Malinda Lo (1) (1974–)

Gr 9 Up—As Lily, a Chinese American teen living in San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1950s, starts to think more
seriously about her professional future, a friendship with white classmate Kathleen grows into romance. This novel
about first love, sexuality, intersectionality, and self-actualization is meticulously researched and deeply felt.

I liked this book.
I borrowed it from the library without realizing it is a YA title, but it is for older teens and held my interest. I felt the mother was a very interesting character when her story was told, but she became somewhat 2-dimensional after she had children. It was interesting to read about the time period and social currents in San Francisco.

The pacing is strange, but I guess that's life for you. I think I was a little disappointed by everything that happened once R and D step off the plane at the end. But WHY do the aliens want to give humans those powers?? WHY?????? Also, I'm here for alien ex-girlfriends, less here for mind reading ~mysterious powerful connections~ with boys, but that's a personal bias.

Tried really hard to be literary and just managed to be slooooow. The timelines around the flashbacks were awkward. I get that Lo did a lot of history research, but sometimes one can't cram it all into a single book without detracting from the story.