Our Wayward Fate Paperback – 1 January 2019

3.5 Stars!I really enjoyed reading this book.It had humor,romance,drama all wrapped in one.The concept of parental love and the issue of miscommunication was a huge theme throughout the book.This theme is frequently explored in the books surrounding Asians but this book truly tried to provide us the intention and the thoughts of both the parties instead of villainising either of them.It also tackles the topic of racism in a very sensitive but impactful manner.The romance between the main characters did not impress me much.I wanted to read more about their family issues than the romance.It just didn’t feel natural to me.Overall ,it was a good read with some heavy hitting topics .

Sterotypical pile of drivel. Honestly, the main character is so wet I just want to shake the hell out of her. There's insta-love then there's OMG ridiculous. Do not recommend.

A great story of star crossed lovers. Wonderful characters, hilarious moments, and a lot of heart. Really liked the weaving in with events in the past. Highly recommend this book.

Wish I'd skipped itI read Gloria Chao's other two books before this one. I rated her debut book, American Panda, 5/5 stars and I rated her third book, Rent a Boyfriend 1/5 stars. Our Wayward Fate (her second book) was my final Gloria Chao book to read. With one extremely positive experience and one abysmal one, I wondered which way this book would go. Unfortunately, it was another 1-star (1.5) read.Like all of Gloria’s stories, I loved the concept of this book. Ali is the only Asian girl in her school and town. Her family is different from others and we also grow to learn her family has secrets that she seeks to uncover. Though the concept was good, I did not enjoy reading the book. The book starts out in an all-white, ultra-racist town in Indiana where Ali is marginalized. Racism is an important issue for YA fiction, however, the way it was portrayed in this book was over the top. Every kid in the school was racist. The teachers too. "Aren't you Asians supposed to kowtow, especially to authority?" is one of many overtly racist comments a teacher makes in front of the entire class. Not saying stuff like that doesn't happen, but all of the racism was very Archie Bunker-style, and in real life there are a range of ways in which people are racist, from overt comments to micro-aggressions. Only the most dramatic, in-your-face type of racism was shown, and it seemed really unlikely that in today’s world, the entirety of Ali’s school would be that overtly racist. It paints all white people in the book with one really brashly racist brush. Most of all, it's a missed opportunity to do much more with an important issue, I believe.Speaking of Archie Bunker, there are a lot of "old" references in this book that young readers are unlikely to relate to. Brad Pitt (now in his 50s) is referred to as a hot. Mr. Bean and Johnny English are referenced multiple times. MacGyver. Ali Ali Oxen Free. I read this book aloud with my teen daughter (the book's intended audience) and she could understandably not relate.My biggest problem with this book is the clichéd writing. The book contains hundreds of clichés (so did Rent a Boyfriend). Exaggeration? No. Here's are 50 pulled right from a quick flip of the pages: 1. Tugged at my heartstrings 2. We'll get to the bottom of it 3. Not lost on me 4. He was onto something 5. We're making strides 6. Hard to stomach 7. Wrapped around my finger 8. Ahead of her time. 9. Lay it on quite so thick 10. Learned the hard way 11. Just spit it out 12. Niggled at the back of my mind 13. Got what they deserved 14. Shrug it off 15. I couldn't help myself 16. In light of recent events 17. So many unanswered questions 18. He knew I was up to something 19. I didn't have much to go on 20. She was a means to an end 21. Hole up by my lonesome 22. Came into a bit of money 23. Leave me so in the dark 24. My insides churned with every emotion in the book 25. I dropped the bomb I'd been holding onto 26. I could hardly believe my ears 27. Appearing out of thin air 28. It all happened so fast 29. I'm getting off track 30. Our worlds revolved around him 31. It's just one thing after another 32. His little jabs had poked this bear one too many times 33. One step in the right direction 34. Turned the tables 35. Her words hadn't carried much weight. 36. Off my game 37. Got the best of me 38. Slipped through my fingers 39. Took my breath away 40. Out of the kindness of her heart 41. There had to be something bigger at play 42. Beating around the bush 43. The weight of the world 44. Gone through hell and back 45. Take matters into my own hands 46. He was sweating bullets 47. I'll just cast a wide net 48. My heart skipped a beat 49. I stood my ground 50. My skin crawled.I mean... come on! You will find a cliché (and often many) on most pages of this book. Honestly, there are so many aspiring authors out there that deserve to be published... it seems unfair that this book made it to print without a serious edit.In a similar vein to the clichés, the writer names her character's emotions rather than showing them. Shame and anger come up often as descriptors. This kind of telling vs. showing how a character feels really detaches me from the story and doesn’t offer a lot of depth.Another cliché element in the story was the gay representation. I was happy to see Yun in this story, but I wish he'd been allowed to tell his own story. Ali is portrayed as the straight girl hero whose support allows him to come out and be the Yun he was meant to be. And then the writer shows him flirting and exchanging numbers with the very first guy he talks to after he does come out. I really dislike that type of portrayal of gay and lesbian characters... where any other gay person will do as a potential date/mate vs. being selective like their straight counterparts.One other pet peeve is the frequent mention of pooping, ear wax, barfing, snot, etc. Gloria Chao likes to include volumes of these things in all her books and while I do appreciate that in Chinese culture, greater comfort with these topics is the norm, I find it a real turn-off in a romance.Lastly, if there is any chance that the author reads this review, I hope she will consider removing all the content she puts in brackets. She uses brackets often and they usually contain some sort of pun or some other commentary the author thinks is clever. They are all darlings that need to be killed. These could ALL go and the story would be better off for it.The best part of this book was the "Butterfly Lovers" storyline--told through flashback scenes to the 19th-century. I looked forward to these short and intermittent chapters. Kinda made me wish the whole thing was a historical romance!I loved Gloria's first book (American Panda) so much. I hope she will take a long time writing - and especially editing - her next one to ensure she executes her great plotlines in an interesting and believable way.

This book really has so many deep topics but it’s filled with pure goodness and love. A good look at what it’s like growing up as a teen POC in a majority white mid-western town. All of the racism, and cultural differences explored and how it can drive a wedge between kids and their immigrant parents. There’s also a beautiful love at first sight storyline that has its ups and downs especially when there’s a small arranged marriage plot thrown in like a wedge.I really enjoyed learning so much from Ali and her Taiwanese American family.

Really great lol by Gloria Chao. Read it for yourself and learn about Chinese culture. This book was about taking