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behindmybookcase's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Kaya Press for providing me with a digital ARC for honest review
David Tung Can't Have a Girlfriend Until He Gets into An Ivy League College follows Chinese-American student David Tung as he competes in his cutthroat high school full of the elite of New Jersey. Vying for a coveted internship, David is asked to a dance by his competitor, popular girl Christina Tau. There's just one problem; David can't date till he gets into an Ivy league college. We follow David through his trials at school, with every other waking hour spent at his family's restaurant, excepting his Saturdays which are spent at the Chinese school where he finds refuge from expectations.
I expected this book to be a light-hearted contemporary romance with hard hitting moments. However, it didn't deliver for me. The book deals with a few important issues, specifically the pressures of school and grades, the idea of being Chinese 'enough' whether this be through being mixed race or living in a gentrified area, and classism in schools. These are all really important things, which made it all the more disappointing when they fell flat. The problem with the book is that it felt like there was no stakes. We're always told how David feels like he's under a lot of pressure, but we're never shown it. This is largely due to the tone David has. He often has an indifferent attitude, which is unusual in someone who is apparently so driven. The other issue with his tone is the air of superiority he has. While I'm someone that does love a problematic character, David's superiority was never really acknowledged as a problem. As a matter of fact, a lot of the time David is a real arse, and he never faces repercussions, often the book celebrates him for being somewhat of a bad person. All this would be redeemable if we saw David grow or develop as a character, but this doesn't happen. David's big revelation is that people still matter even if he doesn't care about them, and even this doesn't feel earned. He has the realisation off the cuff and again is celebrated for showing a glimmer of humanity. The final problem I had with this book was the latent misogyny. The book often objectifies girls, which I could excuse in the beginning as it suited the voice of the teenage boy we were following. However, again there's no consequences for David's view of women, the book almost reinforces a 'boys will be boys' view. Not only are girls objectified for seemingly no reason, but this book falls into the adage of pinning women against each other. It's 2020! Descriptions like: "Betty wasn't as sexy as Christina. She wasn't sexy at all... Betty didn't wear the necessary clothes, jewelry, or beauty products to play that sort of game" just make me roll my eyes. Christina is constantly represented as being vapid and shallow even though she has a higher class ranking than David. The girls in this book exist for nothing more than to give David something to look at.
With all that said I want to make it clear, I didn't hate this book! It was just fine. There was no real plot or point to the book, but it was an easy-going read that did have some humorous moments and some interesting insights into the Chinese-American experience. But unfortunately this wasn't enough to compensate for the problems I had.
Thank you to Netgalley and Kaya Press for providing me with a digital ARC for honest review
David Tung Can't Have a Girlfriend Until He Gets into An Ivy League College follows Chinese-American student David Tung as he competes in his cutthroat high school full of the elite of New Jersey. Vying for a coveted internship, David is asked to a dance by his competitor, popular girl Christina Tau. There's just one problem; David can't date till he gets into an Ivy league college. We follow David through his trials at school, with every other waking hour spent at his family's restaurant, excepting his Saturdays which are spent at the Chinese school where he finds refuge from expectations.
I expected this book to be a light-hearted contemporary romance with hard hitting moments. However, it didn't deliver for me. The book deals with a few important issues, specifically the pressures of school and grades, the idea of being Chinese 'enough' whether this be through being mixed race or living in a gentrified area, and classism in schools. These are all really important things, which made it all the more disappointing when they fell flat. The problem with the book is that it felt like there was no stakes. We're always told how David feels like he's under a lot of pressure, but we're never shown it. This is largely due to the tone David has. He often has an indifferent attitude, which is unusual in someone who is apparently so driven. The other issue with his tone is the air of superiority he has. While I'm someone that does love a problematic character, David's superiority was never really acknowledged as a problem. As a matter of fact, a lot of the time David is a real arse, and he never faces repercussions, often the book celebrates him for being somewhat of a bad person. All this would be redeemable if we saw David grow or develop as a character, but this doesn't happen. David's big revelation is that people still matter even if he doesn't care about them, and even this doesn't feel earned. He has the realisation off the cuff and again is celebrated for showing a glimmer of humanity. The final problem I had with this book was the latent misogyny. The book often objectifies girls, which I could excuse in the beginning as it suited the voice of the teenage boy we were following. However, again there's no consequences for David's view of women, the book almost reinforces a 'boys will be boys' view. Not only are girls objectified for seemingly no reason, but this book falls into the adage of pinning women against each other. It's 2020! Descriptions like: "Betty wasn't as sexy as Christina. She wasn't sexy at all... Betty didn't wear the necessary clothes, jewelry, or beauty products to play that sort of game" just make me roll my eyes. Christina is constantly represented as being vapid and shallow even though she has a higher class ranking than David. The girls in this book exist for nothing more than to give David something to look at.
With all that said I want to make it clear, I didn't hate this book! It was just fine. There was no real plot or point to the book, but it was an easy-going read that did have some humorous moments and some interesting insights into the Chinese-American experience. But unfortunately this wasn't enough to compensate for the problems I had.
books_first_'s review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing a copy of this book for me.
David Tung Can't Have a Girlfriend Unless He Gets Into an Ivy League College was not what I expected at all. In the best possible way.
I loved getting to know David Tung. He immediately felt like such a special character to me. He is driven and a little socially awkward (except in Chinese School when he's a right rebel). He is obedient and genuinely cares for his family. He has high hopes and high dreams and American Asian or not he is highly relatable.
I loved this insight into David as an American Asian character but since I am neither American or Asian, I will leave the analysis of this particular aspect to more capable reviewers.
I also loved his relationship with his friends at Chinese School, the way he is determined to see the best in people even though he doesn't have the best time at his high school. He is considerate and nice and he is falling in love for the very first time. And I feel very privileged to got to go on that wild ride with him.
I will heartily recommend David Tung's story to everyone who wants to read a comfortable and nice slice of life/coming of age story with a lot of heart and a lot of love.
David Tung Can't Have a Girlfriend Unless He Gets Into an Ivy League College was not what I expected at all. In the best possible way.
I loved getting to know David Tung. He immediately felt like such a special character to me. He is driven and a little socially awkward (except in Chinese School when he's a right rebel). He is obedient and genuinely cares for his family. He has high hopes and high dreams and American Asian or not he is highly relatable.
I loved this insight into David as an American Asian character but since I am neither American or Asian, I will leave the analysis of this particular aspect to more capable reviewers.
I also loved his relationship with his friends at Chinese School, the way he is determined to see the best in people even though he doesn't have the best time at his high school. He is considerate and nice and he is falling in love for the very first time. And I feel very privileged to got to go on that wild ride with him.
I will heartily recommend David Tung's story to everyone who wants to read a comfortable and nice slice of life/coming of age story with a lot of heart and a lot of love.
whatannikareads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I enjoyed this one! I found it super relatable as someone who went to a majority Asian, academically rigorous high school where Ivy Leagues were a pretty attainable goal for lots of students. I definitely went to students with kids like David.
It's definitely has a more juvenile writing style, but I also felt it was very accurate to what a socially awkward Asian high school boy would sound like. Although his parents were annoying, it was also a pretty accurate description of some classmates' parents and the pressure they put on them.
I think this is good if you want a more lighthearted read; I read it alongside a heavier read, and so it was a refuge and a breezy read that didn't have much consequence. I like that it is a very Asian American story, that isn't super rooted in the large Asian diaspora, being a foreigner, etc.
It's definitely has a more juvenile writing style, but I also felt it was very accurate to what a socially awkward Asian high school boy would sound like. Although his parents were annoying, it was also a pretty accurate description of some classmates' parents and the pressure they put on them.
I think this is good if you want a more lighthearted read; I read it alongside a heavier read, and so it was a refuge and a breezy read that didn't have much consequence. I like that it is a very Asian American story, that isn't super rooted in the large Asian diaspora, being a foreigner, etc.
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