A really wonderful and realistic exploration of the teenage experience with an unapologetic vulnerability. June’s experience coming to terms with her identity and those feelings of “otherness” added a lot of emotional depth to this book.

Boys I Know takes a stark and real look at the lives of teenagers without the romanticization adults tend to use when examining this time of life. From living up to parental expectations to your first boyfriend (or two or three), Anna Gracia is a master at peering into the young adult mind.

I received this Arc from Netgalley. Thank you for the chance to read this book early. My review is honest and 100% my own thoughts about the book.

This had me running with its fast pace and chaotic nature. This book was an interesting look into several characters that are coming of age and how their relationships work. I liked that the book was written with a sex positive point of view. There were times I was like “What are you being thought in sex ed., Oh wait you are not really taught anything!” It show how our education system sets our young one up for failure, especially any thing that is related to having a sexual relationships.

The author wrote the characters very well. Especially with some of the social issues that are seen in the world. For example: the second child having the expectation of living up to the older sibling, her mother is in an immigrant, and living in a white majority community. Some of the issues I saw in the book was a lack of communication, Racism that isn’t acted on or call out on until later down the line, family pressure, and finding one’s identity. I like that the author was able to have their characters walk though these topic issues realistically.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I like MC journey though their romance and relationships with their partners as well as family members and friends.

"Boys I Know" by Anna Gracia is a relatable and emotionally charged young adult novel that delves into themes of friendship, self-discovery, and the complexities of teenage relationships. Gracia's storytelling prowess shines as she crafts a tale of growing up, personal challenges, and the power of introspection. The book's relatable characters and authentic plot create an immersive reading experience that resonates with teens and young adults. Gracia skillfully explores the emotions of navigating crushes, friendships, and the process of understanding one's own feelings, adding depth to the narrative. "Boys I Know" is a heartfelt reminder that the journey through adolescence is filled with ups and downs, and that the bonds of friendship and the process of self-discovery are valuable aspects of growing up, leaving readers with a sense of nostalgia and a renewed appreciation for the complexities of teenage experiences.

The book delivers on the promise of the premise. I think this book was a great read and reminded me a lot of high school. Which means it does a good job and conveying what it's like to be a high school student navigating relationships and your future.

I loved every single moment I spent reading this book.
In "Boys I Know" we follow June Chu through her journey in realising her self worth, dealing with her parent's expectations, the Asian-American experience and the period of switch from high school to college.
I liked reading about these themes and what I really liked in this book is how it truly shows how messy teen relationships van be and the struggles of staying true to yourself and find what you are made for, as the protagonist deals with questions for finding herself apart of what everyone expects of her.
I would totally recommend this book, majorly for teens, but for everyone who's looking for a great fun read that also hás deep themes and relationships.

Boys I Know by Anna Gracia is a book about a girl figuring her way through life, relationships, family, and herself. But just like the characters this book was messy, with some plot points making no sense or some characters not feeling human enough and feeling very 2-D at times. I wish some characters got more time to shine and be fleshed out better. Our MC was great. In the first half, I felt her pain and struggles, then in the second half she lost. I will say check this out if it's a book about self-discovery, dealing with real-world interests, and how some actions don't just affect you but also the others around you. I loved parts of this book but unfortunately not the whole thing.

Well written , any book about a daughter coming from an immigrant household & dealing with the expectation of her parents is my cup of tea

4/5

Thanks for the ARc

I loved how Feminist this book is. Having to deal with what is right for you. it also deals with the overbearing immigrant mother , in her mind she's doing it to make sure you'll prosper in life as a person of color but it to much pressure. I liked how Boys I know handles the messy relationships with boys as a girl, the messy mother daughter relationship and the overlap of Asian American identity and teen sexuality. I highly recommend this book in the trio of Peach Tree Teen first YA publishing season.

Having read a lot of reviews of this book I have come to the conclusion that it is not for me - it has been sitting on my TBR for months now so I decided to check it out at last but having read the trigger warnings and reviews, it isn't for me. The book is described as bitingly funny but there's nothing funny about abusive relationships.

I ended up dnfing this book as I don't feel it was for me.However I did really enjoy the writing style and would try something in the future bu this author.

This has such a gorgeous cover which is one of the main reasons why I requested for this. We follow Jane Chu, a Taiwanese American who is struggling with her identity. She feels burdened by her parents’ expectations of following in her sister’s footsteps and hid how she really feels from them. She has dreams of her own but she has the fear of disappointing her parents. In between the racist comments and being the only Asian American in town, June tries to find her place and figure out what she really wants in life.

I love how relatable this story is for Asian Americans especially June’s burden of carrying her parents’ immigrant dreams and all they expectations they have for her – to be the perfect daughter, the best student, the aspiring violinist. She felt like she was drowning in her parents’ dreams.

The idea of being ‘good enough’ or ‘not good enough’ is what we all go through in an Asian family. I could see my teenage self in June where I was torn between wanting to live my life the way I wanted or to follow through with what my parents want for me. I remembered longing for that sense of freedom and when I finally got that, I felt free and I felt as though I could breathe again.

At times, I felt frustrated with June’s decisions and how she hurt her mother but I realized I am reading this as an adult. I would probably have made irrational decisions at her age too so I cut her some slack. I did wish that she had a bit more development growth as a character but overall, I am happy with how the story turned out.

Thank you Netgalley and Peachtree for the arc.

I usually love coming-of-age stories and reading about messy, imperfect characters finding their way, so I thought Boys I Know would be right up my alley, but I was unfortunately a bit disappointed. Some elements I enjoyed were the discussions of June's identity and how sex-positive the book is, but others didn't sit well with me. Some themes were quite rushed and I wish consent had been talked about more.

A relatable protagonist, I like when the protagonists are very relatable. She also had an interesting journey of self-discovery, with lots of important topics covered in this book, but the wring and execution was disappointing.

this book is not my cup of tea. I could not get into it and honestly, it stressed me out. But I love the cover!!!

I could not get into this book. However. I think others would enjoy it. I like the cover and find it appealing.

This book delivers well and it is exactly what you imagine from the synopsis or the blurb. Also the cover is beautiful. One can enjoy the book if they accept the characters as who they are without any judgement.

This was a beautifully-written novel with achingly relatable themes of desperately wanting to be "good enough", struggling to meet parents' expectations, as well as portraying just how messy, chaotic and complicated teenage life is (and how crappy teenage boys can be) - but doing it all with a dash of humour and a smile. It was a perfect coming-of-age story and I wish I was able to go back in time and give it to my teenage self as there is a LOT in here that she would be able to relate to.

I finally got around to reading this ARC, though I’m not sure I can even call it that now, given it was released in July last year… but look, I’m trying to catch up!! I really, really enjoyed this book. It was such a refreshing and realistic dive into teenage life and the struggles of being Asian-American, as well as truly acknowledging sex, and not in an inherently negative way.

This book was so, so relatable. It was funny, and messy, and such an honestly good coming-of-age style book. No character was perfect, and the author didn’t try and make them perfect!! To be human is to be flawed (I’m sure someone important said that). June had problems. Were some of them typical teenage problems, but the author didn’t lessen them for that, which I really appreciated. And while I cringed sometimes, and cried others, I never stopped enjoying this book.

“Please know that there is no percentage threshold or visual requirement for someone to be considered Asian, and that if you, like me, are mixed, you are valid as you are.”

This quote is from the author’s note at the start of the book, and while yes, it may be partially because I’m PMS-ing today, it did bring tears to my eyes. There’s someone else that gets it!! Bless Anna Gracia, honestly.

But anyway, this book. It was funny! It was realistic! I connected to it in some ways, and not in others, and that’s alright. I believe this is truly such a powerful story, that all Asian teens all over the world should read, especially those who’re living the diaspora life.

“I could probably nest a family of gorillas with the amount of hair I shed every day.”

Same, girl. Same.

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the free copy provided in exchange for an honest review!! Sorry I took so long to read and review this… whoops. Anyway, highly recommended 🥰💜.

This book really stressed me out! I was excited for some messy, sex-positive, Asian rep, but in many ways it felt like this book just included sex rather than actually espousing sex positivity. June's decisions felt disjointed and opaque, so I didn't have a good understanding of her as a character for most of the book.