Scan barcode
A review by kaycee9181
Boys I Know by Anna Gracia
4.0
Boys I Know. I got this as an ARC and I’m so glad I was able to read this one. Boys I Know was such a good read. I loved the author’s writing style of this one. It flows so well, and I felt like I really related to June in so many of my own high school experiences.
Boys I Know follows high school senior June Chu as she tries to figure out relationships, friendships, and life as a teen. It’s got a lot of great banter and it looks into a lot of Asian American identity and racism. It brings up the topic of Asian racism is several parts. June’s mother wants her to follow in the footsteps of her “perfect” sister Wendy, but June has a hard time following through with that when she feels like she’s going to fail anyway. She decided instead to focus on her relationship with high school crush Rhys as she tries to legitimize their relationship. June has to decided which path she will follow and on who’s terms she will live her life – even if it affects her relationship with her mother forever.
I think I would have absolutely gobbled this book up if I had read it in high school. This is really targeted for teenagers, but I did find myself engaged and interested in June and her story.
It was interesting to see the dynamic between June and her sister Wendy who was the golden child that June felt like she could never live up to which drove her into the arms of boys who didn’t deserve her. Haven’t we all?
I loved the way that June realizes her own mistakes and grew on her own. The character development in this book was so great and while some people said June was kind of whiny, I felt like that fit in with a normal teenager. It was written in a way that didn’t annoy me unlike To All the Boys.
This book has a few triggers to be sure to look those up before reading this one. There’s nonconsensual physical touch and some explicit sex scenes which can be uncomfy in a YA book. It was a little weird for me – but I just kind of skimmed them.
Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for this arc in exchange of an honest review!
Boys I Know follows high school senior June Chu as she tries to figure out relationships, friendships, and life as a teen. It’s got a lot of great banter and it looks into a lot of Asian American identity and racism. It brings up the topic of Asian racism is several parts. June’s mother wants her to follow in the footsteps of her “perfect” sister Wendy, but June has a hard time following through with that when she feels like she’s going to fail anyway. She decided instead to focus on her relationship with high school crush Rhys as she tries to legitimize their relationship. June has to decided which path she will follow and on who’s terms she will live her life – even if it affects her relationship with her mother forever.
I think I would have absolutely gobbled this book up if I had read it in high school. This is really targeted for teenagers, but I did find myself engaged and interested in June and her story.
It was interesting to see the dynamic between June and her sister Wendy who was the golden child that June felt like she could never live up to which drove her into the arms of boys who didn’t deserve her. Haven’t we all?
I loved the way that June realizes her own mistakes and grew on her own. The character development in this book was so great and while some people said June was kind of whiny, I felt like that fit in with a normal teenager. It was written in a way that didn’t annoy me unlike To All the Boys.
This book has a few triggers to be sure to look those up before reading this one. There’s nonconsensual physical touch and some explicit sex scenes which can be uncomfy in a YA book. It was a little weird for me – but I just kind of skimmed them.
Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for this arc in exchange of an honest review!