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kailiasage's review against another edition
3.0
I am always dismayed when a story that I am incredibly excited for lets me down. Our Wayward Fate has a beautiful cover and an intriguing premise and I was excited to see how Gloria Chao would weave this story together. I loved the immersion of past Chinese culture and history connecting to the culture of the people today. However, I didn't think that the overall story was one that had a lasting impression on me.
The concept of arranged marriages is one that I'm very familiar with and I was surprised by how it was done in this story. I wish that there had been more said about how arranged marriages still work and operate in cultures around the world today because people are more than happy to be involved with it. I can understand why Ali felt the way that she did about how the events of the story unfolded but I wish they had been handled differently.
The concept of arranged marriages is one that I'm very familiar with and I was surprised by how it was done in this story. I wish that there had been more said about how arranged marriages still work and operate in cultures around the world today because people are more than happy to be involved with it. I can understand why Ali felt the way that she did about how the events of the story unfolded but I wish they had been handled differently.
absdoesmusic's review against another edition
4.0
Soooo.
If you look past the insta-love (I'm more of a 500k slowburn kind of person), which, I think is justified to advance the plot... This was actually an interesting book. My favorite by Gloria Chao is still Rent a boyfriend, but this one is good too
If you look past the insta-love (I'm more of a 500k slowburn kind of person), which, I think is justified to advance the plot... This was actually an interesting book. My favorite by Gloria Chao is still Rent a boyfriend, but this one is good too
tyheronthorn's review against another edition
4.0
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Initially, Our Wayward Fate caught my eye because I'd heard a lot about Gloria Chao's debut, American Panda, and though I hadn't read it I'm always excited to see new books from Chinese authors. Honestly, I was expecting a typical contemporary romance from Our Wayward Fate. What I got was an exploration of being the children of immigrants and reconnecting to your culture intertwined with the cute romance.
Ali is a really fun protagonist; she's very sarcastic without being overly sullen about it, mostly because a lot of her standoffishness is to cope with being the only Chinese person in a small town and the racism she experiences from her friends and classmates. I've never experienced the kind of racism that Ali does, but I've definitely had similar experiences, and I could really relate to pushing away my culture so I could fit in with my white classmates.
So the main conflict in the book is between Ali and her immigrant parents who want the best for her while pushing her away from her boyfriend, Chase Yu, the other Taiwanese kid who moves to the town early on in the book. Even though he helps Ali reconnect with her Taiwanese identity, the politics within the Taiwanese immigrant community--and especially Ali's parents--keep them apart. Usually, I'm not really a fan of the forbidden romance trope, especially when it's heterosexual, but the one between Ali and Chase rang true to me. I did find the beginning of their relationship wasn't really developed well, but they did have a lot of chemistry towards the end of the book.
I honestly wasn't a huge fan of Chao's writing. It read as overly rambly and somewhat immature to me, but there were a lot of funny and introspective moments; the last quarter or so of the book is really strong, and if the whole book was similar I think I would have enjoyed the writing more. One of the narrative choices I really liked was Chao's decision to leave most of the Mandarin used in the story untranslated, which made the dialogue more immersive. Ali's story is intertwined with the folk tale of the Butterfly Lovers, which I'd honestly never heard about before this book, but is a very well-known folk tale in China.
Despite some of the problems I had with the romance and writing, I quite enjoyed Our Wayward Fate and found I could relate to a lot of Ali's experiences as a Chinese person. I definitely recommend this for those who are searching for diverse contemporary romance books that will make you think.
representation | chinese main characters, gay side character
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Initially, Our Wayward Fate caught my eye because I'd heard a lot about Gloria Chao's debut, American Panda, and though I hadn't read it I'm always excited to see new books from Chinese authors. Honestly, I was expecting a typical contemporary romance from Our Wayward Fate. What I got was an exploration of being the children of immigrants and reconnecting to your culture intertwined with the cute romance.
Ali is a really fun protagonist; she's very sarcastic without being overly sullen about it, mostly because a lot of her standoffishness is to cope with being the only Chinese person in a small town and the racism she experiences from her friends and classmates. I've never experienced the kind of racism that Ali does, but I've definitely had similar experiences, and I could really relate to pushing away my culture so I could fit in with my white classmates.
So the main conflict in the book is between Ali and her immigrant parents who want the best for her while pushing her away from her boyfriend, Chase Yu, the other Taiwanese kid who moves to the town early on in the book. Even though he helps Ali reconnect with her Taiwanese identity, the politics within the Taiwanese immigrant community--and especially Ali's parents--keep them apart. Usually, I'm not really a fan of the forbidden romance trope, especially when it's heterosexual, but the one between Ali and Chase rang true to me. I did find the beginning of their relationship wasn't really developed well, but they did have a lot of chemistry towards the end of the book.
I honestly wasn't a huge fan of Chao's writing. It read as overly rambly and somewhat immature to me, but there were a lot of funny and introspective moments; the last quarter or so of the book is really strong, and if the whole book was similar I think I would have enjoyed the writing more. One of the narrative choices I really liked was Chao's decision to leave most of the Mandarin used in the story untranslated, which made the dialogue more immersive. Ali's story is intertwined with the folk tale of the Butterfly Lovers, which I'd honestly never heard about before this book, but is a very well-known folk tale in China.
Despite some of the problems I had with the romance and writing, I quite enjoyed Our Wayward Fate and found I could relate to a lot of Ali's experiences as a Chinese person. I definitely recommend this for those who are searching for diverse contemporary romance books that will make you think.
representation | chinese main characters, gay side character
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
ninetalevixen's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
As a Taiwanese-American girl, I might go into Gloria Chao books with unrealistically high expectations. And to be fair, there are more than a handful of little moments that hit home — bilingual puns, for example — but for the most part Ali just infuriated me with her selfish decisions and lack of empathy or accountability.
For all Ali talks about her identity crisis (Allie vs Ali, American vs Chinese), I didn't feel like she had much self-discovery or character growth throughout the narrative. It felt more like a crusade, Ali and against their parents and the rest of the world. She does a lot of preaching at other people, despite being humanly-flawed herself and not seeming to learn from her mistakes. And while I can empathize with the generational/cultural gap between Ali and her parents, it really doesn't feel like she makes any effort to understand or appreciate where they're coming from, which seems almost hypocritical when she's constantly calling out her classmates' racism.
Perhaps my biggest issue is the overproliferation of cliches:. I'm sure things still happen that way in real life — and I know I've been extremely fortunate not to experience it myself — but it's hard for me to really care when microaggressions are portrayed in extremes and cliches.
Honestly, I wanted to root for Ali and Chase but the scenes between them read more awkwardly than romantically — and while enthusiastic consent is certainly important in relationships, the way it was indicated in-text felt jarring and too overtly PC. (And this is coming from someone who identifies as an intersectional feminist.) The pacing of their relationship felt choppy, adding to my inability to wholeheartedly ship it.
I appreciate the attempts to be more intersectional throughout the book, though there are parts where the phrasing is incorrect or nuanced issues are glossed over with "it's okay if you feel that way"; it's far from perfect, though it's a step in the right direction, and that deserves recognition.
Also, while I'm talking about phrasing, there are several instances where the use of teenage slang is incorrect and made me cringe. I'm not saying authors can't use phrases that the cool kids are saying these days, but sometimes it seems like they're trying too hard to be Relatable^TM. The pop culture references went over better, since they're used sparingly and (perhaps more importantly) aren't comprised entirely of Harry Potter and Marvel allusions.
So overall, while the rep in this book delights me to no end and the premise contains so much promise, I can't help feeling that the execution could've used some polishing.
content warnings:
rep:
-----------
CONVERSION: 9.2 / 15 = 3.5 stars
Prose: 4 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 7 / 10
Emotional Impact: 7 / 10
Development / Flow: 5 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: N/A
As a Taiwanese-American girl, I might go into Gloria Chao books with unrealistically high expectations. And to be fair, there are more than a handful of little moments that hit home — bilingual puns, for example — but for the most part Ali just infuriated me with her selfish decisions and lack of empathy or accountability.
Spoiler
There doesn't seem to be a single moment when she accepts any real blame for her objectively poor decisions, though apparently her parents' good intentions don't count for much when they're not executed the way Ali would like. "Sorry" doesn't fix everything, apparently unless the one apologizing is a well-intentioned YA protagonist.For all Ali talks about her identity crisis (Allie vs Ali, American vs Chinese), I didn't feel like she had much self-discovery or character growth throughout the narrative. It felt more like a crusade, Ali and
Spoiler
Chase and YunPerhaps my biggest issue is the overproliferation of cliches:
Spoiler
Ali's (brief) hesitation to play nice with Chase because she was "burned" before when Yun (understandably) didn't want to be best friends after the well-meaning but insensitive way she reacted to his being gay; Ali's decision to not only keep secrets from but mislead Chase about her plans to find out about his family history; phrases like "a look that communicated more than words could say" and "in all the right places"; "Ali-fucius"; "sexy ninja Confucius"; the microaggressions Ali experiences, including Chinese food being called gross, racist jokes about being "yellow", mocking Asian accents; et cetera, et ceteraHonestly, I wanted to root for Ali and Chase but the scenes between them read more awkwardly than romantically — and while enthusiastic consent is certainly important in relationships, the way it was indicated in-text felt jarring and too overtly PC. (And this is coming from someone who identifies as an intersectional feminist.) The pacing of their relationship felt choppy, adding to my inability to wholeheartedly ship it.
I appreciate the attempts to be more intersectional throughout the book, though there are parts where the phrasing is incorrect
Spoiler
unless some people do say "coming out to [their] parents about being a lesbian", which I personally have never heardAlso, while I'm talking about phrasing, there are several instances where the use of teenage slang is incorrect and made me cringe. I'm not saying authors can't use phrases that the cool kids are saying these days, but sometimes it seems like they're trying too hard to be Relatable^TM. The pop culture references went over better, since they're used sparingly and (perhaps more importantly) aren't comprised entirely of Harry Potter and Marvel allusions.
So overall, while the rep in this book delights me to no end and the premise contains so much promise, I can't help feeling that the execution could've used some polishing.
content warnings:
Spoiler
racism & microaggressions, loss of loved ones (secondary character's parent), mentions of torture & suiciderep:
Spoiler
Taiwanese-American MCs & family, gay Chinese-American major character-----------
CONVERSION: 9.2 / 15 = 3.5 stars
Prose: 4 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 7 / 10
Emotional Impact: 7 / 10
Development / Flow: 5 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: N/A
kenzigrl's review against another edition
5.0
What an amazing and informative read. This book allowed me to understand Chinese culture more along with sucking me into a story I couldn’t help but finish it a day! I love adored how Chase brought Ali out of her shell and showed her that she doesn’t need to just blend in and instead needs to take a stand for herself and her culture.
_eva_'s review against another edition
I liked this book. It captured the immigrant experience really well.
notyourhijabi's review against another edition
4.0
I *may* have walked into this expecting something more along the lines of American Panda but was pleasantly surprised to see something with such contrast. The author deals with heavier topics here, but still manages to execute things such that you leave this with a lingering smile on your face :)
rosiefrog's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
noyastan's review against another edition
4.0
Ali was tough, feisty, daring, and eager to find her place. Her and Chase’s romance was a whirlwind, at times a bit insta-love, but I enjoyed reading about Asian Americans youths both countering the racism of their majority white community and trying to reach out to their parents’ differing views.
- This was very cute! A quick-paced, dramatic chronicle of two Taiwanese American kids in the Mid West finding comfort and companionship with each other.
- There was a twist that, not going to lie, I didn’t even connect the dots to because I thought the story was going in a completely different direction.
- Interspersed between Ali and Chase’s story is the Taiwanese tale of the Butterfly Lovers.
- So many fun puns!!!!
Ultimately, a captivating, quick read that gave me a bit of hope!
- This was very cute! A quick-paced, dramatic chronicle of two Taiwanese American kids in the Mid West finding comfort and companionship with each other.
- There was a twist that, not going to lie, I didn’t even connect the dots to because I thought the story was going in a completely different direction.
- Interspersed between Ali and Chase’s story is the Taiwanese tale of the Butterfly Lovers.
- So many fun puns!!!!
Ultimately, a captivating, quick read that gave me a bit of hope!