Boys I know was a well written coming of age story focusing on June a teenager trying to figure things out and find herself instead of trying to be something she’s not and even though she makes some mistakes along the way there are lessons to be learned. 3.5/5
Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree for this Arc!

"Is there really that big of a difference between like, the number twenty school and the number fifty school? There are really only so many differences that schools can have. It feels like those rankings just exist so parents can brag that their kids goes to a higher-ranked school than everyone else's kids."

I read Boys I Know at a time when I am in the last stages of applying for grad school. The process has been unintentionally stressful and this book provided me solace. From the first line itself, I knew I had discovered a book that would hit close to home. A lot of what June hears from her mother is what I have heard from my own mom, whether it be during my undergrad or now, when I am applying to grad schools. I connected with her in such a strong way and in so many aspects of June, I saw myself reflected. Parental pressure and the need to impress them, so it hurt my heart and was far too relatable at the same time.

Boys I Know is a book that I would have devoured in high school. Anna Garcia's writing is, simply put, absolutely stunning and her ability to draw you in right from the first lines is just incredible. This book is perfect for those who have felt pressurised by their parents and their own personal need to constantly impress them, and for those, who have no career idea in mind.

Read Boys I Know y'all!!

The writing of this book is very interesting and is simple to read. Even though I kind of got bored in the middle of the story, it had a nice end to it. I really liked the characters and build up.

i was unfortunately unable to download this title as i didn't keep track that it would archive months early prior to release date! but im still leaving this rating as i am still highly anticipating this release, though heartbroken i am now unable to read it before release. i will definitely come back and edit this review once i am able to read the published version!!

I unfortunately can't review this as I didn't realize the archive date and the publishing date were so vastly different! Super sorry, if I had realized I would've definitely read this as I was looking forward to it, but I lost track of this book in my time table! Leaving 5 stars since I didn't read it and thus don't want to mess up the average rating at all :) Will definitely be checking this one out from the library once it comes out!

I started off enjoying this, but felt it dragged for me personally towards the end.
I think the topics explored in this were very hard hitting and important especially in a YA setting. The experiences of June were very easy to relate to in many ways, and I think that if I was younger I would appreciate this a lot more. In saying that, I do appreciate the topics explored either way.

I did dislike Brad quite a bit, especially with the nicknames he called June. Actually kind of hated that.

i really enjoyed this story, i thought it was funny, relatable and emotional. i did get a little tired of june constantly wanting something she didn’t have, but the character development was amazing. she really progressed through the story and became inspirational. i loved the different chapters of this story and how each person contributed to it without overshadowing her. i loved the amount of diversity in this, and the asian representation we all want! i definitely recommend this, it’s a perfect teen romance book!

June has never been able to live up to her older sister. June’s older sister is on a full ride scholarship to Northwestern and June doesn’t even want to try anymore since she always falls short. Instead she focusing on trying to get into a relationship with her classmate Rhys who she has secretly been hooking up with.

This book was fine. Normally I struggle to connect with YA books, and unfortunately that was the case here too. I understand I’m probably not the intended audience for this. I still enjoyed some of the story and liked this author’s writing style. I just struggled at times with this.

This book tells the story of a Taiwanese girl living in the middle of Iowa. Going along with comments made by others until one realizing maybe they weren’t appropriate comments. Going through high school and on her path to college along the way dealing with the expectations from family. Great read and we’ll written.

As a teenager myself i really connected with this book and I'm so glad I read it!! I loved all the different dynamics between the characters and the thing i lived the most was that you could understand a situation not only from June's point of view but the other character's as well. This book had a semblance of reality which i absolutely loved.

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Peach Tree for publishing the free arc!

I think this was a pretty simple coming-of-age story that doesn't talk down to its audience but also doesn't introduce a lot of nuances. This was a good palette cleanser, the writing is simple, the plot is straightforward, and it isn't mentally taxing - it's short, sweet, and simple. I

t's nice to see a coming-of-age story where the protagonist is confused makes mistakes and faces the consequences of it - June is extremely annoying however the people around her don't stand for her bs and call her out on it so she can grow and make better decisions. June, after all, is a child, and she is still trying to understand how life works, even if it means compromising a lot of her morals and making herself look like an idiot - but what teenager hasn't done that? I'm glad that the author didn't shy away from making her unlikeable but still wanted to root for her cause you want to see how she grows and overcomes her issues, and it was fascinating to read. Despite this being written in the first person, I have to applaud June's incredible observation skills; she is mindful of her environment and has a very compassionate character, so the fact that she can read the room and act accordingly was a good addition and a good painkiller.

Whilst I do enjoy June's decisions sometimes and I agree with her choices, I don't like how the biggest plot devices seemed to revolve around a guy. Almost every action and confrontation she's had that made her change her perspective was rooted in a problem with a guy - I don't know if I enjoy this heavy emphasis on using teenage boys as part of her decision-making. I know the title is a dead giveaway but honestly, I wish that boys weren't the most important plot devices to June's story - I wanted to know more about how her strong relationships with women shaped her life, maybe have her explore her race more and have an identity crisis. This book was too focused on boys, and not enough on June, we need to see how she is when she is not attached to anyone, especially her family and her romantic/sexual relationships. Despite June having an existential crisis most of the book, only a sliver of it was her race and almost nothing on her relationship with her mother. We were robbed of positive female interactions in this book.

Overall, it's good. It doesn't patronise its readers but it doesn't offer subtlety or critical thought. Good job Anna!

Synopsis from Goodreads:
June Chu is the “just good enough” girl. Good enough to line the shelves with a slew of third-place trophies and steal secret kisses from her AP Bio partner, Rhys. But not good enough to meet literally any of her Taiwanese mother’s unrelenting expectations or to get Rhys to commit to anything beyond a well-timed joke.

While June’s mother insists she follow in her (perfect) sister’s footsteps and get a (full-ride) violin scholarship to Northwestern (to study pre-med), June doesn’t see the point in trying too hard if she’s destined to fall short anyway. Instead, she focuses her efforts on making her relationship with Rhys “official.” But after her methodically-planned, tipsily-executed scheme explodes on the level of a nuclear disaster, she flings herself into a new relationship with a guy who’s not allergic to the word “girlfriend.”

But as the line between sex and love blurs, and pressure to map out her entire future threatens to burst, June will have to decide on whose terms she’s going to live her life—even if it means fraying her relationship with her mother beyond repair.

Review (contains spoilers):
This was such an excellent book. Not only is June a well-rounded, realistic character with great development, but she's also a great representation of Asian-American diaspora. She struggles to figure out where she really fits in her hometown in Iowa, and I found it really intriguing to learn more about this as a person who is Caucasian. I loved the fact that June felt at home when she went out West to look at schools, and I'm sure that Asian-American readers will feel seen and heard by June's story.

Another thing I love LOVED about this book was the sex-positivity. It's not a big deal that June needs to go to Planned Parenthood and take a Plan B - and this is how it should be. We should see more characters accepting that pregnancy can derail young lives and choosing to do something about it. It's scary, but the resources are available and I think that's what I loved so much about Gracia's writing. It feels so real, so personal for us to be there with June while she's going through these trials of transitioning into adulthood. I was so happy to see her journey in this book, because all too often I feel like we don't explore these parts of our lives.

Really looking forward to seeing the next book from Anna Gracia!

4.5/5

This book really spoke to me. As a teenager myself I really connected with this book on another level.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

"Answering the question: What if Lara Jean from TATBILB gave blow jobs?" -- Anna Garcia's glorious Twitter header

The unexpected thematic partner to To All The Boys I Loved Before that I didn't know I needed, but am so glad exists. Switch out cute fake dating and innocuous love triangles for messy boys and even messier relationships, and you're one step closer to being ready to dive into this book. This upper YA contemporary novel is truly something else.

June Chu is used to falling short of being good enough. She gets perfect grades but doesn't pad her extracurricular resume, she places at violin competitions but can never win first, she gains a spot at top universities but can't nab enough scholarship money. When compared to her older sister, Wendy, (which her parents often do), she's accepted that she just might never be enough.

(Spotify, play enough for you by Olivia Rodrigo)

June is willing to overlook all these supposed shortcomings if she's able to succeed in just this one area - boys. She's determined to solidify her not-quite-boyfriend Rhys into the real deal at any cost. But when it seems that this is another area where she's destined to disappoint, June jumps head first into her first relationship with a new boy who's not turned off by the very idea of commitment.

Boys I Know peels back the rose-colored glasses of chasing first love and shows you a reality of love-bombing, insecurity, inflated self-assuredness, and naivete. Where uncertainty doesn't tie itself up into a pretty bow but instead leads to lessons learned and possible regret. Where the misguided arrogance of youth is given the space to breathe and make mistakes. June dives into a series of relationships where she experiences pitfall after pitfall and starts a journey to understanding her own self-worth.

Integral to the story is June's identity growing up Taiwanese American in an extremely white suburb of Iowa. Boys I Know tackles issues of racism, fetishization, and their intersection with misogyny as June navigates romantic and sexual relationships for the first time and learns how she might be perceived as a young Asian woman. There is exploration of what it means to be perceived as both the only Asian in a sea of whiteness and "not Asian enough" in the same breath. There is discussion surrounding the pressure placed on people of color to constantly be a bulwark against all utterances of injustice and racism. There is depiction of what it feels like to be surrounded by people who look like you and the realization of how it has always felt to look "other."

Central to the soul and conflict of the story is the relationship between June and her mother, where Garcia has done a splendid job portraying the extreme pressure placed on the children of Asian immigrants along with the love and support at the heart of those expectations. What does it mean to live your life for yourself, what does it take to make your parents proud, and what makes it possible to fall short of perfect?

Watch out for this title coming July 5, 2022!

CW: underage sex, plan b/pregnancy scare, dubious consent, underage age gap. There are a handful of uncomfortable events in this book, and June doesn't always understand or acknowledge the wrongness of what she's going through.

Spoilers below:
I don’t usually include spoilers, but I wanted to talk about how this books ends and how hopeful I find it. June chooses herself — she chooses Washington, she stands up for herself in her relationship with her sister, she finally calls out the racial micro-aggressions she has put up with. And most importantly, she doesn’t pick Rhys. In a lot of other YA contemporary novels with storylines about romance, the edgy, distant, cute boy the main character has a connection with would end up her boyfriend, and I can’t quite put into words how lovely it was to see June set boundaries and expectations for what she deserves in a relationship, after an entire novel filled with instances in which she didn’t feel deserving of such treatment, much less enough to say it out loud. What a glorious YA debut where the end result of deciding to discover yourself is enough in it of itself.

This book was fantastic in every way. June is such a complex character and I thoroughly enjoyed going on this journey with her.

Boys I Know was so much deeper than I thought it would be and the conversations surrounding race were super powerful. It is very thought provoking and really makes the reader sit back and analyse micro-aggressions that may have gone unnoticed around them – such as the use of Hawaiian culture as a prom theme. Which when you put it like that sounds so obviously wrong.

Gracia does an incredible job of making you see things from the perspective of every character. For example, June’s disagreements with her sister, Wendy, weren’t as straightforward as one of them being in the wrong and the other in the right. The reader was made to feel empathetic for them both as their lived experiences were very different at times based on the roles they were made to fill within their family. Whilst feeling frustrated for June and the shadow she has constantly lived in; you also feel for Wendy and the fact that she hasn’t had a lot of choice in being the perfect older sister. Similarly, June’s mom is such a great character because as harsh as she may come across at times, she only wants the best for her children.

Now on to the main premise of the book. I didn’t know it was possible to pack so many relationships into one book and have them so fully fleshed out but Gracia has done it. All three boys June was involved with were wrong for her in so many ways. This book demonstrates many aspects of dating and ways that boys let down their partners. It was never as explicit as June being cheated on or treated badly, this book focused more on the intricacies of bad relationships. For example, Gang making June feel insignificant and less than good enough or Brad seeing her only for what she brings to his life. June losing her virginity in the way she did honestly shredded my heart because she deserved so much better.

The most interesting dynamic throughout was between Rhys and June, in my opinion. Towards the end I even found myself feeling sad that June had to move so far from Rhys to start her next chapter because although I knew it was right for her, I believed her and Rhys could be good together. Then, I made the discovery in time with June herself that she deserves more than that. I couldn’t believe I would have been willing to let June re-enter a relationship with Rhys when he would never go above and beyond for her. That was the moment when I thought ‘wow, this book has just proved its own point fantastically’. It is so easy for women to let themselves settle for less than they deserve because it seems like the best offer they have. No, like June the best is always out there and we should never settle for any less.

I am so happy with how this book ended as I think June made the best possible decision for her future. The friendships and family relationships were super intricate, the discussions on race were complex and thought provoking and the romantic relationships throughout were described in such a ground-breaking way. I honestly believe that everyone should read this book because the topics in here are so much more impactful than I will ever be able to eloquently put into words. And the Chinese proverbs sprinkled throughout were such a unique and wonderful addition to the storytelling.

My Rating: 3 Stars (17+)
Rep: Taiwanese MC


This book showed how messy teen relationships could put you in a position where you feel stuck with no way out. June's senior year was filled with doubts, fear of the future, and boy problems. Rhys, the guy she liked, was never ready to put a label on their relationship and she had to break up with him. Honestly, they never talked about their feelings much. She was waiting for him to spill his guts, but she was disappointed that he wasn't thinking the same as her. The story felt slow until Rhys was in the picture, once he was out, it picked the pace.

She soon learns there's more to life than boys and love. June was always worried about not filling her sister's shoes. She had a weight to carry, which was smothering her. Though she had to follow her sister's steps, she soon finds her own dreams that she's happy to pursue.

On her way to finding her dreams, she begins to question her identity and how lost she feels in a white society. Her struggle to convince her mom to acknowledge the college she chose for herself was real. Despite everything she was put through, June learned a lot from her past and became someone more bold and vocal about her feelings in the end. It was a transformation that made reading this book worth it.

I wish the last few chapters were different. It kinda took things back to the beginning, where there was no communication between the characters. Keeping that aside, Boys I know
is a solid debut coming out this July.

(Thanks to Peachtree and NetGalley for the eARC of the book!)

I really enjoyed this book and the fully fleshed out characters. I loved the snark and witty banter, and also the more serious themes. A lot of June’s high school experiences felt familiar: feelings of inadequacy from parental pressure, the stomach in knots over a boy, hanging with his friend group and not knowing exactly how to act or what to say, looking for love and validation in all the wrong places, trying to play the “cool girl” when deep down feeling anything but.

Gracia tackles themes of sexuality, identity, and belonging in this book. I really enjoyed how June incorporated her mom’s Chinese proverb sayings into different aspects of her everyday life.

Quick snappy chapters kept this book moving, and expert character development kept me invested. Gracia explores themes of racism through microaggressions. She is not afraid to discuss all the awkward, messy, and uncomfortable parts of being a teenager. June’s story felt authentic and relatable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree for providing me with this digital arc in exchange for an honest review!

Boys I Know - Anna Gracia
4/5 stars

Did not finish. I loved the premise of the story but not only was our main character really unlikable to me, but so was the love interest and the family and the friends.

Wow! I didn't expect to like this book so much. As an Asian, there were some relatable parts that June feels and experienced. I think teens should read this book, especially when it comes to boys. June represents those teens who care more about finding a boyfriend and feeling welcome when they're still in high school and don't care much about studying. In this book, I could see how June grew up to be a better person through her experiences, good and bad. Sometimes her decision was really bad and made me worry about her so much. But she learned, and that's what I like in this book. She learned. She's still not perfect but she's getting better with her family, friends, and even with herself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!