3.5-3.75 stars. Real Americans is about 3 generations of a family. The first part is Lily’s story, then her son, Nick’s story continues. The last story told is May’s, who is Lily’s mom.

The first two stories were very interesting to me for the most part. But I struggled to get through May’s story.

What I learned about myself is that I don’t like science in my books. There is something that is happening in this book, scientifically, that my mind just put up an instant block on. It’s happened with other books lately, not just this one.

I read for entertainment which I got mostly from Lily and Nicks stories. Maybe if May’s story had been first, the science introduced then, my rating and enjoyment would have been higher? Who knows.

Overall, I liked this book fine until I didn’t. If you like science in your books (think Angie Kim, Andy Weir), grab this one. You’ll probably enjoy it. If you didn’t love those authors, maybe skip this one.

Thank you to #netgalley and #knopf for the e-copy of #realamericans . This book is available now where books are sold.

I wish I had picked up this multi-generational book about identity earlier this summer. Despite having multiple plot-lines and characters to keep track of, I never felt lost and I enjoyed every chapter watching the plot-lines get closer to intersecting. I anticipate this book being on multiple 2025 'Best of Fiction' lists!

REAL AMERICANS is such an intriguing story with so my plot lines to keep track of to the point it felt like a chore. Did I like this story? Yes. But was it a bit clunky and hard to follow? Also yes.

While incredibly important, I think this story was trying too hard to include such delicate topics that none got the true attention they deserved. It felt like three separate stories that included some of the same characters each through the lens of someone different. It was interesting to see different scenarios play out based on the current landscape of that characters life, but it didn’t mesh as well as it could have.

Would I still recommend this story? Yes, but make sure you’re paying attention and not multitasking. For that, if you’re willing and able, I’d recommend a physical or digital option rather than the audiobook.

Big thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for the ARC.

Content warnings: sexual assault, classism, racism, suicide, violence

Lot’s of food for thought in this 600 pager at this time in the world after a worldwide pandemic and other threats looming. I think that many of us are thinking about science and hoping that our scientists are finding ways to cure the ills of ourselves and our planet. Although scientific experimentation is at the heart of the story there is also a smattering of Chinese history and culture as well as a cast of interesting characters to sympathize with and definitely kept my interest throughout.

Such a wonderful take on the fascinating dynamics of race, immigration, science, and family. I finished each section wanting to understand more about the family and I loved that the story kept me thinking about so many greater concepts.

This was a very complex story written so well that I felt like I knew the characters. The point of view flowed so easily between the characters and the timelines! I loved everything about this book and I want to read more books by this author! Recommend.

This book had the perfect amount of character development and plot. It was binge-worthy while still providing thought-provoking ideas. Everything about this was leading up to be a 5 star read until the magical realism aspects kicked in. I'm left with more questions than answers as to why this was included in the book.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Real Americans by Rachel Khong.

This was such an interesting story. It has two real points of interest, being Asian in America, with a unique scientific twist.

It's told by three narrators, Lily, a lovestruck girl during the Y2K day, her grown son Nick, and Lily's mother. Between the three points of view we learn so much about how, particularly, Nick came to be.

There's nothing about this novel that I could ever see coming. It's fresh, innovative, and still very human. I love a story that digs deep into family secrets, lore, and legends, and that's exactly this. The character development is fantastic, and the story is captivating.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the digital review copy! I remember feeling very moved by Rachel Khong’s debut novel Goodbye, Vitamin and eagerly requested her latest.
Though I wasn’t sure how I would feel about her foray into historical fiction, as it’s not always my favorite genre. Yet, the bulk of the story is more recent history and the main character is a contemporary of mine. Being able to relate to where Lily was life during the Y2K era, I was immediately drawn in to this emotional roller coaster of a family drama filled with such realness. Though the narrative touches on timely moral issues (race, class, consumerism, genetic engineering) it doesn’t feel didactic.
I think I (slightly!) prefer her first novel, and Real Americans didn’t quite rise to a full five star review for me because sometimes the jumps in time felt jarring, I thought the ending fizzled/didn’t pack as much of an emotional punch as it could have, and the connection formed between the youngest and eldest characters at the end seemed unrealistic. But I absolutely love Khong’s writing and it was an absolutely beautifully compelling story with twists that just kept me enthralled. Highly recommend!

It took me a while to get into the story for this book, but once I did, I was hooked. I enjoyed how the author used multiple POV throughout the book - it was nice knowing I was only going to read one POV for a while and still have the story connect back to each character. I thought the author did a great job exploring complicated relationships as well.

What a book. The hype really did live up on this one. I think the only thing holding me back from a 5star review was the 3rd POV is things didn't piece together as hard as I was hoping for. It just wasn't as strong as the 1st and 2nd which was disappointing for the ending. But the first two were great.

I adored this book. I am mad at myself that I let it sit on my kindle so long becuase once I started it, I couldn't stop. It is the best version of books I love - the ones that span a family for generations and explore what we carry forward from the past, how we make our own decisions, and how we are affected by the decisions made by the ones before us. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

This was an excellent book. Khong's writing is truly remarkable. The characters were so well written and this story touched a lot of complex issues. I loved the way the story unfolded. It was a very complex novel and I really enjoyed every second of it.

I finished a NetGalley copy of this book and loved it so much. The whole book from page one to last page was pure wonder. The characters the story the unraveling of the plot just pure genius. A story of family, life, love. I can’t even explain how purely amazing this book is. Just get it and read it.

A big ol' thick book of what is or isn't part of being a Real American. Yes, it is very informative. but I would also like to tag it as relevant, modern literature, social studies, cultural ethics, nationality, Asian studies.
I recently read a book on the cultural revolution of China and my timing was perfect as it defiantly helped me with one of the main timelines of the main characters. A time before my time. The Chinese revolution is not anything we covered in my school years. Everything I know is from reading and diving further into it and what caused it.
I definitely feel no matter how stellar of than author you are, this is the kind of literature based on a true time line that only someone involved could write. And yes other races can know Asian culture, but to write a novel so based on that and every corner of your life tracing back to it, really can't be done by anything else.
What drew me to this novel is the fact I was turning 25 during the Y2K fiasco, the same as a character in Real Americans, But was I more American on Y2K because my family was established for a century?
The only reason I'm not giving the novel 5 stars is because it was clunky at first and hard to put characters in place. But it did smooth out and so worth the read, even at 400plus pages.

I loved this multi-generational story about fortune, destiny, ethics, being “other”. Very compelling, flawed characters. Would make a great book club read.

Thanks to NetGalley for my advanced copy.

I loved this literary fiction about three generations of Chinese Americans who fight for their self identity. I preferred the stories about Lily, an unpaid media intern falling in love with Matthew, and later the story of their teen son Nick, but by the time I got to the third section of the book that focused on the matriarch, a geneticist named May who grew up in Communist China, I felt a bit less interested. The three sections are tied together by author Rachel Khong but I felt the time jumps were a bit jarring. Still I really appreciated this novel. It was well written, atmospheric, and made the reader think about identity, genetics and how we are raised. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalleyfor the chance to read Real Americans.

I loved this book! I loved reading the different Perspex and viewpoints from each generation. It really was a beautiful, well-written novel.

This book is a multigenerational story that also grapples with the ethics of DNA manipulation, class, and US immigration. I really enjoyed the pacing of the work and the characters were well developed. Thanks to Net Galley for a pre-pub!

Having adored Goodbye, Vitamin when I read it a few years ago, Real Americans was one of my most highly anticipated reads this year. I absolutely loved this book and it’s one of my top reading experiences so far this year. So much of what I already loved about her writing (wit, charm, interesting characters) was here, too, but this one departs from how I’d characterize Goodbye, Vitamin in surprising ways to tell a multigenerational story of past, present, and future. Exploring science, ethics, race, class, family, loyalty…there’s a LOT packed into the pages within this gorgeous cover!