Hello readers! With TBF 2018 just a few short months away I'm getting more excited with every great book I read. This month I read American Panda by Gloria Chao, and absolutely adored it. This was Gloria's debut novel and she has already announced her second, titled Misaligned, which is set for release in the fall of 2019At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents' master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a pre-approved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies.
With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can't bring herself to tell them the truth - that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese.
But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels?
Before we get to what I loved about the story itself I need to mention the incredible writing. Gloria Chao could make me laugh at loud than practically wreck me emotionally all within one chapter which is truly an amazing feat. I have the feeling Gloria is going to be one of those authors who I love every single one of their books. The ability to mix incredible comedic moments with heart wrenching emotional scenes is something that truly sells a book for me, and Gloria has that down for sure.
But the characters of this novel are what truly make it shine. Mei is one of my favorite protagonists I've read about in a long time. Often I am not the biggest fan of first person narratives, but reading Mei's thoughts on everything that happened to her was so well done and it made the novel a hundred percent better. The journey Mei, as well as the rest of the characters took through this novel struck me hard, and left me incredibly emotional.
Overall this novel hit me in so many places, and I strongly recommend it to anyone and everyone, who loves a story thats a mix of humor, emotional journeys and characters you'll want to root for. Look forward to another great post this Friday!
-Claire
Check the book out here!
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