My Summer of Love and Misfortune

Gr 9 Up–In this YA Crazy Rich Asians read-alike, Iris Weijun Wang was born to be unlucky; and in her senior year, it certainly seems true. After constant partying and skipping school, she is failing. Dismally. She also has a credit card bill of over $6,000. Then, after catching her best friend and boyfriend making out, she drunkenly backs her parents’ Mercedes into their garage door. To top it all off, she doesn’t get a single college admission offer. Attempting to curb Iris’s behavior, her parents send her to Beijing to stay with her estranged (and super wealthy) aunt and uncle. As an American child of Chinese immigrants, Iris does not fit in. She looks Chinese, but she doesn’t even speak the language. With nonstop faux pas, shopping sprees, and sexy, “Chinese-Parent-Approved” college boys, it seems Iris will never learn the importance of self-control and hard work. While extreme wealth inequality plays a significant role in the plot, this book is primarily about family and self-discovery. Iris is over-the-top with delusions of grandeur, but her growth is satisfying, if a bit rushed.