Wonderful debut. A novel about growing up, recognizing your roots, and what it means to want different things from your parents, and well as realizing that maybe you need/want those roots after all. A story of an immigrant family, and how it feels to grow up in the very white midwest as a Chinese-American. Audrey is a wonderfully complicated character - any woman who's survived her 20s will recognize at least some part of herself in Audrey.

"Audrey Zhou left Hickory Grove, the tiny town in central Illinois where she grew up, as soon as high school ended, and she never looked back. She moved to New York City and became the person she always wanted to be, complete with a high-paying, high-pressure job and a seemingly faultless fiancé, Ben. But if she and Manhattan-bred Ben are to build a life together, in the dream home his parents will surely pay for, Audrey can no longer hide him, or the person she's become, from those she left behind.

But returning to Hickory Grove is . . . complicated. Audrey's relationship with her parents has been soured by years of her mother's astronomical expectations and slights. The friends she's shirked for bigger dreams have stayed behind and started families. And then there's Kyle, the easygoing stoner and her unrequited crush from high school that she finds herself drawn to again. Ben might be a perfect fit for New Audrey, but Kyle was always the only one who truly understood her growing up, and being around him again after all these years has Old Audrey bubbling up to the surface.

Over the course of one disastrous week, Audrey's proximity to her family and to Kyle forces her to confront the past and reexamine her fraught connection to her roots before she undoes everything she's worked toward and everything she's imagined for herself. But is that life really the one she wants?"

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Central Places is an immersive character driven debut by Delia Cai. We follow Audrey Zhou, daughter of Chinese immigrants, as she returns home to a small midwestern town after many years away in NYC, white fiancé Ben in tow. Audrey has an incredibly tense relationship with her "central places," namely her parents and the friends she left behind. She is at times an absolutely infuriating character, but I appreciated seeing experiences through her eyes, and her evolution over the course of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House - Ballantine for the advanced copy, in exchange for my honest review.

“I’d never imagined not having a tether, however flimsy, leading back to this central place.”

This was a great debut novel from Vanity Fair writer Delia Cai. It’s a story about finding yourself. A story about complex family relationships, nostalgia, old friends, and finding out that sometimes things don’t work out quite the way you expect them to— and learning to accept this.

I seem to be reading a lot of books with tense mother-daughter relationships lately, and this book is no exception. Observing the relationship between Audrey and her Chinese immigrant parents, her mother in particular, was at times heartbreaking, and others heartwarming. I felt Audrey’s pain in her arguments with her mother, and felt the discomfort at watching her white fiancé navigate Audrey’s family, so foreign and different from his own wealthy parents and presumably privileged youth.

The element of the book that stuck with me most was the main subject of the book: Audrey returning to her childhood hometown after years of separating herself from her old life, old friends, and old flames. I liked how her attitude changes as the story progresses and she realizes what she missed all those years away from home, how she begins to discover what “home” really means.

Maybe this was the intention of the author, maybe not, but I did not like her fiancé Ben very much at all. Big shot photojournalist sounds appealing on the surface but he gradually lost brownie points with me throughout the book and I just…no. On the other hand, I adored Kyle’s easygoing nature and the way he and Audrey seemed to pick up right where they left off. I also enjoyed Audrey’s friendships with old friends like Kristen and new ones like Zadie, and her parents also grew on me big time by the end of the book.

This was the perfect read to compliment the Lunar New Year, and I hope that it gets the attention it deserves once released, because there is something in it for every single reader to relate to.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House - Ballantine for the advanced copy!

I couldn't put Central Places down! The author does an incredible job of really putting you inside the mind of her main character, Audrey Zhou. Audrey's decision-making will frustrate you at times and then you turn the page and there is an emotional gut punch waiting. No spoilers but there is one sweet scene between Audrey and her dad in the kitchen that will linger with me for a while. Fantastic read!

Actual rating 3.5

You can't go home again, except when you have to. That's pretty much the idea behind Audrey's journey back to her hometown to introduce her fiance to her parents. I loved the idea of challenging home visits and the dynamics that play out, but the problem here is that Audrey was just a bit too unlikeable. The parents were very realistically portrayed and even though the mother was also on the unlikeable side, I was able to reserve irritation with her more than I was with Audrey. Perhaps I'm too far removed from her experiences to understand her position? Or maybe I've been a mother for too many years to be as accepting of adult immaturity? At any rate, Audrey kind of ruined the story for me, which is a shame. The ending resolution also felt too rushed to be realistic based on how the rest of the story had played out. That said, Cai did an excellent job of putting the reader in place with her descriptions of life in the Midwest and everything that it entails.

My thanks to Ballantine Books, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I can’t say if I liked this book for sure or not. Most of it made me cringe and not like Audrey so much. I can’t say I blame her or am above her actions and thoughts and I guess she is 28. And ahh Asian moms. I get it.

I am proud of how the ‘real’ Audrey ended up. Good for her.

Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballantine and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

What I liked the most about this novel was its Midwestern location. I am very familiar with the area the author wrote about is, and is apparently from.
Audrey fled her hometown and has t been back but now she is engaged and coming back for the holidays.
I thought she had a huge chip on her shoulder and was unreasonable when she encountered people she had cut off years before.
Her relationship with her mother was strained, which was sad, but then neither one really tired to understand the other.
Audrey does make some key changes by the end of the book.
It is a decent read.

It’s very hard to enjoy a book when the main character is so unlikeable. I wanted redemption for her and redemption for the time I spent sludging through her selfishness, but alas it wasn’t to be. Did she finally grow up a bit? Yes. Was it enough to redeem the story? No.

This book made me happy and this book made me sad.
It made me miss a lot of people.
It made me appreciate New York City.
It made me appreciate going home.
It made me feel less alone.

Audrey Zhou hasn't visited the small town in Illinois where she grew up in years - nor has she kept in touch with anyone from high school. She has made a life for herself in New York City and hasn't looked back. Recently engaged, she heads home with her fiancee for the holidays so that he can meet her mom and dad. Her visit home forces her to look more closely at her relationship with her immigrant parents and with her long-abandoned high school friends. Is the life she is now living the best choice for her? A thoughtful novel that looks at relationships of various types, this was a compelling read. ARC courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

This is a five-star read for me because the author was able to capture so much intergenerational feeling in it. The conflict between generations is only magnified when it is an immigrant story with each generation also having linguistic challenges in communication. Add to that a setting in a small Midwestern town and you have a compact stage for the drama being played out. Audrey is a little difficult to like. She has issues, problems, preconceived thoughts, and a lack of sensitivity. Yet, you do end up liking her and rooting for her despite wondering how much of her drama is her own fault. Then you take a step back and try and put yourself into her shoes and realize... well, those are difficult shoes to wear indeed. This is a perfect read for anyone bi or multiracial as well. And there's plenty to digest for a book club as well.
The writing is both tight and descriptive. I liked it more than I thought I would!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I hope it attracts many readers!

4 stars
Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC

I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. I really loved being in Audrey's mind and traveling back to her hometown with her to relive her time growing up in the midwest. As someone also from the midwest, I feel like I could relate to certain things Audrey talked about, both good and bad. Audrey wasn't a perfect character, but I feel like that made her much more relatable and real. I loved seeing her growth and the changes she went through during the story. This was a quick read for me, and although it's definitely more character driven, I was pulled in and wanted to know what was going to happen next. I enjoyed reading about all of the different relationship dynamics that take place in this story, and I related to Audrey's struggle of feeling tied to home even if we don't always want to be. It was just an interesting and surprinsingly deep story, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes character driven stories about families, friends, and relationships.

Central Places is about Audrey Zhou, the daughter of Chinese immigrants. Audrey does not have a good relationship with her parents, mainly her mother. Her relationship is so bad that she has not seen them for eight years and has had very little contact with them. Audrey is recently engaged and her fiance would like to meet her parents, so a trip home is planned for Christmas.

Audrey is from a small town in central Illinois. Audrey could not wait to get away from her hometown, Hickory Grove, IL. Growing up in a small town and especially being Chinese did not leave Audrey with many good memories of growing up.

Audrey is not a very likable character. She has her been very successful in her career but still blames most of her problems on either her mother or Hickory Grove. At times while reading this, I could relate to some of the things she was saying about small towns but at other times I wanted to scream at her that this is your fault!!

Thanks so much to Ballantine Books for the copy of this book!

I LOOOVEEEDDD the first half of this novel. I’m a sucker for character-driven literature and was really enjoying Audrey’s story growing up in small-town Illinois and entering the upper middle class in NYC. Her Asian American upbringing took a starring role as she and her white boyfriend, Ben, travel back to her hometown for the holidays. However, Audrey makes some really questionable choices in the second half of the book and her personality takes a bit of a negative turn - and it’s hard when you don’t want to cheer for an MC anymore. Luckily, she did redeem herself a bit in the end and I got back into it, but I really wish she would've made some different choices! It took away from the central narrative of the book for me and I think her actions were used to develop her character's progress when I would've preferred dialogue in that area instead. I LOVED her dad so much and enjoyed watching the character dynamics play out. Overall, I liked but not loved this read.

Read if you:
- like character-driven stories
- have ever been in an interracial relationship
- listened to The Killers in high school
- always feel called to a 'central place' that feels like home

To start, this cover is STUNNING. Absolutely beautiful.

I had so many feelings reading this book. Nostalgia, anger, heartbreak, frustration, anxiety, STRESS.

The author wrote her characters so well, everyone was fully fleshed out and had a purpose and an important role to play in Audrey’s life.

The scene with Audrey’s dad, when he tells her he follows her Instagram to see what she’s up to, and makes a terrible roasted chicken because he saw her photo she posted from a NYC restaurant, like Omg, the kindest, sweetest man, I was near tears 🥲.

While I appreciated the ending and the hopeful turn it too, I was surprised at how quickly Audrey’s mother turned around, and suddenly they are able to call each other and have a more positive relationship. I don’t think it’s entirely unrealistic, I like an ending with some hope.

And I also love that Audrey ended up on her own. I was wishing throughout the book that it would end up that way, and was pleased to see she was taking control of her own life.

I really loved reading this book, the writing was really well done, and the story was simple yet powerful.

This book comes out January 31. 📚

<i>Central Places</i> is ultimately a story about home and our former selves. These themes were my favorite throughout this novel. Audrey, our main character, returns home to visit her small midwest town after eight years away in New York City. She has her fiance in tow and quickly descends into a former version of herself as she relives memories and rekindles friendships from her high school days.

Cai's exploration of memory and our younger selves was the most exciting part of this novel for me. I felt nostalgic for my younger self while reading this book, and I appreciated Audrey's experience of returning to a place that shaped you after you've gone off and been shaped by other places. And how that changes your perception.

I also enjoyed the family dynamic aspect of this novel. While frustrating, the parent/child relationship was interesting to understand, and the themes of immigrant parents woven throughout added another layer of depth to these relationships.

The one thing that I struggled with in this novel is Audrey herself. I do not mind an unlikeable main character in general. I typically think they are interesting, and I love seeing characters on the page grow and change as they experience things. But Audrey was a tough one for me. She was childish, immature, self-centered, and pretty unpleasant to everyone she cared about. I appreciated that she had some growth from start to end, but I struggled to feel empathy toward her. I wanted more depth and dimension to her.

Overall I enjoyed this debut and would have enjoyed it even more if Audrey had been an even more nuanced character.

In Delia Cai’s debut novel, Central Places, Audrey Zhou returns to her small hometown in Illinois for the first time in 8 years, with her rich white fiance Ben. Audrey is financially secure, but regresses emotionally upon returning to Hickory Grove and confronting all the tension that she left behind. All of the characters are unlikeable in their own ways, and the story of combined self centeredness and self loathing is deeply relatable. Audrey constantly asks herself about how her life could have turned out differently. She observes the past with a self critical lens, thinking about the context of her childhood, and the expectations of her immigrant parents. The author avoids over romanticizing the small town, showing how truly impossible it would have been for Audrey to continue to live there. While Ben sees the visit as a small blip on the way to getting married, Audrey’s trip to her hometown causes a monumental shift in relationships old and new. I don’t want to say too much about the plot because it is truly special.

This was a quick read, and Audrey’s internal thought process, which may seem like overthinking, was a highlight. I would compare the plot to a realistic version of a Hallmark movie.

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

What a complex and interesting book. Reading Delia Car's story reminded me of how we often lose connections with high school friends as we step put into the world and grow, how many of us have complicated relationships with our parents and peers, and how we often think we know exactly what we want in life until life shows us what's truly important. Added to this mix of emotions are the cultural differences and the experience of being different..
Thanks #NetGalley #PenguinRandomHouse

Audrey Zhou left home as soon as possible after graduating college. Leaving the small, often racist, town of Hickory Grove, Illinois behind and the high expectations and judgements of her Chinese immigrant parents, she’s made a new life for herself in New York and hasn’t looked back. Engaged to a Photo Journalist that has the perfect family and credentials, she’s even cut all ties with the friends she grew up with. It’s finally time for Ben to meet the parents and they make a Christmas visit home after years of her absence. What will her parents think of Ben, her wealthy white fiancé? Her past and present are about to meet, but is she prepared for the outcome? Audrey was not a very likable character. While she had every reason to be scarred by her past, she also took no responsibility for her own actions, not caring who she hurt in the process. As her two worlds collide and things start to fall apart, we finally meet the real Audrey, not the theoretical Audrey that she has created. Sometimes you have to come to grips with your past before you have any chance of a future. Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This was a solid debut from Cai, perfect for readers who enjoy realistic, flawed, unlikeable main characters. audrey zhou having a pretty successful stable life in new york city with a fiancée she's satisfied with, we see her return to her small town in illinois bringing him to meet her parents. this upturns all her feelings and past growing up in that small town that she had left all behind. and also a focus on her complex relationship with her mother being another factor in her never looking back. i thought the character development and self realization of flaws was well done overall and a lot of healing resentment. it was interesting seeing how use of high school relationships and past was used in order for this development, but it was quite realistic in terms of audrey having to come to terms with a variety of things she had been running away from