Thank you to NetGalley for gifting me a copy of "The Boy You Always Wanted" by Michelle Quach in exchange for an honest review.

"The Boy You Always Wanted" by Michelle Quach is a YA novel that plays on familiar tropes, with a focus on a "boy who doesn't fully apply himself and just skates by" paired with an "overachieving, borderline neurotic girl." Unfortunately, the stakes in the story don't feel particularly high in the beginning of the story, which makes it challenging to feel fully invested in the characters or the plot.

One of the main issues is that Ollie's transition from being indifferent to kind, and eventually developing feelings for Francine, feels underdeveloped and abrupt. It would have been beneficial to see more analysis of Ollie's feelings and his relationship with Francine to understand his character arc better. The narrative doesn't quite grip the reader until about 80% through the book, which makes it a bit of a slow burn for those looking for immediate engagement.

While the book uses mature language, the hijinks are often comically over-the-top, almost more fitting for a middle-grade novel rather than a young adult one. Despite these shortcomings, I did appreciate the book's attempt to unpack toxic masculinity from the male character's perspective. This is a refreshing angle that isn't often explored in YA fiction and adds some depth to the story.

Overall, "The Boy You Always Wanted" has its moments, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. It's a 3 out of 5 stars.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I'll be honest, I didn't love this book as much as I thought I would, which is a shame because I really wanted to.

From the start, I wasn't really connecting with the characters. I don't know what it was, but I was left wishing for more relatability and connection to them that would make me want to ship Francine and Ollie together. I was curious to see where their relationship would go but I spent the entirety of the book wishing for more chemistry.

They did have some cute scenes together but I wished we got more of that. I liked the scene on the playground and the cheeky moments of physical displays of affection from Ollie but I wished they were prolonged more. The characters that absolutely stole the show for me were Rolo and Jiya, they were really cool and I was secretly shipping them together admittedly even more so than the main couple.

I also enjoyed the writing style, it was very digestible and easy to read but I think the overall thing I would've wanted was more depth in general especially since the last part of the book felt really quick.

I think what would've worked in the book's favour was if Francine's relationship with her family and her previous crush on Ollie was highlighted before the events of the book. The plan was introduced really early on and would've really benefitted from having those moments where we got some backstory before the main plot line was brought forward. The Plan could've been introduced more into the middle of the book which may have resulted in more connection and chemistry between Ollie and Francine.

Overall though, I thought this book was okay. Not amazing but not bad either, I just wished for a bit more depth to the characters and story.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for this ARC.

I tried. I tried reading the eBook version, the physical book version, and recently acquired Hoopla and tried the audiobook. It just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t connect to the characters and at 50% complete had to DNF.

Maybe it just is not the right time for me to devour what has the potential to be a very cute story.

The pacing was perfect. And it was the kind of story that had me constantly thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it, even when I had to stop for the night, I just couldn’t wait to get back to it! I loved how authors handled serious topics delicately and in a cultured manner.

I was on the fence about purchasing this one for the library. I don't know what it is but I could not get past the first ten pages. If I can't get past 25 pages in a book, I will normally give up and rate it a one star. I will not be purchasing this one for the library unless, at the end of our fiscal year, I have enough funds to use, I may end up purchasing it.

I had such high hopes for this one and it just fell flat. The writing was definitely skilled and the bones of a great story were there but there were some interesting choices made that ultimately lead to it being okay at best.

This novel did deal well with sexism prevalent (based on research) in Chinese-Vietnamese culture. However, the big secret reveal at the end hit on another traumatic topic that really needed more time on the page to have been handled.

The romance between Francine and Ollie was okay but could’ve been better.

2/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wish this story had done more than just scratch the surface of the sexism present in Chinese-Vietnamese culture. It was nice to have it mentioned but so much more could be done.

I’ve heard such good things about the author Michelle Quach so I was super pumped to be approved for this. I’ve read a few Asian contemporary books so I was not surprised with the culture nuances that put women beneath men. But man was it a bummer since it’s pretty prevalent through out this book.

I enjoyed the writing style and the relationship between Francine and Ollie but overall it was a typical teenage relationship and didn’t really stand out for me.

Thank you so much to Harper Collin’s Children’s Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my advanced readers copy of The Boy You Always Wanted by Michelle Quach.

The Boy You Always Wanted is a heartfelt and lovable book! The story revolves around Francine who takes it upon herself to fulfill her old-fashioned grandfather’s last dying wish. Her grandfather wants a male heir to carry on the family traditions. That’s where Ollie comes in. Ollie gets involved with Francine's crazy plan, and finds himself invested in the plan and with her. But when the lies catch up to Francine, will her relationship with her family and Ollie survive?

Francine's plan to bring her grandpa happiness is a very relatable characteristic of hers. I also find myself trying to make my family happy, even if they are more old-fashioned and a little sexist. Trying to break out of that pattern of making others happy is very hard. The story explores themes of family dynamics mixed with traditions and growing ideas in a modern society. Ollie, for an example, doesn’t agree with the sexist nature of Francine's grandfather’s last wish. This novel was so interesting reading about the fine lines between sexism and family traditions.

I would definitely read this book if you like relatable characters and heartwarming relationships with a little bit of drama.

I really love Michelle Quach's style; it's so well-suited to the YA demographic and her characterization is always on point. She had such a strong debut with Not Here to be Liked, and I'm happy to say I enjoyed her sophomore novel as well.

The Boy You Always Wanted exists in the same plane as Not Here to be Liked in that they both are engaging, funny, and thoughtful, but its themes are more specific. TBYAW hones in on the concept of filial piety, the persisting patriarchal values Asian families and cultural traditions still cary, and the ways we remember our people and our history. And this is balanced well with the romance blossoming between Francine and Ollie and the friend shenanigans they get into with Gia and Rollo. (I must note especially the sex-positive discussions in the book as well, since they took me pleasantly by surprise!)

The story stumbled slightly near the end, as I felt the big family secret was exposed suddenly, and seemingly reconciled with little exploration, and I thought some of the strained family dynamics the characters were experiencing weren't really dealt with, but I concede that the issues raised do not have perfect answers as I still haven't sorted my own life out in that way, and I can hope that they will work things out off-page, on their own time.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Boy You Always Wanted is a Young Adult contemporary romance that follows, in dual POV, our two main characters, Francine and Ollie, when making a mutually beneficial deal. Francine's grandfather was recently diagnosed with cancer and wishes for a male heir to carry on her culture's traditions. She has Ollie be ceremoniously adopted into the family. In exchange, Ollie gets more of an insight into his culture for a culture fair booth he is doing. Along the way, romance ensues.

I really enjoyed a lot of aspects of this book. One thing I really vibed with was the writing. It was really engaging and was really easy to follow. I also enjoyed seeing the discussion of s3x and m@st3rbat!on when it comes to teens (specifically teens in high school). It is really important to be discussing s3x and m@st3rbat!on with teenagers (within reason), so I found this discussion to be valuable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

This book has everything: cute romance, family drama, weird friends, a protagonist that my teenage self would relate to a little too hard. This has cemented the fact that I will read anything that Michelle writes; truly a wonderful story.

Books about complex family dynamics will always get me, especially cross-generational. I couldn’t tell you if I loved the falling in love pieces of this or the family pieces more but they were all beautiful. Francine’s grandpa is in his final months of life and is discouraged because there is no male heir. Though it is modern day and this isn’t as important as it once was, Francine can see it’s important to her A Gung (grandpa). She decides to try to talk her schoolmate into an old tradition of being a stand-in heir to uplift her A Gungs spirits so he can be at peace for the end of his life. This story explores so many relationships and the lengths we will go to for those we care about. Michelle Quach writes YA feminism in a way that just heals my inner teenager and I can’t get enough. I appreciate authors who use their platform to show the reader a look into their family values and cultural background through their stories. Also showing other family values of similar backgrounds, I love hearing their stories. Learning through stories is one of my favorite ways to learn. Francine’s family was both so relatable as I also grew up in a family where we care for and cater to our elderly and majority women are doing the care tasks. Francine works to convince her classmate, Ollie, to be the stand-in heir as his family has known hers for many years and she hopes he will understand the weight of this ask. And also she so doesn’t have a crush on him anymore and this has nothing to do with that. Francine and Ollie are both Asian-American but they show us how different their family’s treat that. Francine has the classic eldest daughter syndrome of doing everything for everyone and Ollie is mostly just trying to get through his days. Francine’s family is entwined in each others’ lives, especially once her grandparents moved in, and Ollie’s family is mostly his dog as his parents work long hours. Watching these two navigate family expectations, as well as high school, shows the depth of their characters and the burdens and priorities teenagers take on from their parents. This was a very heartfelt sweet read. Let me know if you’ve read it and what you thought in the comments. Thank you Michelle for teaching us through stories.

This was such a cute read! I would have absolutely loved this in high school. The author does phenomenal at expressing friendships and heart break and loss. It's a great example of good strong friendships in your teens. I'm also a sucker for rekindled friendships. Definitely recommend.

A sweet YA coming-of-age story revolving around identity and family, with some romance entwined. While it may feel too juvenile for older young adults, it is perfect for teenagers and I would recommend it to them if they enjoy YA contemporary of this genre.

I think this is a solid white, a contemporary, but I didn’t love it as much as I wanted too. I really liked the aspects of family and doing everything you can for your elders, to the point of denying yourself and being yourself. It’s something I and I think many 1st generations American/Canadians could relate to.

The romance for me just fell flat. It didn’t get me excited and I think that’s what was needed to keep my attention. It was too “insta love” and I needed more of a build up. I wish there were more high stakes especially with the ending. Although I enjoyed the reveals and somethings were a surprise that I didn’t see coming, I wanted more.

Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In The Boy You Always Wanted Francine Zhang's dying grandfather, A Gung, regrets having no male descendants to honor their ancestors, so she comes up with a plan. She ask Ollie Tran, who like Francine is a Chinese/Vietnamese American, to become A Gung's honorary heir. Although Ollie is at first opposed, he realizes their families have know each other since before they came to the U.S., and A Gung provided for Ollie when his father died and left his family destitute. In return Francine will help Ollie beef up his extracurriculars for college applications. They join the multicultural club where he's responsible for a booth at their annual fundraising event, showcasing his family history, about which he knows little. As he researches and pours over old pictures Francine has provided, he discovers an alarming secret. Told from alternating perspectives, the story highlights two teens growing romantically involved as they investigate their heritage and the ties that bind.

I enjoyed this book a lot, the characters are quite unique. The romance and family drama is right there.

dnf @20%

this book wasn’t my cup of tea and i couldn’t force myself to read any further than this.

my biggest problem were the characters. all of them were annoying and as plain as a loaf of bread 🥖


thank you to netgalley and harpercollins children's books for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review