Our Wayward Fate, Gloria Chao
Our Wayward Fate, Gloria Chao
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Our Wayward Fate

Author: Gloria Chao

Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller

Unabridged: 7 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/15/2019


Synopsis

“A story that’s sure to stick with you for a long time.” —BuzzFeed
“More than a coming-of-age novel.” —School Library Journal
“[An] inventive, deeply heartfelt love story that explores connections of many kinds.” —Booklist

A teen outcast is simultaneously swept up in a whirlwind romance and down a rabbit hole of dark family secrets when another Taiwanese family moves to her small, predominantly white midwestern town in this remarkable novel from the critically acclaimed author of American Panda.

Seventeen-year-old Ali Chu knows that as the only Asian person at her school in middle-of-nowhere Indiana, she must be bland as white toast to survive. This means swapping her congee lunch for PB&Js, ignoring the clueless racism from her classmates and teachers, and keeping her mouth shut when people wrongly call her Allie instead of her actual name, pronounced Āh-lěe, after the mountain in Taiwan.

Her autopilot existence is disrupted when she finds out that Chase Yu, the new kid in school, is also Taiwanese. Despite some initial resistance due to the “they belong together” whispers, Ali and Chase soon spark a chemistry rooted in competitive martial arts, joking in two languages, and, most importantly, pushing back against the discrimination they face.

But when Ali’s mom finds out about the relationship, she forces Ali to end it. As Ali covertly digs into the why behind her mother’s disapproval, she uncovers secrets about her family and Chase that force her to question everything she thought she knew about life, love, and her unknowable future.

Snippets of a love story from 19th-century China (a retelling of the Chinese folktale The Butterfly Lovers) are interspersed with Ali’s narrative and intertwined with her fate.

About Gloria Chao

Gloria Chao is the critically acclaimed author of American PandaOur Wayward Fate, and Rent a Boyfriend. When she’s not writing, you can find her with her husband on the curling ice or hiking the Indiana Dunes. She does not regret putting aside her MIT and dental degrees to write, and she is grateful to spend her days in fictional characters’ heads instead of real people’s mouths. Visit her tea-and-book-filled world at GloriaChao.Wordpress.com and find her on Twitter and Instagram @GloriaCChao.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Rachel

WOW. I adored AMERICAN PANDA, and while this sophomore novel has Gloria Chao's signature incisive, humorous voice, it's a much darker, more intense book. The prose is at turns stunning and visceral, and every character is complex and three-dimensional. An intricate story of identity and family that'......more

Read as an audiobook. 📚 Series: No. 📚 Genre: YA Contemporary. 📚 Cliffhanger: No. ⚠ Content Warnings: Parent-Child Conflict. Embezzlement / Scamming. Racism. Asian stereotyping. Having read American Panda, my hopes for Our Wayward Fate was soaring high. Unfortunately, it had turbulence problems and hi......more

Goodreads review by CW ✨

Wow. This book packs an emotional punch; a fantastic, candid, but ultimately hopeful story about being who you are in a place that wants you to hide who you are, complex family relationships, and taking charge of your fate. - Follows Ali, a Taiwanese-American teen who is the only Asian in her small-t......more

Goodreads review by Romie

this was cute, but the pacing was off, jumping from one scene to another too quickly. sometimes I couldn't tell how much time had passed. but as I said, it was cute, so if you need something quick to read, here you go. I recommend the audiobook! (3.5)......more