A review by madelinefmcguire
Our Wayward Fate by Gloria Chao

5.0

17 year old Ali Chu knows that to survive being the only Asian in her small mid-western town that she must be bland in order to blend in. That means bringing PB & J for lunch instead of leftovers, ignoring her classmates and teachers' clueless racism, and accepting that everyone is going to miss pronounce her name as Allie rather than Ah-lee. When Chase Yu, who is also Taiwanese, starts at her school her carefully crafted blandness is thrown off. At first Ali resists having any relation to him due to everyone's assumptions that they'll be together, but as they start to talk and get to know one another Ali finds that they have have a lot in common. Between their family dynamics, the racism they both face and their love of kung-fu Ali is pleased to have met him. But when Ali's mother finds out about their relationship she forces Ali to end the relationship. This leads Ali on a journey to figure out exactly why her mother won't let her see Chase and to her uncovering buried family secrets.

This book was a trip. A LOT happens in the 300 or so pages. There's endless family dynamics and relations explored and the cultural aspect of being Asian-American in a very white town are explored as well. And it's all done wonderfully. This book blew my mind a little bit, but I enjoyed reading it. This is a great recommendation for someone who likes realistic fiction, but I think it's a little much for a 6th grader in the sense of maturity and content.