Publishers Weekly
03/28/2022
In Southern California, Serene Li, 17, wants to be just like her successful fashion designer mother, Lily. But when Lily is diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer after a fall during New York Fashion Week, Serene finds herself in her mother’s shoes much sooner than she imagined, moving from distrusted intern to second-in-command. Worried about being left on her own, Serene also quietly attempts to find her long-absent father, who is presumably still living in Beijing, but she speaks almost no Chinese. Enter Lian Chen, recent emigrant from Beijing, whose family is pressuring him to attend an engineering program at MIT. At school, he starts Chinese Club as a college application filler, thinking it will give him time to practice his true passion—comedy—but he gets more than he bargained for when Serene walks in. In astutely told alternating chapters that advance toward a hopeful end, Yang’s (Parachutes) protagonists steadily find comfort in one another, working to take control of their lives while navigating stifling parental expectations, racial prejudice, and school bullying and workplace politics. Ages 14–up. Agent: Tina Dubois, ICM Partners. (May)
From the Publisher
"Yang excels at spinning stories with vibrant characters that open readers’ hearts and invite them to question their own expectations and assumptions." — The Horn Book
"Yang is a phenomenal writer. [T]he exploration of identity is very well written and discussed. One can’t help but root for the main characters as they explore the world around them, their emerging sense of self, and the feelings they have for each other." — School Library Journal
"Thoughtful, nuanced depictions of the teen's complicated relationships with their immigrant parents, which deftly incorporates overarching themes of prejudice, assimilation, and heritage-seeking . . . emotionally immersive . . . a compelling and genuine coming-of-age story." — Kirkus Reviews
"Yang’s protagonists steadily find comfort in one another, working to take control of their lives while navigating stifling parental expectations, racial prejudice, and school bullying and workplace politics." — Publishers Weekly
"Adeptly balancing a coming-of-age story with a romance, this thoughtful book, laced with plenty of tension, is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Jenn Bennett." — Booklist
Praise for Parachutes: “[Parachutes] is about the radical possibility of young women finding and detonating their voices. Yang takes a sledgehammer to rape culture itself, swinging with equal parts artistry and force. If this were a television series it would look fabulous and land deep.” — New York Times Book Review
"A fierce entrance into YA, navigating a plethora of complex themes with great honesty... Claire and Dani’s mettle and solidarity as they contend with the institutions and privilege that hide abuse is gripping and empowering. Yang offers a compelling exploration of the parachute experience and the intersection of ethnicity, class, and reputation, while underscoring striking cultural parallels between America and China. Strong characterization and thoughtful writing make for an unforgettable read." — ALA Booklist (starred review)
"Yang deftly weaves in parallels to recent real-life events... On top of these explorations of nationality and wealth is the realistically pervasive look at rape culture... In short alternating chapters narrated by Dani and Claire, Yang creates a delicate balance between these heavier issues and the lighter moments of high school... [A] powerful exploration of race, class, and power through multiple lenses... An engrossing read that will spark discussions on a wide range of issues." — School Library Journal (starred review)
"In her YA debut, Yang (Front Desk) draws from personal experience and the news to tell a contemporary story of class discrepancy, the pervasiveness of rape culture, and the Asian diaspora... a multifaceted read, by turns poignant, fun, and exultant in its celebration of the multitudinous experiences and strength inherent in diasporic identity." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Yang has created two distinct and vibrant voices that shimmer with passion for both justice and independence... The convincing narrative, told in alternating first-person perspectives, confronts pervasive and xenophobic stereotypes, with secondary characters’ complex identities adding depth and emotion to the story." — Horn Book Magazine
"Yang writes astutely about the destabilizing combination of family expectations, copious wealth, and absence of adult supervision. She’s also sharply perceptive about the class and race complexities of a community that contains rich Asian visitors and American-born Asians, great wealth and straitened circumstances... A spirited slice of cultural life and story of girls facing cruel inequities, and Yang’s compelling author’s note about parachutes and her own experience of being sexually assaulted adds another poignant facet." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Parachutes is a force. As fast-paced as it is powerful, its story of immigration, social class, and rape culture calls out the damaging consequences of privilege in ways that will make readers want to speak up and take action.” — Randy Ribay, National Book Award finalist and author of Patron Saints of Nothing
“Parachutes is not just a searing drama that explores the lives of Asians in America, it’s a courageous, empowering story about how high women can soar when they lift each other up.” — Stacey Lee, award-winning author of The Downstairs Girl
Awards and Praise for Front Desk: Asian / Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature Parents’ Choice Gold Medal Fiction Award Winner Named a Best Book of the Year by: NPR Kirkus Reviews Publishers Weekly Washington Post Amazon School Library Journal Bookpage New York Public Library Chicago Public Library Top Ten Debut Novels 2018 — ALA Booklist
* “Debut author Yang weaves in autobiographical content while creating a feisty and empowered heroine. The supporting characters are rich in voice and context ...achingly reveal life in America in the 1990s for persons of color and those living in poverty.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
* “Mia herself is an irresistible protagonist, and it is a pleasure to see both her writing and her power grow... Many young readers will see themselves in Mia and her friends.... A swiftly moving plot and a winsome protagonist.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
* “It’s the details that sing in this novel...This book will help foster empathy for the immigrant experience for young readers, while for immigrant children, it is a much-needed and validating mirror....Deserving of shelf space in every classroom and library.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Reminiscent of the television series Fresh Off the Boat... Basing the story on her own childhood experiences, Yang writes Mia’s dreams into reality without sacrificing or minimizing the heartbreaking realities of many immigrants’ hardships... there is much satisfaction in this book’s powerful and heart-wrenching close.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
“Front Desk is a story about the hardships of immigrant life, the perpetuation of injustice, and a sweet, kind, indomitable young girl who chooses to rise up and fight no matter how hard it gets. Kelly Yang’s debut is a stunner." — Mike Jung, author of Unidentified Suburban Object
“In this noteworthy, immensely enjoyable novel, Kelly Yang (Front Desk) tackles some of the systemic inequalities that foster racism, misogyny and sexual assault. She convincingly brings to light ways in which victims are often judged more harshly than their aggressors, but also provides a template for change. Yang dives with aplomb into issues of opulence and poverty, power and impotence.” — Shelf Awareness
Randy Ribay
“Parachutes is a force. As fast-paced as it is powerful, its story of immigration, social class, and rape culture calls out the damaging consequences of privilege in ways that will make readers want to speak up and take action.”
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"Yang writes astutely about the destabilizing combination of family expectations, copious wealth, and absence of adult supervision. She’s also sharply perceptive about the class and race complexities of a community that contains rich Asian visitors and American-born Asians, great wealth and straitened circumstances... A spirited slice of cultural life and story of girls facing cruel inequities, and Yang’s compelling author’s note about parachutes and her own experience of being sexually assaulted adds another poignant facet."
New York Times Book Review
Praise for Parachutes: “[Parachutes] is about the radical possibility of young women finding and detonating their voices. Yang takes a sledgehammer to rape culture itself, swinging with equal parts artistry and force. If this were a television series it would look fabulous and land deep.
Booklist
"Adeptly balancing a coming-of-age story with a romance, this thoughtful book, laced with plenty of tension, is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Jenn Bennett."
ALA Booklist (starred review)
"A fierce entrance into YA, navigating a plethora of complex themes with great honesty... Claire and Dani’s mettle and solidarity as they contend with the institutions and privilege that hide abuse is gripping and empowering. Yang offers a compelling exploration of the parachute experience and the intersection of ethnicity, class, and reputation, while underscoring striking cultural parallels between America and China. Strong characterization and thoughtful writing make for an unforgettable read."
Horn Book Magazine
"Yang has created two distinct and vibrant voices that shimmer with passion for both justice and independence... The convincing narrative, told in alternating first-person perspectives, confronts pervasive and xenophobic stereotypes, with secondary characters’ complex identities adding depth and emotion to the story."
Stacey Lee
Parachutes is not just a searing drama that explores the lives of Asians in America, it’s a courageous, empowering story about how high women can soar when they lift each other up.
ALA Booklist
Awards and Praise for Front Desk: Asian / Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature Parents’ Choice Gold Medal Fiction Award Winner Named a Best Book of the Year by: NPR Kirkus Reviews Publishers Weekly Washington Post Amazon School Library Journal Bookpage New York Public Library Chicago Public Library Top Ten Debut Novels 2018
Booklist (starred review)
* “It’s the details that sing in this novel...This book will help foster empathy for the immigrant experience for young readers, while for immigrant children, it is a much-needed and validating mirror....Deserving of shelf space in every classroom and library.
Mike Jung
Front Desk is a story about the hardships of immigrant life, the perpetuation of injustice, and a sweet, kind, indomitable young girl who chooses to rise up and fight no matter how hard it gets. Kelly Yang’s debut is a stunner."
Shelf Awareness
In this noteworthy, immensely enjoyable novel, Kelly Yang (Front Desk) tackles some of the systemic inequalities that foster racism, misogyny and sexual assault. She convincingly brings to light ways in which victims are often judged more harshly than their aggressors, but also provides a template for change. Yang dives with aplomb into issues of opulence and poverty, power and impotence.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
Reminiscent of the television series Fresh Off the Boat... Basing the story on her own childhood experiences, Yang writes Mia’s dreams into reality without sacrificing or minimizing the heartbreaking realities of many immigrants’ hardships... there is much satisfaction in this book’s powerful and heart-wrenching close.
School Library Journal
06/01/2022
Gr 9 Up—Yang's novel packs a punch with family ties, romance, identity, and fashion in a story that will hook readers from page one. Serene Li is queen-bee popular, and she is dating white surfer bro Cameron. Lian Chen is a polar opposite: recently arrived to California with his family from Beijing, and is a social pariah in their mostly white school. Serene's mom is a renowned fashion designer who goes by Lily Lee, and as Serene learns the ropes of the industry, she dreams of designing success, too. Lian's oppressive and overbearing mother hounds him to get good grades and attend an Ivy League school, though he hopes to one day do stand-up comedy, which he pursues in secret. The two meet when Lian starts a Chinese Club in their school and Serene is the only person who signs up. Although they come from different worlds, they have more in common than they think. As Serene's mom battles an unexpected cancer diagnosis, and Lian's catches him in a web of lies, the teens will have to face their greatest fears: losing their mothers. Yang is a phenomenal writer, and the story flows in alternating POV chapters. Though some of the book's issues resolve rather simply, the exploration of identity is very well written and discussed. One can't help but root for the main characters as they explore the world around them, their emerging sense of self, and the feelings they have for each other. VERDICT A first purchase for all high school collections.—Carol Youssif
Kirkus Reviews
2022-03-02
Chinese American teens contend with the unpredictability of life.
Seventeen-year-old Serene Li has always admired her mother for moving from Beijing to the U.S. by herself while pregnant and achieving success as a single parent and trailblazing fashion designer. When her mother is diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer, Serene suddenly faces a future alone—unless she can find her father. Serene’s classmate Lian Chen also feels desperate. At school, he endures microaggressions from students and teachers; at home, he faces intense parental pressure to test into a competitive engineering program at MIT. Lian’s true passion is stand-up, but he knows his parents would never allow him to pursue such an uncertain career. When his college admissions counselor advises him to demonstrate leadership skills, Lian starts a Chinese club at school, counting on his classmates’ apathy to leave him with time and space to practice his comedy. He doesn’t anticipate popular, pretty Serene showing up to learn Chinese—or their gradual bonding over shared experiences, including being the only Asian American kids in their affluent, White Southern California town. The novel’s strength lies in its thoughtful, nuanced depictions of the teens’ complicated relationships with their immigrant parents, which deftly incorporates overarching themes of prejudice, assimilation, and heritage-seeking. Unfortunately, clunky wording in romantic scenes and a rushed, too-tidy conclusion that belies the book’s skill in portraying life’s complexity, unfairness, and unpredictability detract from the otherwise emotionally immersive story.
Overall, a compelling and genuine coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 14-18)
