but gives readers no evidence of any development. I didn't like the ending.
-the book didn't go anywhere; I often felt like there wasn't even a plot. There wasn't really a sequence of events, and the things that happened often had no importance—if you took them out, the book would've felt the same.
-I disliked Willa, the MC. I feel for her situation and I sympathise, but she often put herself in positions that made her incredibly pitiful and unlikeable, and I was often embarrassed for her. She made me uncomfortable with her choices, like how she chose to These are only two situations of many that made Willa pitiful and embarrassing. She's also an incredibly passive person. She barely interacts with her family and wonders why they aren't as close to her as they are to each other; she only later acknowledges that a part of her emotional distance is her own doing. She's a big part of her own problem.
While the audio was engaging, the main character made me uncomfortable and the plot went nowhere. This is definitely a more character-driven novel, and while I enjoyed the introspection, I need actions to back up any character development. This book was just too symbolic and not explicit enough; things were hinted at, symbols were thrown in, literary devices were everywhere, but I had very little evidence of any real change. Mostly, this just felt like a 7 hour lamentation of loneliness and not belonging, with nothing to show for it in the end.
Longer, more specific review below. All main points are in bold if you'd rather skim :)
what I liked:
-the writing was pretty good. There were some great quotes and some really articulate thoughts and expressions. I also enjoyed the language devices the author used; a lot of the symbolism and metaphors were brilliant.
-the diversity.
-the discussions about race were good, and the subtle racism Willa experiences is so reflective of modern day society, it hurt. I'm always appreciative of authors who bring these problems to light.
-Willa's experiences of loneliness and not belonging are relatable and understandable. It's a very realistic plight, especially for those who are biracial or are ethnically different from those they are surrounded by.
what I didn't like:
-this book is character-driven, and thus the ending really depends on character development. However, the ending was too symbolic and not explicit enough for me; I want to see the character development, not infer it. It seems like Willa has grown a bit, but how can I be sure when none of her actions, present day, reflect this? It makes the book feel pointless— the end goal was character development, but readers just end up following Willa's fruitless journey.
-expanding on the ending: it was really unsatisfying and quite abrupt. I feel like it leaves so much up in the air and unresolved. Does Willa actually change? Has her mentality changed? Does she find what she's looking for? Does she push herself into being less passive? We don't know. I'm not even sure that Willa knows. The book ends on this hopeful possibility that she could change, but gives readers no evidence of any development. I didn't like the ending.
-the book didn't go anywhere; I often felt like there wasn't even a plot. There wasn't really a sequence of events, and the things that happened often had no importance—if you took them out, the book would've felt the same.
-I disliked Willa, the MC. I feel for her situation and I sympathise, but she often put herself in positions that made her incredibly pitiful and unlikeable, and I was often embarrassed for her. She made me uncomfortable with her choices, like how she chose to These are only two situations of many that made Willa pitiful and embarrassing. She's also an incredibly passive person. She barely interacts with her family and wonders why they aren't as close to her as they are to each other; she only later acknowledges that a part of her emotional distance is her own doing. She's a big part of her own problem.
March 13, 2022
“I'd been trying to count how many words I spoke at each meal, telling myself that I should participate more, but it was hard when they were standing around the kitchen island, responding to starts of sentences I didn't know the ends to.”
introspective and engaging. i found this story of a young woman adrift, unsure of how to act and where she belongs as a biracial woman, to be quite pageturning despite the fact that there's little plot to this novel. i really enjoyed wu's clear, thoughtful prose and thought the character work within this novel was very well-done, especially with willa. her relationships were quite compelling, and i particularly enjoyed her relationship with bijou as well as the flashbacks of her childhood with her mother and father. the ending was pretty hopeful, which i liked, but not too unrealistic or cheesy. also admired the way food was used as a symbol throughout this book. really loved this one!
introspective and engaging. i found this story of a young woman adrift, unsure of how to act and where she belongs as a biracial woman, to be quite pageturning despite the fact that there's little plot to this novel. i really enjoyed wu's clear, thoughtful prose and thought the character work within this novel was very well-done, especially with willa. her relationships were quite compelling, and i particularly enjoyed her relationship with bijou as well as the flashbacks of her childhood with her mother and father. the ending was pretty hopeful, which i liked, but not too unrealistic or cheesy. also admired the way food was used as a symbol throughout this book. really loved this one!
November 20, 2021
A light read without any emotional triggers if you've been reading heavy stuff. I didn't think the flashbacks added much to story other than to give a little more substance to Willa. My main complaint is that when I'd put down the book and start reading again I had no recollection of what just happened. A fine story, but not a memorable one.
January 3, 2022
Hooked me from the start and there were times I got impatient, but by the end I was much more invested not only in Willa but also the social commentary.
Thank you to my friend Elena (elena.luo on IG) for passing along her ARC!
Thank you to my friend Elena (elena.luo on IG) for passing along her ARC!
May 5, 2022
Ik heb geen idee wat ik nou echt heb gelezen qua plot maar het was niet stom
Ik heb eigenlijk echt geen idee
Ik heb eigenlijk echt geen idee
July 21, 2023
I feel like there was no development and nothing was solved. I got bored, but two stars for the parts I could actually relate to and those parts hit kinda hard.
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