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A review by amienda
Our Wayward Fate by Gloria Chao
4.0
I received an advanced copy of this book at ALA.
Confession: I came across this book by complete accident by eavesdropping on a conversation at ALA this year. I overheard a Simon & Schuster staff member describe the “young adult romance about two Taiwanese teens” to a librarian, and knew that I had to pick up a copy. I’d never come across a book that was specifically about Taiwanese characters, instead of Chinese characters, and I jumped at the chance to see how my culture would be depicted in a novel.
Ali Chu (the main character) is the only Taiwanese kid in the middle of “bland as white toast” Indiana, who creates a façade for herself – whitewashing herself – in order to survive the social hierarchy of her high school. However, when another Taiwanese kid, Chase Yu, transfers in, she finds her carefully-crafted persona threatened by their chemistry, built by their shared culture and love of martial arts.
Our Wayward Fate struck a chord with me as I was really able to relate to Ali (and her struggles both at school and at home– from feeling weird about packing a biàndāng (lunch box) to being forbidden from dating non-Chinese boys. My parents, like Ali’s, both came from Taiwan to the United States, and I grew up spending many years as the only Taiwanese student in a predominantly white community. I found myself cringing along with her as her friends and teachers unknowingly made racist comments and remarks. It almost felt like a reflection of my own childhood, albeit a bit more exaggerated. Being able to read the pinyin was a huge plus for me too, since the Mandarin made Allie’s interactions at home with her strict parents hit home and all the more relatable.
Finally, the romance. Although I did feel that the beginning of Ali and Chase’s relationship felt a little bit rushed, I really enjoyed their dynamic and the way that they challenged but also supported each other throughout the series. In my opinion, Our Wayward Fate was more of a story about Ali’s personal growth than a love story between her and Chase, as he was somewhat absent for a third of the book – but that’s ok! The moments that they did have together, however, were so so cute and put a smile on my face everytime. And of course, I’m a huge sucker for banter, so the book got extra points for me there as well.
Overall, this was a really fun and entertaining read, and I can’t wait to see more from Gloria Chao. I’ve just added American Panda to my TBR as well!
Confession: I came across this book by complete accident by eavesdropping on a conversation at ALA this year. I overheard a Simon & Schuster staff member describe the “young adult romance about two Taiwanese teens” to a librarian, and knew that I had to pick up a copy. I’d never come across a book that was specifically about Taiwanese characters, instead of Chinese characters, and I jumped at the chance to see how my culture would be depicted in a novel.
Ali Chu (the main character) is the only Taiwanese kid in the middle of “bland as white toast” Indiana, who creates a façade for herself – whitewashing herself – in order to survive the social hierarchy of her high school. However, when another Taiwanese kid, Chase Yu, transfers in, she finds her carefully-crafted persona threatened by their chemistry, built by their shared culture and love of martial arts.
Our Wayward Fate struck a chord with me as I was really able to relate to Ali (and her struggles both at school and at home– from feeling weird about packing a biàndāng (lunch box) to being forbidden from dating non-Chinese boys. My parents, like Ali’s, both came from Taiwan to the United States, and I grew up spending many years as the only Taiwanese student in a predominantly white community. I found myself cringing along with her as her friends and teachers unknowingly made racist comments and remarks. It almost felt like a reflection of my own childhood, albeit a bit more exaggerated. Being able to read the pinyin was a huge plus for me too, since the Mandarin made Allie’s interactions at home with her strict parents hit home and all the more relatable.
Finally, the romance. Although I did feel that the beginning of Ali and Chase’s relationship felt a little bit rushed, I really enjoyed their dynamic and the way that they challenged but also supported each other throughout the series. In my opinion, Our Wayward Fate was more of a story about Ali’s personal growth than a love story between her and Chase, as he was somewhat absent for a third of the book – but that’s ok! The moments that they did have together, however, were so so cute and put a smile on my face everytime. And of course, I’m a huge sucker for banter, so the book got extra points for me there as well.
Overall, this was a really fun and entertaining read, and I can’t wait to see more from Gloria Chao. I’ve just added American Panda to my TBR as well!