Lily Chen meets Matthew and they couldn't be more different, but despite this, they fall madly in love. In 2021, Nick Chen lives with his mother Lily in Washington state. He's never known his father and along with his best friend, sets out to find out who he is.

This three generation family drama is wonderful. We start with Lily, and then move to her son Nick, and then back to Lily's mother May. Learning all of their stories, we see how they are the same, but also so very different. This is so well-written and touching and the perfect read for me at the perfect time. I kind of never wanted it to end. There's some science stuff that I worried would become more but I think it stayed very surface level and didn't leave me feeling confused.

I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Available April 30, 2024

Wow, REAL AMERICANS will absolutely be one of my top novels of 2024! Thank you so much @knopf for my early copy and @prhaudio for my early audio copy.

I can’t remember the last time a novel stunned me as much as this one. The ending LITERALLY had me jarred to my bones and heaving my breath on the side of a road in the middle of my run. So powerful, so beautifully written, so thought provoking, and SO WORTH THE READ.

Beautifully written, the novel is tied together by parents/grandparents’ decisions, repeating decisions for children, money, and family. It is an introspective look at what it means to be “American” how those are treated that “look different”...but what does it truly mean?

REAL AMERICANS is written in 3 parts, one for Lily, one for her son Nick, and one for her mother Mae. The narration of these parts is perfect- I couldn’t have thought of better narrators!

As each part weaves a portion of a generational story of science, genetics, life in China, life in America, and the stories we keep from those we love? And why?

Each character has their own heartbreak, the way they flesh out the ways we love and the ways others need to be loved- the same, different? Mothers and their children. Decisions and the impact of those decisions, generationally down the line.

It even has a dose of Magical realism with the pausing of time, a unique nod to a storyline that flows across time and generations. Bringing the novel truly to a social commentary on what we value and why we do what we do, societally.

I am waiting to see which of the major book clubs pick this as their book of the month, because EVERYONE should read it.

A book spanning three generations, this book asks, are we real or are we made? What makes one a real American?

Aside from some off-putting confusion in switching timelines, I found this to be an interesting family saga with some plot lines I didn’t expect. It held my interest and I feel like this is a book that would make for a thought-provoking book club discussion.

Read this if you enjoy |
•family secrets
•Chinese culture and history
•science
•character driven novels

I think this is a good book to go into blind. It did have parts that left me feeling a bit melancholy, yet not overly emotional, if that makes sense.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher, Knopf, for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

CW | Contains scattered strong profanity. Mentions of sexual abuse and suicide, not explicit. Also, it contains a few brief scenes depicting intimacy, not overly descriptive.

A multi-generational story from three POVs - a mother, son, and grandma. The first part starts as a meet-cute story between Lily and Matthew on the brink of Y2K. The ease of reading these chapters reflected the simpler pre-smartphone times and the awestruck feeling of young love.

As the story develops and fast-forwards to 2021 from the perspective of Lily’s son Nick, it explores identity, belonging, and the tight bond between single mother and son. Finally, as the book reaches its third perspective, from Lily’s mother, the writing becomes heavier and more complex.

I enjoyed reading through the lens of an American-born Chinese woman and her struggles with identity through ethnicity, income levels, and simply being a woman. I was surprised and intrigued by the sci-fi-esque element and how much it deepens the story.

Character-driven novels normally aren’t my thing but guess when their stories are interesting enough, I can easily become invested. It makes you want to talk to your relatives and shake out the secrets stories they’ve kept hidden.

A multigenerational family saga (my fav) that explores themes of identity, class and how far you would go to ensure a better life for the ones you love. There’s some science/borderline magical elements that gave an ethereal feel to what was often an extremely heavy read. The storytelling is so smart and nuanced but done in a really accessible way. I loved this a lot.

An intriguing story (or rather stories) that explores fate, genetics, technology, familial bonds, wealth, etc.

The novel is divided into three parts spanning four decades. In the late 1990s, Lily meets Matthew at a party and they fall in love. They are an unlikely but well matched pair until Lily discovers a devastating secret. In 2021, Lily’s son is in high school trying to figure out where he wants to study and “how to be normal”. In 2030, Lily’s mother reflects on the decisions she has made throughout her life.

I enjoyed the author’s writing and was riveted by Lily’s and Matthew’s story - so much so that I was disappointed to move to the next timeline/storyline (however, I soon became invested in Nick’s story as well). By the time we get Mei’s turn, I felt like there were a lot of plot threads that were not addressed or underexplored. Overall, a compelling read.

Thank you very much to Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Khong’s writing of this multigenerational story. It was captivating and revealed many ethical questions about identity and relationships. This story is told in three parts by each member of the generations and each perspective unearths more depth to the story. I love a good family drama and I kept reading to find out what happened in the past and what would happen next, but ultimately was disappointed that many difficult questions regarding the relationships in the story were left unanswered.

Thank you NetGalley and The Knopf Team for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

I love multigenerational family stories and Real Americans is one of the best. Khong's writing is easy to get swept up in. Structuring the story to go from Lily (middle generation) to Nick (youngest generation) to May (oldest generation) worked incredibly well - I couldn't wait to read May's part to fill in some of the mystery. The mix on genres made this book feel really special - it's literary but has bits of magical realism (which I don't even usually like) and science fiction.

I was fascinated in this story start to finish, really felt the emotions of characters throughout, and adored the ending. I've already heard a lot of folks talking about how good this book is, and I can't wait for even more people to read it.

Real Americans presses into the crevices between generations, thickening the connective tissues with stories of befores and afters, whys and wherefores.

Over the course of the novel, spanning three generations and fifty years, Khong hands the narrative reigns over to her main characters in sections. Aside from a prologue-like beginning, we first meet Lily Chen, a 22-year-old New Yorker who is a first generation American. It’s 1999 and Lily carries us through some turn-of-the-century milestones: Y2K, 9/11, among others. When Lily meets Matthew and the two fall in love, the path ahead for them seems laid out. But, just as we’ve gotten settled into the story following the birth of Matthew and Lily’s son, Khong delivers the reader over to the future of 2021 with 15-year-old Nick Chen at the helm.

Nick lives in Washington with his mother, Lily, and has never known his father. As he goes through the pangs of late teenagedom and early adulthood, he tries to reach out to meet his dad.

Lastly, we get to hear from May / Mei, Lily’s mother — both from now and from decades before, as she relays her past in a sort of oral retelling of how and why she emigrated from China.

A really interesting aspect for me was the way Khong crafted and revealed her characters. For instance, Lily isn’t a fully-formed person, with agency and self-awareness, until she is no longer the narrator. It wasn’t until I could see her in the shadows of Nick’s story that Lily felt real and filled in with more vibrant, knowable colors. But a lot of the major plot points felt forced, and almost everyone beyond this trio of MCs remained distant and half-realized.

Khong goes after a lot in this novel, coming at it indirectly. It’s as if she just has so much to say, but not quite enough structure in which to say it. Her style was odd and a little hard to get into — with a whiff of a bullet-style delivery, pelting the reader with characterizations and scene settings, while keeping the narrator a little closed off and distant. It’s the kind where you’re either immediately going to get right into it and not notice it, or you will notice the entire time. She hints at deep understandings and ideas, but I never felt like we quite got there. The entirety of Real Americans feels like she held back; she knew the right questions, but hesitated to ask.

4.25⭐️

Real Americans weaves together three viewpoints and timelines into a rich if occasionally less than cohesive tapestry. We follow Lily, the American daughter of Chinese immigrants, her son, Nick, and her mother, Mei/ May. Journeying through time and space from Mao’s Cultural Revolution to the modern US, there’s a lot to like and a lot to learn from this story. There are also some elements that don’t really work. I’m a huge fan of magical realism done well, but I think in this case the story suffers for it- and it would have perhaps been better in an entirely different book. But there’s still so much cultural and personal insight in Real Americans to make it a worthwhile read.

Thank you Rachel Khong, Knopf, and NetGalley for providing this gifted copy for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This author is just so incredibly talented at what she does. She can make you so so interested and care so much for her flawed and deeply human characters. I genuinely loved and was fascinated by all of these people by the end of this book. I could truly see them. Their clothes, their homes, their backpacks, their worlds. I would say I think this was book was too long and was also sort of boring at times, especially because I find it jarring when books drop main characters and start new ones, but I also thought the twist or whatever you would call it was fascinating and kind of wish more would have been done with it.
3.5 stars rounded up because it really is too long. But it’s also just really very very well written when it’s not boring.
From NetGalley, thank you.

Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for an arc of Real Americans by Rachel Khong. This book follows three generations of a Chinese American family through many decades and povs. What makes you who are you? Family drama with love and a bit of science fiction.

Real Americans follows Lily, her son Nick, and her mother May/Mei through the turmoil of unanswered questions about their own lives and who they are. Their stories unfold to answer the question “what would happen if we could make choices for our children instead of leaving things to fate?”

I found this book to be gripping - Lily and Nick, in particular, were complex and interesting characters facing the consequences of choices made for them. May’s story was slower paced, but it was harrowing to read about the rise of communism in China and the implications for young people.

If you liked Pachinko or The Island of Sea Women, or other multi-generational stories, this novel is for you!

Thanks to NetGalley, Knopf, and Rachel Khong for the ARC of Real Americans!

Real Americans is a multigenerational tale that spans China to America, from the 1960s through 2030. The novel begins with Lily, a first-generation American living in New York as she is finishing college. Unlike her extremely driven scientist parents, Lily feels a bit rudderless as she floats through adulthood. This first section spans her twenties, during which she falls in love with a man from a powerful family. The second section jumps to Seattle in 2021 and focuses on Lily's son Nick's teenage years. Finally, we move to 2030 and learn more (primarily in flashback) about Lily's mother's experiences growing up in China and moving to America.

This novel is phenomenal, and certainly upended my expectations of a multigenerational tale, both in chronology and in character development. While not overly long, Khong gives an extremely detailed and nuanced portrait of each character. She then weaves these characters and their choices together in a way that addresses meaningful questions about family, free will and choices, and what it means to be an American. As the reader moves from section to section, large holes are left in the plot that are filled in satisfyingly in the final chapters.

Real Americans is a multi-generational family drama that explores identity through a beautifully layered story told in three parts. It begins at the end of 1999 with the dawning of the new millenium from Lily Chen's perspective. She's a recent NYU grad and unpaid intern trying to pay rent and find her career path. As the American-born only child of Chinese immigrants, she's struggling to find a passion that drives her like science did for both of her parents. When she falls in love with Matthew, things become both easier and much more complicated. In the second part of the book, the story moves on to 2021 on a small island off Seattle and a high schooler named Nick who is navigating college applications and an overbearing mom. In the third part, we are transported to China where Mei/May grew up during Mao's takeover of China. The characters in all three parts overlap and layer on top of each other to create a rich and deeply thought provoking book.

The first part starts a bit slow and clunky. It's hard to get a grasp on Lily and where the story is headed. But then the book seems to settle into itself and I was engrossed. The writing is strong and beautiful and the story is fascinating! Khong deftly uses her characters to explore so many interesting themes - inherited traits and the impact of our genetics, time and how we use it, productivity and purpose, race and how it fits into identity, love and forgiveness, luck and the things we can't control. I mean, so much!! There is a love story in each part which enriches the characters and breathes life into them. The third part dips into historical fiction with some heartbreaking moments in Mao's China. It also dabbles with a touch of magical realism, which I thought worked very well. This would be a juicy book club pick with something for everyone.

A few characters are underdeveloped in order to simplify the plot a bit and it isn't a perfect book. But! I absolutely love what Khong attempted and accomplished with this novel. It was ambitious and I think it paid off. I couldn't put it down and I will miss these characters! Five stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was an interesting look at family, heredity and fortune, both in finance and in recognizing your blessings. The book is separated into three parts-a love story, a coming of age story, and a family history story. All of them were important, but I felt let down by the love story and angered by the family history.
I was hoping for one resolution in particular that never happened, but I did love the ending. Still, I need to think about this book more—the epigenetics at the center of it all was a lot for my brain to wrap around and my feelings about this book are mixed. I can’t decide if I wasted my time or if I need to sit with the greater message of this book.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

📚Book review📚 :: Real Americans by Rachel Khong

Story premise: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ending: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"He wanted a boy, because a boy would carry on the family name. This was so stupid, I'd always thought. What was in a name? It was only a sound. Silently, men carried in their mitochondrial lineage: information from their mothers, and their mothers before them."

Rachel Khong has crafted a nearly perfect generational family saga. What makes this one stand apart is how deeply rooted it is in what we can't see: the mitochondrial DNA passed down from mothers to their sons and daughters.

We meet Lily, an American-born Chinese twenty something living in New York City around the turn of the century. While she's busy rooting around her identity, she falls in love with a man who will ultimately determine her future because of secrets in their parents' past. We travel to the future with Lily's son and into her mother's history.

This book has the perfect balance of interwoven narratives with entangled mother-daughter/son relationships; complicated scientific advances highlighted by just a dash of magical realism; and deep love and devotion coupled with marriages of convenience or safety.

I absolutely love how this story is passed down through the mothers' line, much like our characters' ancestry is or should have been. It's a larger story about what we absorb from our mothers, through our blood and through their choices. I was captivated from the very first page.

Thank you, NetGalley and Knopf for the early copy of this book.
This book is structured as 3 parts set at different times from different POVs from the same family.
Part 1 is more of a love story, part 2 is a coming of age, and part 3 is partially a historical fiction that asks some very serious questions.
I am not a fan of coming of age, so part 2 was dragging for me a little; however, part 3 delivered and knocked me off my feet! China's communism was interesting and too real to read about and was a very important part of the story to understand the 'why'.
The questions the author presented at the end had me spiraling and thinking, this is a scary topic that I think is more realistic than some tend to believe and these topics have to be discussed today.
Real Americans was probably one of the most unique books I've read (structure and topic-wise) and I cannot recommend it enough. I want to highlight the brilliance of the cover, it makes total sense with the story and compliments the book.

⭐️: 5/5

At the change of the millennia, Lily meets Matthew while living in New York. Though they come from different worlds, Lily the daughter of Chinese immigrants and Matthew the heir to a pharmaceutical empire, they fall in love. Years later, Nick lives with his mother Lily on a secluded Washington island, unsure what his place in the world is. When he decides to find his biological father, his journey raises more questions than answers.

One of the blurbs from another author advertised this book used the word “mesmerizing” and I have to say, it’s an accurate depiction. It starts as a fairly typical (but also comparatively well executed) fish out of water, first/second generation immigrant story, but then the intrigue just builds and builds, which makes the narrative move forward through time a lot quicker than you expect. It’s full of observations about life and culture that may not feel super new, but are still poignant in the way they’re communicated in the book. There’s three main POVs from three generations of the same family, and while Nick and Lily’s POVs sound kind of similar voice-wise, I think it may have been intentional, to draw a parallel across generations, and make the point that children tend to judge their parents with only a small amount of the actual story, since their parents often lived full lives before they came into the picture, and when it comes down to it, the children would make the same type of impossible choices given the circumstances. I loved the structure of this book, where we get the POV of May last, since it really ties the book together so nicely to bring it all full circle. This was truly a feat of a book, and I absolutely loved the reading experience!

Thank you to @netgalley and @aaknopf for this free eARC!!

REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong is an entrancing, moving story covering generations of a family fleeing their ancestral home in China as Mao's revolution gains momentum to the present day when a young man searches for his biological father. I was moved throughout by the eloquent prose and insights pushing at the heart of a story that prompts each one of us to question who we are, where we belong, and can we change our destiny by holding that precious seed in our hand as we seek new ground. I was captivated ed by the story and its quiet twists and turns I never saw coming, but which were logical and true. I stayed up way too late reading just one more chapter. Now that I've enjoyed this talented storyteller, I will track down her earlier stories. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.