Thursday, January 2, 2020

Blog Tour: Loveboat, Taipei - Abigail Hing Wen


Loveboat, Taipei
Abigail Hing Wen
Series: Loveboat, Taipei, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
For fans of Crazy Rich Asians or Jane Austen Comedy of Manners, with a hint of La La Land

When eighteen-year-old Ever Wong’s parents send her from Ohio to Taiwan to study Mandarin for the summer, she finds herself thrust among the very over-achieving kids her parents have always wanted her to be, including Rick Woo, the Yale-bound prodigy profiled in the Chinese newspapers since they were nine—and her parents’ yardstick for her never-measuring-up life.

Unbeknownst to her parents, however, the program is actually an infamous teen meet-market nicknamed Loveboat, where the kids are more into clubbing than calligraphy and drinking snake-blood sake than touring sacred shrines.

Free for the first time, Ever sets out to break all her parents’ uber-strict rules—but how far can she go before she breaks her own heart?
REVIEW

Ever dreamed of becoming a dancer. Her parents dreamed of her becoming a doctor. The time to fulfill her familial obligations were drawing near, but Ever hoped to spend the final summer before college doing what she loved. However, her parents thought it was time for her to work on her Mandarin and immerse herself in her culture. She wanted to use this newfound freedom from her parents to break all the Wong rules, but along the way, she realized she really wanted to write her own.

I was so enthralled with this world Wen thrust me into. She took me from the well-controlled environment of Ohio, to this loosely supervised summer program in Taiwan. There, the students pushed the boundaries, while trying not to get caught. Ever pretty much allowed all the freedom to go to her head, and eventually, one of her bolder choices led to scandal.

I felt bad, when her girl-gone-wild antics caught up to her, but at least I can say, that Ever grew tremendously from the experience and from being in Taiwan. She began to embrace her culture, and even developed a fondness for it. She fell in love. She made connections with people, who were able to really relate to her complicated family life. She also learned to appreciate the sacrifices made and the struggles her parents endured, when they uprooted their lives and moved to America, and thus, she gained a new understanding of their demands on her.

I went to class, clubs, and exploring with Ever, and it was fantastic "seeing" Taiwan via the sights, sounds, and food described by Wen, but she also incorporated many issues faced by Asian Americans.  Familial expectations definitely topped the list, but there was also discussions about stereotypes ("take back the tropes"), micro-agressions, and cultural norms, which clashed with the American norms. I know this sounds like a lot, but it came together quite organically, and many of the issues were approached honestly, but with a lot of humor. Therefore, a majority of the book leaned to the lighter side, while still making an impact on me.

I was a little conflicted with the romantic bits, because it turned into, like, a love quadrilateral. I probably would have been ok, had it gone either way, but then I would have missed out on all that drama. Let me tell you, this was high drama too, but I was happy with the way it all played out. Wen even gave me an epilogue (YES!), which tied up each character's ending, and let me know what was next for them. Those who know me, know this was crucial for me.

Ever set out to break all her family "rules", but ending up finding her own path, writing her own rules, and gaining some insight about her parents. Honest and heartfelt, Wen took me for an emotional ride, which was filled with fun, first love, and some bad decisions, but all helped bring Ever's future into better focus.

* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.


 


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abigail was born in West Virginia to a family of immigrants: Her mother is from the Philippines and her father from Indonesia, and her grandparents emigrated to those countries from Fujian and Shandong provinces in China.

Abigail grew up in Ohio and graduated from Harvard University and Columbia Law School. She worked in Washington DC for the Senate, as a law clerk for a federal judge. and now in Silicon Valley in venture capital and artificial intelligence. She also earned her Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

In her spare time, she enjoys long walks with her husband and two boys, and hanging out with friends and over 100 family members in the Bay Area. She loves music and dances to it when no one is watching.












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26 comments:

  1. I like the way it sounds like the reader gets just as immersed in the Taiwan culture as Ever does. And I'm all for characters making mistakes (even big ones) because that's real life. It's especially good when you can see they learned from them.

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    1. Ever learned a LOT during her summer in Taiwan, and she came out a on top of it all. It was difficult for her, but necessary to push her in the right direction with respect to her future and her family

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  2. This sounds like a compelling book! Love the idea of exploring Taiwan via the protagonist, I wanna read it!

    Anika | chaptersofmay.com

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    1. I really enjoyed seeing Taiwan through Ever's eyes, and it was a very different perspective from other "trips" I have taken via books I have read. I appreciated her POV

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  3. I love learning about other cultures through books and getting to see the world from another perspective. Looking forward to this book.

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    1. One of the interesting things was the inclusion of indigenous Taiwanese people. That was new for me.

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  4. This sounds like such an amazing story <3 super intrigued by this one!! Awesome review <3

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    1. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to how Wen will expand the series

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    1. That was the one problem I had with the story, because it sort of broke my heart, when Ever had to choose one of her two love interests AFTER I sort of grew to like them both.

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  6. I'm always up for a book that teaches me about another culture. And I like that Ever gets to cut loose a little but she also gained this understanding about her parents.

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    1. Some of the choices Ever made was so terrible, but I was very pleased with the lessons learned and the changes she made due to the lessons she learned.

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  7. I'm liking how the author chose to take the plot and it sounds like one I'd get swept up in.

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    1. I was swallowed whole by this book, and I absolutely lost myself in it.

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  8. I have never been to Taiwan in real life or through a book and I want to! Which is why this one intrigues me. But I am on the fence because all that romance situation sounds like too much for me to handle and I don't think I will enjoy it at all -.-

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    1. I have not either, but my daughter has family there. So, maybe we will visit one day. The romance was along the lines of what I was expecting after reading the synopsis. I just thought it would be easier for me to accept Ever's decision, but then I liked both love interests too much

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  9. I can take dumb decisions if we see character growth and it sounds like Ever learned from her missteps. Glad to hear you enjoyed Ever's unique journey. :)

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    1. That's really the only time I accept poor decisions. I think I don't like anything in a story just for the sake of it being there. It has to server a purpose, and the disaster that Ever made was a big push in the direction towards her future.

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  10. This sounds like an interesting read. I don't think I've seen this book before. Great review!

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    1. Thanks. I really enjoyed it, and I did get a pretty interesting and different view of Taiwan, than I had experienced in previous books set there.

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  11. I really enjoyed Ever’s journey too Sam! I felt like we got a sense of what it was like to live in Shanghai and be Taiwanese. Some of her choices were dumb but she was so controlled before. I was happy she didn’t go off on her parents though.

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    1. I was pleased with the change in attitude towards her parents. It's easy to see their rules and chains, but she never recognized what they gave up for her, and I appreciate that Wen made that part of her journey.

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  12. This sounds really good---love the idea of getting a taste of Taiwanese culture!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  13. I like the sound of this one overall. I don't think that I have really read too much about Taiwanese culture so that would be a big plus. There might be a bit too much relationship drama for my tastes though.

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    1. The book was marketed as a YA Crazy Rich Asians, so I knew what I was signing up for. I will say, I liked the way Wen handled things. In the end, I was left quite happy.

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