Love doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about this book. I had heard it was good, but I wasn’t expecting it to hook me in so deep. I loved watching Lily grow as a character. From accepting her sexuality to cutting off toxic friends to sticking up for herself to her family, Lily always felt real and I could imagine myself in her position and the internal battle she was going through. 

I’m typically not into historical fiction, but this is truly the shit I eat up. As a daughter of immigrants, I love hearing about that experience from others, and the historical context surrounding Lily’s family makes it so rich to read. I loved learning about her home in Chinatown, but reading about perspective of the Chinese communism propaganda from a Chinese family added an extra appreciation to Lily’s story. 

I would honestly love to see a novella of Lily going to Forbidden City. Reading the constant microaggressions she experienced within her new community of white lesbians was infuriating. I would have loved to see her flourish in a diverse queer community where she didn’t feel the constant pressure of being “othered” in a space that was supposed to make her feel safe.