It’s so validating to see people celebrating Lunar New Year, to see the way our heritage is acknowledged with festivities, red and gold, pictures of dragons – plus the feasts. These three books, released in January and February of 2024, recognize Asian heritage, but with a slight spin. “River East, River West” subverts the immigrant trope by focusing on an American as the foreigner in China. “Lunar New Year Love Story” is a love story from a second-generation young adult perspective that takes place around Lunar New Year. “The Fox Wife” puts a fantasy twist on early 1900s Chinese history.
We hope you enjoy these stories, and that the warm feeling of celebrating our heritage continues after Lunar New Year.
Just a heads-up: Some of these books are linked to Bookshop.org, where every purchase supports both your reading journey and ours. Happy reading!
The narrative of Asian immigrants coming to the United States can feel like a tired trope at times, so what Aube Rey Lescure does in “River East, River West”–putting white American expats living in Shanghai under the microscope–feels particularly subversive. In this distinctively modern look at contemporary China, Lescure introduces us to Alva, a biracial Chinese and white teenager born and raised in Shanghai by her single white American mother, Sloane. Alva is aggrieved that Sloane is marrying Lu Fang, an average, middle-aged, Chinese businessman with nothing going for him except his wealth.
Alva’s viewpoint alternates with Lu Fang’s backstory, which truly carries the novel. Through Lu Fang, readers gain insight into how the Cultural Revolution spread shockwaves through a generation, resulting in long-lasting impacts on the psyche. Lu Fang’s journey to resolve the tension between accepting his diminished lot in life and yet continuing to dream of more is explored with empathy and depth.
While Alva starts off as a bratty, America-obsessed, consumer brand-loving teenager who wants to go to…
Read the full article here
