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

Boys I Know by Anna Gracia is a YA romance that will appeal to fans of Gossip Girl or Euphoria. I enjoyed this a lot. Will definitely keep an eye out for more of such books.

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

Boys I Know by Anna Gracia is a YA romance that will appeal to fans of Gossip Girl or Euphoria. The story revolves around June Chu, who longs for a boyfriend, but whose crush, Rhys, couldn't care less about her. After her 'fling" with Rhys ends in disaster, she launches into a series of encounters, flings, and dates with other guys who want her. But does sex mean love? And will June find out what she wants to do after high school?

Here is a funny excerpt from Chapter 1:

""Aiya. You go to school all day looking like ji nu? Go change." I'd barely taken five steps into the kitchen before my mom called me a prostitute. I opened my mouth to tell her the correct term nowadays was sex workers, but she wasn't finished scolding me. "Totally inappropriate." She frowned, the pull of her mouth creating tiny wrinkles around her eyes that made her look closer to her real age. "What people think of you?""

Overall, Boys I Know is a mature YA romance that will appeal to older fans of To All the Boys. One highlight of this book is that the main character is Asian, and Chinese to be precise. As a reader of Chinese descent, I was so happy to read this book and support the author. I did take off 2 stars, because I was uncomfortable with the amount of sexual content in this book. Keep in mind that this book is being marketed as "sex-positive." In addition, I was surprised by how many Chinese proverbs were in this book. I came across more here than I have in my entire childhood. I'm sure many people will appreciate them though. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA romances in general, you can check out this book when it comes out in July!

June is an average (non-first child) kid. She gets good enough grades, does extracurricular activities, and loads of other stuff to impress her Taiwanese mom's expectations. Expectations that are shadowed from her perfect older sister.
Soon enough she realizes that if she's never going to be the best then why try at all. This naturally shifts her energy to trying to make a potential relationship work.
This book really triggered my fight or flight response. It was a good story but a drag to read.

I was unable to finish the book.

I try to read at least up to 20% of a book to really give it a chance but I couldn't do so with this story. There is essentially no plot, I was never interested on the story nor the characters as I found most of them unlikable, especially the main character June.

I know that she's a teenager dealing with her parent's expectations and trying to be like a normal teenager but I draw the line at her desperate attempt to have sex with her "boyfriend".

In almost 10 chapters of this book that I read absolutely nothing happened and I just wasn't interested enough to keep reading.

I applaud the author for the filipino representation but that's where my praise for this book ends.

* Thank you at netgalley for the review copy *
I really wanted so hard to like this book, but it just really irked me.
Let's start off by talking about the characters. I found it hard to relate to any of the characters, and more times than not I was irritated by the characters. The main character is smart and successful, yet she let the fact that she was single bring her down?? I didn't like any of her boyfriends either. They were all very stupid.
It also felt like nothing much seemed to happen until the 60% mark, which was very frustrating, and I found myself cringing at every other line in this book.
This book just felt like a giant eh, which is sad because the description made it sound so good.

3/10 would recommend, but it wasn't for me

😍🦋Firstly, how beautiful is this cover? 🦋😍⁠
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I just want to stare at it all day. 🤤🥺🌺⁠
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Met June Chu, a Taiwanese teen. Her mom expects a lot from her. She wants her to be like her (perfect) sister, but June just isn't built that way. ⁠
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The author says this book has "messy boys + messier relationships" And it really doesn't wait to get into it. Literally, in the second chapter, we see how intoxicated she is with Rhys. 🤣⁠ ⁠The problem is June seeks validation from jerks that literally use her and she keeps getting humiliated. Look, she's young and doesn't know how to see the signs. ⁠
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It deals with Asian stereotyping too 👇👇👇⁠
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{"Don't you think you have a responsibility to speak up? Otherwise, he's going to keep saying that kind of stuff. What if he does it to someone else?"⁠
My eyebrows raised at the word 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪. As if it's my job to speak up for all Asian people.}

High school is a rough and turbulent time. June is a high school senior who is facing pressure from every side. Especially her parents and sister. I enjoyed June as a narrator and I felt for all the things she went through. June felt naive, flawed, and so much more that I think everyone is at that age. I enjoyed the characters, diversity, and more of the book. I did not like the pacing of the novel though. It felt off and the ending felt abrupt. I enjoyed the first half of the book better than the second.


Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree Books for an Arc in exchange for my opinion!

”For anyone who’s ever wanted more, but wasn’t sure they deserved it. You do.”

– DEDICATION OF BOYS I KNOW, ANNA GARCIA
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4/5

Finished The Book

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Themes: Self-Awareness, Self-Discovery, Racism

Trigger Warnings: Racism, Emotional Abuse, Toxic Relationships

Summary: June Chu is a senior in high school, and all she wants is time away from her hovering parents, and freedom to do whatever she wants even if she hasn’t figured that out yet.

The moment I started this book, I could not put it down. I am growing out of the coming-of-age reads, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself enjoying this one. It was different than a lot of other contemporary Y/A’s. I definitely think it’s because of our main character, June.

She is nothing you’d expect from a Y/A protagonist. She is not your cookie cutter, perfect character. She has flaws, and makes mistakes. She says things only to regret them a second later, and she learns that she needs to do better at her apologies. She’s a teenager. And I think that the author did a wonderful job at writing her.

The characters, and the scenarios felt like they could be real, and this is something that I truly appreciate when reading. You can definitely trust the blurb of this book, because it is everything it said it was going to be!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this ARC in return for a review.

Until Next Time, Ariel ❤

Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree Books for an E-Arc in exchange for my honest opinion!

The blurb of this book is spot on to what this book is about!

The main character, June, is just like any other high school student; just trying to find herself, and see what is best for her future. This book really reminded me of how I was in high school. Dating guys throughout high school and thinking I was in love with them because I was hooked with every word they said.

I feel like this book is a great example of what it’s like to be a high school student. Making mistakes and learning from them.

I hope the author decides to write a second book about Junes life through college. I would be intrigued to know!

Thank you thank you thank you NetGalley for the arc!!!

Before I start, I have to talk about the cover, it’s GORGEOUS, the colors, June, I’m even in love with the font, it definitely caught my attention when I first saw it.

I’m still kind of new to reviews, so I’m going to try my best to summarize my thoughts.

The story progression first, June’s evolving, in short words I loved it, June was growing and evolving all throughout the book and not just in the last chapters, it was “natural” to put it in one word.

All the characters in general felt real, like actual people you interact with everyday, they weren’t perfect, I mean, they were teens. And i also really liked that, throughout your life you have to deal with good and bad people and the book presented that well. Though I wasn’t really interested in any of the boys, I kept reading because June.

I myself am also going through some of the things that June is going through, specifically wanting to please my parents expectations with the whole college thing and make them proud but also choosing for myself to be happy at the same time.

“Boys I Know” for me was a long read, it took me a long time to finish it, but I enjoyed it, it mentions a lot of important topics and delivers them not in a rushed way, but naturally.
I’m looking forward to read more from Anna Gracia !!

English isn’t my first language, so I apologize for any grammatical mistakes or typos.

High school is full of so much pressure. Especially with dating and June feels that.

Walking along with June on her path of navigating dating, sex and self identity you can't help but reflect on your own years in high school or maybe you can relate currently to the same pressures. Anna Gracia does a great job of showing a glimpse into a teen girls mind and how even within your own race you can feel like an outsider. The story moves at a good pace and give you all the romantic drama of high school.

Personally I would've liked to discover more about Rhys or just get a little bit more out of him but then again he's a teenage boy. So I guess that's only fitting. I would love to follow June to college and see how her story continues, The title doesn't really make sense to be honest even after reading the book. I get it, but it still doesn't seem like a fit for this book.

This book was really hard to rate. I really liked some of the stories within the larger context of the book and adored June's growth and the ideas presented about relying on yourself and finding your worth from within. I think that's especially important for young adults and young women in particular. Overall, the book felt a little too long and a little too clunky, but I still enjoyed it.

Boys I Know is a fresher perspective on the pressures of being a teen, especially a minority. While the book didn't capture my attention 100%, it felt more authentic than other books I have read within this subcategory. I liked that there was some character development within the plot, but there could have been a bit more. In all, Boys I know broke some of the norms of the typical coming-of-age story, but it didn't totally stick out to me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was fine, nothing spectacular.
I kind of skimread through most of it to be honest.
It wasn’t as deep as I wanted it to be, at times it was very bleak and I felt some aspects could have been explored more.

As for the characters I really loved the diversity in this book. And even though I do not identify with the culture aspects, it was really interesting, and I’m positive that a lot of young asian - americans can relate to the struggles June goes through.

I did find June a tiny bit annoying at times.
It felt like she was trying to make herself a victim, which is something I couldn’t relate to.

Thank you for letting me review the book!

3.5⭐️
This book would have helped me so much when I was 15. The sex positivity in this book is genuinely so helpful for young women and should absolutely be in more books. June’s feelings of wanting so desperately to fit in and be considered “good enough” are definitely relatable for anyone in high school or even older. I really enjoyed reading about the cultural aspects of this book, especially since as a white person I have no idea what it is like to be Asian American and deal with racism and prejudice every single day.
I will say, I probably wasn’t the perfect audience for this book, having been out of high school for a while now, these many of the decisions June is facing are not quite as relatable to me anymore, but I’m certain I would have loved this book even more had I read it within my high school career.

This book was good, but not groundbreaking. June falls in a pattern of victimization quite easily, which made it hard for me - personality wise - to appreciate her.

I love the diversity - it brings a new perspective to me. I could understand the familial issues that she was facing, the things at play were explained well enough. Even if it's not my culture, I could follow through with what she was saying.

Her journey to discovering herself is interesting, and I could definitely relate to some events. However - it was nothing new. I wished she would push her reflections deeper on the moment - even if she sometimes eventually did think back to her experiences.

I chose 3 stars because by 70% I was kind of done with the book. I speed read the rest. I think young adult might be more of a stretch - I would personally aim for 14-16 yo.

Thank you for this opportunity to read the book! It was enlightening when it comes to different backgrounds and expectations.

I wasn’t able to finish this one—formatting issues with the eARC. The words were very scrambled and odd characters bisected words, lines just cut off.

This book turned out to be quite different than I was initially expecting, but not in a bad way. I liked that the author's note in the beginning lets you know that this is not meant to be a romance.

This book instantly transported me back (a lot of years) to my own high school experience. All of June's relationships with the boys in this book were so accurate to the relationships I experienced as a young adult. It was difficult to read sometimes because I just wanted so much better, but it was also refreshing to read about these flawed relationships. After all these are still teens trying to navigate their first real relationships.

I also related to a lot of June's struggles within her family. She was trying to find her place in the world, while also making her family proud and this is something I think a lot of people will relate to.

The Asian representation in this book was well done as well. June struggled growing up in the Midwest with feeling like she was just the stereotyped Asian girl, but once she stepped out of that bubble she didn't feel like she was Asian enough to fit in.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and all of the aspects of teenage life that it addressed. I think this is an important book for teens and young adults while also being enjoyable for others outside that demographic who just enjoy YA books. I did find myself wanting just a little bit more from the ending, but I would still recommend this book to others.

June is an Asian American highschool student who tries to live up to her sister‘s success while simultaneously finding love - and the result is a mess.

All the tension between June and her sister could have been resolved very easily through talks (as it is in the end) and that lack of communication bothered me a lot.

Aside from June and the despicable characters that were her love interests (and also her mother) none of the characters stuck with me. They were just so replaceable, and especially June‘s group of friends didn‘t really feel like friends at all - which is fine in terms of trying to show how Highschool students sometimes feel, but June claims at least one of them has been her best friend for years and years.

Did I say despicable love interests? Ugh. Don‘t get me started. Despite painting herself as a less-than kind of person, June is obviously extremely smart and successful on all accounts other than her love life - where she manages to first have a crush on a guy who doesn‘t care to actually be in a relationship with her (but she still calls him her boyfriend??), then enter into a relationship with a dude who seems absolutely dense (making June lose her virginity on a playground and afterwards claiming that he made it special for her) and doesn‘t see the problem with getting pregnant at June‘s age (and tries to push her into not getting the Plan B pill), and finally she hooks up with a much older college student who has a girlfriend back home but thinks it‘s okay to mess with other girls while he‘s away.

Like, girl, are you really that desperate for some love and attention that you have to stoop this low? Then how about finally speaking up for yourself to your parents and, I don‘t know, be your own person?

Needless to say, this book made me cringe so much for most of the story. Only the ending was pretty good because June finally realises what I mentioned in the last paragraph, undergoes some character development and understands what she really wants to do with her life and that she needs to put herself first. Which, at that point, came about extremely rushed and I would have much preferred for her to continually grow throughout the book.

However, what I quite liked about the book were the insights that it gave into the life and culture of Asian Americans - about the constant parental pressure, the struggle to live up to extremely high expectations, being told that one isn‘t „Asian enough“ and trying to fit in. Other reviewers have pointed out that this rep is fairly accurate, so even if the book didn‘t entertain me one bit, at least I learned something!

2/5 stars.

Whoever tells you that this book is a romance is lying to you.

This book is about love. The love of friendships, the love of family, and the love of self.

June goes on a painful journey of self-growth throughout this novel and while it hurt my heart to watch her go through all this pain, she came out stronger and better in the long-run.

This book gave me major anxiety, to the point where I couldn't put it down. I needed to know that June was going to be ok. I really came to love June. She made some crappy decisions, but she was so full of heart and I was so endeared to her from the beginning that I needed to see her succeed. And succeed she did. Even if she didn't end up with the boy.