September 23, 2019
As the sole Asian-American at her small-town Indiana high school, Taiwanese-American Ali Chu is used to playing unperturbed in order to fit in, letting microaggressions go uncontested, and eschewing engagement with her culture in front of her white friends. But when Chase Yu moves to Plainhart from Flushing, N.Y., Ali questions her complacency, finding in him an ally, a kung fu sparring partner, and a boyfriend. Ali believes Chase’s Taiwanese-American identity should please her difficult mother, so she’s surprised when her mother insists that Ali break up with him. Family friends Ali doesn’t remember, a long-lost relative on the Chus’ doorstep, and Chase’s own mysterious past complicate the narrative, and Ali has her work cut out for her as she investigates her family’s enigmas. Chao (American Panda) treads familiar paths in regards to intergenerational miscommunication between immigrant parents and their children, but a reinterpretation of a classic Chinese romantic tragedy, “The Butterfly Lovers,” and the perspective of a park freshen the novel with varying degrees of success. Though readers versed in Asian-American literature will recognize some well-worn dynamics, this contemporary romance will find likely find appreciative readers. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kathleen Rushall, Andrea Brown Literary.
