my mom bought me this book and I thought I wouldn't enjoy it but boy was I wrong, I love how the story goes along but near the end, I hated how true the story goes when the school doesn't believe what happened to Claire and even tried to get Dani to apologize and just tried throwing it under the rug. It sickening to know society is like this now to victims. I really do recommend this book but please just beware of the trigger warnings. ( )

3.5 Stars

CW: Rape, sexual advances from teacher towards student, racism, detailed sexual content, drinking, school rape culture covered up by administration, class discrimination.

This book is told in first person alternating narrative. It features two teenage girls from vastly different backgrounds. Their worlds collide when Clare becomes a boarder in Dani's home as a way to provide some much needed extra income for Dani and her mother. Clare's wealthy background elevates her to someone with instant status in the school, a ready made group of friends, and of course a boyfriend. Dani dreams of going to Yale and knows her only chance is through winning a debating competition where she will be competing against wealthy kids who will buy their way to success.

In the story both Dani and Clare suffer from traumatic experiences which I think were well written and felt raw and real. However shocking it is to the Reader I think the responses of authority figures in the book is sadly a pretty accurate account of how many of these situations play out in real life. I didn't connect with the relationships in the story or even the main characters if I am being honest because I felt they weren't written with any warmth (if that makes any sense). Perhaps it will be a better explanation if I say I didn't get any 'feels' from them. The only relationship I was invested in was between Dani and her mother.

The strength and determination of the girls to be heard was the highlight of the book for me and I did appreciate the unity shown in the final pages. Despite not feeling moved by this book as I have by other similar stories, I know it is an important one so that elevated the rating for me. ( )

Yang presents many complex issues in this tale of two teens from wildly different backgrounds yet with a lot in common. ( )

The power to use your voice to speak against an injustice, in this case a rape and sexual harassment against teen girls, resonates throughout this story. And to read the afterword and realize that this happened to the author when she was young shocked me even more. The power that money has is the gross injustice in this world. To be able to try to pay someone off to cover up a rape is something that does happen and needs to be stopped. Thank you for writing such a powerful story. ( )

I thought Front Desk was an amazing book, and I really wondered how Kelly Yang would follow that kind of a debut up. This book is definitely for an older audience, but it absolutely does not disappoint. Crazy Rich Asians meets LA poverty with Yang's classic personal memoir thread that gives everything she writes a deep authenticity.

I have to admit, I wanted that memoir thread not be true of this book, because of the sexual assault, but I honor her bravery in sharing her story and refusing to compromise. That part is powerful. The story is... a delight. By turns fascinating, funny, infuriating, unexpected, heartbreaking. hard to put it down, and why would you want to?

Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss. ( )