This Place is Still Beautiful

Reviews

An impressive first novel About much more than just racism toward Chinese Americans, this novel deftly tackles the precarious moments surrounding the end of high school and the beginning of college when romantic and familial relationships are complicated, changing, and all-consuming. Quiet yet powerful, complex, and grounded in the reality that nothing will ever be completely resolved. This assured YA debut interweaves uncompromising truths about prejudice, identity and belonging with sweet, heady romance and a nuanced depiction of sisterhood. Tender and lovely, This Place is Still Beautiful tells the story of a family forced to face their town - and each other - in the wake of a crime that can't be ignored. XiXi Tian is an exciting new voice in YA, and this moving debut is not to be missed. Tian excavates the awkward, ugly truths we avoid, and exposes them with raw emotional honesty and grace. This book made me feel seen in a way that very few books ever have. I found myself nodding and saying, 'Yes, that's so true!' over and over again. Expand reviews