I don’t know about you, but every once in a while, I just want a light read. Something flirty, a little eye-roll inducing, and quick to get through. Loveboat, Taipei fit the bill. I read it in three days, but I also found myself unsure where it fell on my one to five star ranking. Allow me to explain…
The book follows the journey of Ever Wong, an Asian-American preparing for a future in medicine she absolutely does not want. Her parents immigrated to the U.S. and worked incredibly hard and sacrificed much to ensure education and opportunity for Ever and her sister. However, Ever just wants to dance. Understandably, she’s grappling with the weight of her parents’ dreams for her (and how hard they worked to get her there) with the dreams she’s formed on her own. Insert a last-attempt effort by mom and dad to get Ever med school ready: a summer in Taipei completing an immersive education program.
Full of rage, Ever jets off to Taipei and meets a colorful cast of characters also there for an “education.” However, there’s more than meets the eye as “Loveboat” is in full swing – hookups, wild nights out, glamorous photo shoots. The sky is the limit as long as you don’t get caught by the what appeared to be very minimal faculty. It’s a whole new world for Ever, and she quickly begins intentionally breaking every one of the “Wong Family Rules.”
I really enjoyed the glimpse into Asian-American households with the characters’ parents. Their hard work and stories are inspiring, and the way they care for their families and preserve their culture amidst American life is heartwarming. I wish there had been more of this and less of Ever whining about it (but I know that was kind of the whole point of this story). I also loved the lush descriptions of Taipei. It sounds like a truly beautiful place.
Honestly, the rest of the book was just okay to me. The characters were kind of shallow, the writing was really drawn out in spots and hasty in others, and the things these kids got into felt a little unbelievable. (Maybe I’m just old). The ending felt really rushed and seemed to break from several of the characters’ normal personalities and how we’d expect them to act. I also felt like Ever did a lot of disobeying and dishonoring of her parents and never really has a change of heart to truly reflect that. We do see what appears to be softening from her parents, and I did think that was sweet.
I really struggled with two or three stars for this, but settled on three because I did read through it so quickly, and it did exactly what I wanted it to do in terms of being a fluffy, fun read.
Meredith
Copyright Abigail Hing Wen and HarperTeen. Image from Amazon.com.