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In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks from April 22nd-28th. Don’t miss out—purchases support your local bookstore!
Shop nowMy Summer of Love and Misfortune
Narrator
Nancy Wu
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Length
11 hours 21 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“This sort of coming of age story is about Iris Wang: a bumbling, self-absorbed, but ultimately well-intended young lady who reminded me a bit of Becky Bloomwood of the Confessions of a Shopaholic series. The highlight of this story is being treated to a fun description of Chinese culture, and food with the multitudes of food descriptions left me hungry and drooling. It astutely provides insight to the challenges of always being stuck in the liminal spaces whether that is being American Born Chinese, having newfound wealth, or unsure how to meet your beloved family’s expectations. Other strong themes throughout were familial bonds, overcoming family secrets and finding ways to forgive. Iris will frustrate you for the majority of the book as she is quite self-absorbed and never seems to learn as we experience her ongoing tragicomedic series of adventures and mistakes. However, I found the end satisfying and hopeful as she finally begins to grow up and gain some self-awareness and maturity.”
— Cori • Bright Side Bookshop
Crazy Rich Asians meets Love & Gelato in this hilarious, quirky novel about a Chinese-American teen who is thrust into the decadent world of Beijing high society when she is sent away to spend the summer in China.
Iris Wang is having a bit of a rough start to her summer: Her boyfriend cheated on her, she didn’t get into any colleges, and she has no idea who she is or what she wants to do with her life. She’s always felt torn about being Chinese-American, feeling neither Chinese nor American enough to claim either identity. She’s just a sad pizza combo from Domino’s, as far as she’s concerned.
In an attempt to snap her out of her funk, Iris’s parents send her away to visit family in Beijing, with the hopes that Iris would “reconnect with her culture” and “find herself.” Iris resents the condescension, but even she admits that this might be a good opportunity to hit the reset button on the apocalyptic disaster that has become her life.
With this trip, Iris expects to eat a few dumplings, meet some family, and visit a tourist hotspot or two. Instead, she gets swept up in the ridiculous, opulent world of Beijing’s wealthy elite, leading her to unexpected and extraordinary discoveries about her family, her future, and herself.
Lindsay Wong is the author of the bestselling, award-winning memoir The Woo-Woo: How I Survived Ice Hockey, Drug-Raids, Demons, and My Crazy Chinese Family. She has a BFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and MFA in literary nonfiction from Columbia University, and she is now based in Vancouver, Canada. My Summer of Love and Misfortune is her first YA novel. Visit her online at LindsayMWong.WordPress.com or on Twitter @LindsayMWong.