Not going to lie but a lot of my previous reads that tackle Asian American diaspora feature either those with Southeast Asian background (Filipino, mostly) or those with Korean background. That’s why I was excited to read this because I wanted to learn more about Taiwanese culture. Aside from that, I really was just looking forward to go back to my reading habits.

Fortunately, Asking For A Friend seemed to be the perfect jumping point for me as I’m currently looking for my next read! The book ticked a lot of boxes which made me enjoy reading!

Contrasting Characters
Full disclosure, I’ve been reading a lot of fanfics lately and enemies/frenemies to lovers are often used as the main trope. I didn’t really mind it at all since I actually enjoy it and it was fun seeing the banter between Juliana and Garrett in the book. I loved the contrast between their personalities and their general outlook on love and romance.

The forced proximity and partnership between the main characters really influenced their journey, although I’d say Garrett had more influence on Juliana’s change in perspective. Nonetheless, it was fun to witness. I just wish the book dove deeper on their back story on how they became close. It seemed like it was only mentioned in passing, which didn’t really help establish any emotional attachment towards their past relationship, so the payoff wasn’t that satisfying for me.

Grief and Family Dynamics
These aspects were the most relatable for me. I can’t exactly speak on the diaspora experience, but I’ve read and heard enough to say that Juliana’s situation is pretty common, especially for Asian culture, where family ties and reputation are important. While Juliana was keeping up and trying her best to become the perfect daughter, it was also family (in the sense of the Old Taipei community) that made her perspective change and I loved that.

One thing I wanted to point out, much like the lack of solid ground on Juliana and Garrett’s back story, I wish the conflict within Juliana’s family was tackled deeper. Especially the one between her mom and older sister, I felt like it could’ve been more fleshed out. At times, the writing style felt more telling than showing, which takes away the fun.

The book also tackled grief which was a heartwarming surprise. This aspect made Juliana’s character more relatable for me and through her I was also able to channel mine.

Overall Thoughts
I still had a great time reading this Asking For A Friend! I felt like this book should’ve been marketed as a coming-of-age instead of a YA rom-com though! There were definitely more heart-tugging scenes than comedic beats, which was totally fine! Some things could’ve been executed better but the overall message was excellent! The family conflict and resolution had more impact for me and I really enjoyed it!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I really enjoyed this YA enemies to lovers, opposites attract romance that sees two Taiwanese American teens paired up to win a STEM competition. Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Jennifer Yen. If you like relatable stories about second generation Asian children trying to balance following their dreams with pleasing their parents, this is the book for you. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Note: ASKING FOR A FRIEND includes several difficult familial issues, including parental death, disowning a child for a pregnancy out of wedlock, parents who probably ought to get divorced but don’t because of social expectations, conflicts between parents and children over school/career expectations, and additional threats of being disowned.]

It’s always a delight when you get a romance that hits all the right notes for you. ASKING FOR A FRIEND is one of those for me, thanks to a mix of a couple with real conflicts, family and community strife, and lovely moments of genuine connection. Juliana and Garrett are engaging characters in their own rights, and their reunion after an abrupt end of their childhood friendship had me rooting for them both. (Yes, even when they fought!) Their optimistic vs cynical takes on romance in their joint dating advice column were a lot of fun, too.

There is a lot going on in ASKING FOR A FRIEND beyond the central romance, but author Kara H.L. Chen interweaves the various subplots skillfully so that even though some things aren’t neatly wrapped up in a bow at the end (or even happily), nothing feels like it was abandoned midway through. I really enjoyed how much development characters outside the main couple got, particularly Juliana’s parents (even though her father has been dead for several years—no small feat!). Juliana and Garrett’s Taiwanese American community also felt well-explored and lived-in thanks to the interpersonal and intracommunity conflicts that played out in different ways throughout the book.

I appreciated that Juliana’s subplots with her family weren’t always resolved in ways that I initially assumed they would be. Grief, social expectations, and your parents’ dreams for you can complicate your view of yourself and your future. Juliana had to confront a lot of painful parts of herself in ASKING FOR A FRIEND, and her journey in establishing her own values and dreams was all the stronger for it. Even when she made what I felt were frustrating decisions, I understood why she chose the way she did and was ultimately pleased by where her character ended up. I also enjoyed Garret’s character arc and position in the story as one of the people who helped Juliana confront her own beliefs about the world as well as her role and future in it.

Recommendation: Get it now if you’re looking for a contemporary romance to wrap up the summer. ASKING FOR A FRIEND has a heartfelt romance at its center, which is complicated by conflicts between our romantic leads and within their families and community. There are a lot of great things going on in this book, and I’m looking forward to whatever author Kara H.L. Chen comes out with next.

I did not expect this story to go as deep as it did, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There's a lot of exploration not only in the enemies to lovers dynamic, but also there's a deep dive into family dynamics and relationships and how those can shape a person. I really felt for Juliana as she went through her journey in this book, not only navigating her relationships, but also her internal struggles, grief and more. What I thought was going to be a lighter read definitely much more than that. I really enjoyed Juliana as a character and her counter in Garrett is great throughout the story. All in all it was a really great read and had far more depth and heart than I had initially thought it would.

There’s nothing like reading a great rom-com when you need an escape from the world. Reading this book cheered me up quite a bit. It does wrestle with some big issues as Juliana grapples with the pressure to win the AABC competition, which is her father’s legacy. Her mom expects her to partner with the boy she thinks is the smartest and hardest working, but when he drops Juliana as a partner, she has to improvise a new plan.

It took me a long time to realize that Juliana and Garrett had a history. I think it was vaguely alluded to when she decides to work with him, but I assumed they went to school together or knew each other from community events. I didn’t realize there was more to it until much later in the book.

The conflict between Juliana’s older sister and her mom is really sad, especially since they’ve already lost her dad. The book does a great job contextualizing Juliana and her mom’s choices. I never felt like I didn’t understand why they did what they did, even if I wished they did something different.

The slow-burn romance kept me reading and, when I wasn’t reading, thinking about the story. Garrett is a great character, and I love the way he encourages Juliana without trying to control her.

All in all, this is a fun, light romance. Readers who enjoyed Clementine and Danny Save the World (and Each Other) by Livia Blackburne or The Charmed List by Julie Abe will like this one.

Every once in a while you come across a book that surprises you in unexpected ways and I’m glad to say that “Asking for a Friend” was exactly that kind of book for me. When I went into this story I expected it to be a light rom-com about two teens who start to write a dating advice column together, but I definitely got so much more than that. For me, personally, the book turned out to be rather a coming-of-age story than a romance but it was so well done that I couldn’t help but be drawn into the plot.

Before I even knew it, I got so invested in the story around Juliana and Garrett that I didn’t even mind that the romance aspect took a backseat. I mean, this is a slow burn and the two MCs go from childhood friends to frenemies to friends again and eventually to lovers. Both of them have to work hard to get to that point and I loved that this was done so realistically. There are about a gazillion of obstacles they have to overcome in order to be able to be happy together and by the end of the book they don’t just fight for first place in the AABC competition but also for their beliefs and love.

Unfortunately, their goals turn out to be somewhat mutually exclusive and this is where the coming-of-age arc of Juliana comes into play. I have to admit that I don’t know much about Taiwanese culture, but from what I read in the book the pressure that was on Juliana’s shoulders was almost unbearable. Of course, not everything was bad and I loved all the bits we got about the Taiwanese American community and their culture. It seemed like there were two different ways to be Taiwanese in America and I have to admit that I liked Garrett’s community more. The elite of the Taiwanese community in which Juliana and her family found themselves in sounded extreme and the high expectations they had for their children seemed to be unattainable. Not everyone can make it into Ivy League colleges (and quite honestly, not everyone wants to go to one) and to expect your child to get in or die trying isn’t how you provide a nourishing environment for your kid.

As a parent, I get the overall motivation and the idea that your children should have it better than you did, but all the pressure and those high expectations that were put on the children made for a very toxic environment. Not to mention all the gossip and how it affected the MCs. Still, despite all that Juliana and her friends managed to find themselves and to thrive in their own way. The balancing act between what their parents wanted and how they wanted to live their lives was very demanding, though and the author did an amazing job of conveying that struggle. I felt with Juliana and was rooting for her and yes, I also suffered with her whenever she was forced to make a hard decision.

I really don’t know how the author did it but there were so many different topics that were addressed in this story and every single one of them was handled more than just well. The reader is able to explore the Taiwanese American society from an observer’s perspective while important topics like cultural identity and standards, community, grief, inner conflicts, family dynamics and gentrification are tackled as well. It’s truly a long list and every single one of those subjects was treated with utmost care, tact and respect for Taiwanese culture. Moreover, it was easy to understand where Juliana’s mother was coming from and why she acted the way, she did. She might have backed the wrong horse and made life extremely difficult and hard for her children, but the reasons why she did what she did were always clear.

In the end this made Juliana’s mom a very complex character that felt real and human. Also and I have to say this here: I loved the very realistic ending and the fact that we got an epilogue that allowed us to get a glimpse of the last chapters consequences. It made for such a well-rounded finish of the story and I was extremely happy that this was a book that didn’t just deliver on all fronts but also, for once, didn’t leave me disappointed with the ending.

All told, “Asking for a Friend” was the perfect read for me and even though it might have started a little slow, it had me totally invested by the end. I really felt for Juliana and Garrett and always wanted to know what would happen next and how their decisions would influence the storyline. If there is one thing I would have liked more of, then its Sunny’s & Cloudy’s answers to all those troubled teens, but I understand why the author focused on other topics instead. Overall, this was an amazing story and I’ll definitely continue to read Kara H.L. Chen’s books! If you enjoy deep coming-of-age stories with a little bit of romance you can’t go wrong with this.

I loved this book, but it stressed me out! Also, I don’t think the blurb really does it justice.

Juliana feels all the pressure to live up to the expectations of not just her Taiwanese-American family, but the whole Taiwanese expat community. Which means winning the business competition that her beloved father founded basically on his deathbed.

The pressure is even worse, since her big sister—gasp!!!—dropped out of med school because she was pregnant and unmarried. Juliana’s mother basically pretends the sister doesn’t exist.

As Juliana and Garrett work together on the competition and at the Taiwanese Community Center, Juliana learns that maybe it isn’t all about living up to expectations. She learns that her father maybe wasn’t so perfect, and that she’s allowed to want things for herself. It’s a difficult lesson for her to learn, and it’s full of big feelings that she isn’t always ready to feel.

Seeing the enormous pressures that Juliana’s mother and community placed on her was super stressful for me. I just wanted to give her a hug. Watching her grow and learn that there’s more than one way to do things, and more than one way to be, was a satisfying journey. The conflicts in the story pushed the plot along; her actions were realistic based on her circumstances. Of course, as an adult reading the book, I was ready to yell a few times, but I’m not exactly the target market. I feel like Juliana doesn’t reach a true resolution with her mother, but it’s a lot to expect.

Possible Objectionable Material:
Parental death. Unwed pregnancy. Same-gender couples. Lying to parent. Social pressure. Some swearing. Kissing.

Who Might Like This Book:
Those who like stories about over-achievers and having to deal with parental pressure. Those who like coming of age stories, or stories with a competitive element.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2024/07/new-releases.html

Actual Rating: 3.5

As a 1.5 generation Taiwanese immigrant, when I saw that this was a contemporary teen romance taking place in the Taiwanese-American community and with the ever-so-relatable theme of parental pressure, I KNEW I had to read this.

Asking for a Friend follows Juliana Zhao, an optimist and hopeless romantic (even though she’s never been in a relationship). Ever since her father died and her older sister got pregnant and disowned, the weight of keeping the family together falls squarely on her shoulders. Her mother has her life’s next steps planned out for her: win the Asian Americans in Business Competition, and get into an Ivy League. When her partner abruptly drops her days before registration, Juliana is forced to turn to Garrett Tsai, who she used to be friends with, before he suddenly turned cold without explanation. And just for good measure, her mother disapproves of him too — he’s headed to art school — so now Juliana has to win the competition while making sure her mom doesn’t find out who her partner is. But as Juliana spends more time with Garrett and with the local Taiwanese cultural center, she starts wondering if what she’s been working towards is even what she really wants.

To start, I just want to say that I LOVED all the Taiwanese references: boba, Ai-yo, hot pot, the Taiwanese language feeling like a “secret language” spoken at home…as someone who’s never learned Taiwanese despite hearing the older generation speak it, I feel a sense of loss whenever I hear it and it was really comforting to see how accurate these emotions were described.

It’s more than that though — I felt like there was so much in this book I could relate to. Like Garrett, I went into art (and I was originally going to the same school, RISD before I got into a great university and my mother said I couldn’t NOT go.)

Ultimately, the best part of this book is undoubtedly the family aspect and the internal conflict of different identities clashing with each other. I will unashamedly admit that it made me cry. Even though my mom was never so overbearing as Juliana’s, there was a lot that any immigrant child will relate to, like the pressure of having to be successful so you appreciate everything your parents did for you, and the guilt if you aren’t. I also really love how realistic the book was from start to finish in terms of how Juliana’s mother was portrayed; there was no “everything is fixed and now it’s all sunshine and rainbows ending.” Instead, we simply saw Juliana question herself, and we saw a little hint of what the future of her family could be now that she’s grown and learned to communicate in a much better way.

I will say that I think this book could’ve benefitted from more refined writing. Especially at the start, there’s a lot of what feels like exposition dumps. The narration will name drop a person/place/thing, go into a few paragraphs explaining it with a backstory/anecdote, and then repeat the process when another name drop happens a few sentences later. It gets better as the book goes on since most things are already introduced, but it feels a lot like “telling, not showing” and I wish we’d incorporated more of these stories in other ways, rather than just having Juliana monologue these stories, one after another. Her narration is often much too on the nose.

I actually also found myself caring much more about the family relationship than the romance, which is pretty surprising for me. While I like Garrett, I feel like he wasn’t as well-rounded as Juliana was. I wonder if a two-person perspective writing style might’ve worked, because I actually really loved reading their advice posts. In fact, I think the two best characters are Juliana and her mother, while everyone else feels a little more paper thin. I wish we’d gotten to see or hear more about Bella, because her story has such a big presence in the book, but we never quite get to hear from her directly.

Ultimately, however, I did enjoy this one and it made me think a lot about my relationship with my parents. I’m also over the moon that more Taiwanese-American stories are getting published. More, please!

I loved the author's first book and her second one didn't disappoint!

A super cute, engaging book with strong character growth and an excruciatingly accurate and emotional depiction of first-generation Asian (Taiwanese) family dynamics and culture. Loved the interaction between Juliana and Garrett and Juliana's must-please-everyone personality was achingly relatable.

Highly recommend, and especially suitable for teens!

At the center of Asking for a Friend is Juliana, a young woman who feels the weight of her mother’s and community’s expectations on her shoulders. Winning her late-father’s competition would not only fulfill her “duty” but a promise she’s made to herself.

And she knows she can make that happen.

Except — what with her partner dropping her before the competition even begins — things don’t start off well.

That’s where Garrett comes in. Garrett who she once thought could be more than a friend. Garrett who turned his back on her. Garrett for whom she may still have feelings for.

As advice “experts,” Juliana and Garrett become Sunny and Cloudy respectively. These personas are a good juxtaposition, but also serve to show where the two started and where they finish.

This all happens against the backdrop of the small community in Old Taipei. Some of the best moments are born out the community elements and ideas — both old and new.

Asking for a Friend is a fast-moving read that explores topics of family, friendship, expectations, gentrification and community.

Though Asking for a Friend is recommended for readers ages 14 and up, that suggestion is based on character age rather than content. Asking for a Friend is a sweet coming-of-age story with a bit of PG-rated romance.

A coming of age story about an ambitious teen who has to team up with her childhood frenemy, start a dating-advice column, and deal with family drama... high school is never easy. Juliana Zhao has knows two things: she's an expert on love and she is absolutely going to win the nationally renowned Asian Americans in Business Competition (no matter what it takes). What was suppose to be a smooth competition takes a turn when her partner dumps her and she is forced to ask for help from the one person she doesn't want to, her old frenemy Garret Tsai. For her business competition, Juliana is determined to start up a romance advice column and win the competition in order to store her family's reputation after her sister was disowned a few years ago for dropping out of med school and getting pregnant. Yet the more Juliana spends time with Garett on giving advice to people's love problems... the more she is beginning to realize just how much of a sheltered and privileged perspective she has. Now Juliana has to decide what matters most to her: following her heart or being the perfect daughter. This book was a fine read for me, I liked how it focused on the complicated family dynamic Juliana has with her mom and her siblings as well as the way their community played a part in their beliefs and perspective. It definitely felt really relatable but I kind of wish there was just a bit more. I didn't really feel the romance or chemistry between the two characters and I wish their relationship was a bit more fleshed out. Overall it's a good family drama and coming of age story.

Release Date: July 23,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Recommended: yep!
For a coming of age story with a lot of growth, for strong character development, for love in many forms, for parents being painted as people

Thoughts:
I'd say this is more of a coming-of-age story with a bit of romance in it, as opposed to strictly a story about a romantic relationship, as there was love of all kinds in it as well. Friends, family, community, and even self are all highlighted! So while it's a book about love, it's not necessarily a book about romance.

The love highlighted in the title and all is the thread throughout between Juliana and Garrett, and we do get a few chapters of flashbacks to see what their history is and how they've each gotten where they are today. It's all narrated from Juliana's point of view, and I enjoyed her as a narrator. She's probably 17 or 18 as she's a senior, and I felt like her decisions and thoughts made sense with that age and time of life for her.

One element of this story I was most impressed by is how parents are not painted as just people giving orders without any good reason or care for their child. While it can look that way sometimes in the story, there were often moments where Juliana pulled back and looked at her mother's history and why her mother would feel a certain way or make a certain decision even if it looked heartless or cruel. Her mother had a lot of trauma in her life, and Juliana's awareness of her mother as a whole person and not just "parent" lent a lot of compassion to their relationship and motivations. I think that's something that usually comes later in life for most, but made sense for her to see now given what they've gone through as a family.

Don't get me wrong, as with any person Juliana can be a bit of an idiot, but again, it's in a believable way that doesn't feel annoying. it's just a reminder that this is her first time dealing with any of these challenges and she is young. She's doing her best. She's very self aware, so there are times when she knows what the right choice is but also knows she's not brave enough or otherwise ready to face making it. That's another thing that feels like it comes a little later in life for most, and seeing her identify and try to overcome it made it really easy to cheer for her.

The scholastic and life pressure on the kids is nothing new as a story of course, so some beats were pretty well-worn but no worse because of it. That was a framework for the story, but the way it was filled it lent it life of it's own. And there were definitely some laughs in the story for me, and some lines I really liked, which is always a highlight!

Overall this had really strong character development and growth. There were clear motivations and conflicts for each character, a lot of consideration of right and wrong, lessons all around, and a sweet thread of romance to tie it all together.

Thanks to SparkPoint for a free advanced copy! This is my honest review.

I enjoyed the plot and characters. The story kept me interested, and the writing was nice as well. A full review will be up on my blog on release day.

This charming YA rom-com follows a strong-willed, ambitious teen as she teams up with her childhood frenemy to start a dating-advice column, perfect for fans of Emma Lord and Gloria Chao.

I always enjoy a good competition YA romance, as well as the whole grumpy-sunshine trope being one of my favorites. I also enjoy the cultural stories like this one. It was easy to feel for Juliana and how she felt she had to do what her mom wanted her to do. Not only was there the usual Asian family pressure to be winning at everything, but the whole contest itself had been founded by her own father, who had passed away, and now she felt she had to win because of that.

But also Juliana had the pressure of knowing that her older sister had been kind of kicked out of the family or disowned by her mother for getting pregnant and dropping out of medical school. As the middle child she also felt the pressure to do what she could to help her younger sister not have to face the pressure as much. However that meant she would kind of get on her sister to try to get her to do what their mother asked as well.

The boy she ends up on the project with, Garrett, is someone she has a history with. She’d thought at camp when they were younger, that they’d really connected. But something had happened on the last day, and he’d told her he didn’t want to be her friend anymore. So going to him to get his help with this was a big leap of faith for her. Unfortunately Juliana still let her mother’s biases get in between the two, because she didn’t tell her mom she was working with Garrett. She lied about who she was working with.

In the end there is more to this competition than what it seems. Juliana also gets to know more about the people in the community that her mother doesn’t consider “their people” the more she spends time with Garrett at the community center and gets to know those people. She learns things about her father she didn’t know because of the competition, things that look bad for him, but may not be the more she thinks about it. And she of course will learn why Garrett turned away from her all those years ago.

I really enjoyed this one, couldn’t put it down, sped right through it once I picked it up. Can’t wait to purchase it for my school library so my students can enjoy it as well!

Okay, first off, I truly don’t think that this book should be labelled as a rom-com because this? This literally had me tearing up, crying my eyes out for the entirety of the final half of the book 😭

Asking for a Friend follows Taiwanese American Juliana Zhao who’s doing her best to make things easier for her widowed mum by leading a life her mum would be proud of. She’s working hard to win the Asian Americans in Business Competition (AABC) which her father created, trying to get into a humblebrag-worthy Ivy League school, and just trying to keep the remnants of her family together, especially after her once-beloved older sister has been estranged.

However, when she gets dumped by the guy who’s supposed to be her partner for the AABC, she’s left with no choice but to partner up with Garrett Tsai, the artsy guy her mother would disapprove of. But, what else can Juliana do when she has no other viable options? Nothing, because she really needs to win this competition.

Although I didn’t particularly enjoy the writing style since it was more tell than show, it grew on me as I got more and more hooked by the story. It helped that the characters were all (in varying degrees) relatable and the emotions came out stronger after the first few chapters of the book. It also helped that Juliana grows as a character while the story progresses. She’s quite naive and strait-laced at the beginning, but she undergoes trials and expands her worldview, realising that the world is more complex than initially expected. Moreover, the way Chen has written Juliana as a kid who loves their family so much that she can’t say no — much less disappoint them — hits close to home.

What I especially loved is the exploration of differences between generations consisting of immigrants and those raised/born a certain culture yet living another. It’s done so well and with so much care that even the characters we’re typically meant to dislike are simply human. I also loved how not everything is neatly solved in the end, reflecting the reality that not everything can easily be sunshine and roses. The explorations on grief, fighting for what you believe in, gentrification, and preserving culture and community were good too!

Everything considered, Asking for a Friend turned out to be an amazing read with great depth and nuance that I’d never expect from a rom-com. It’s a quick read that I think fans of Emma Lord or those who enjoyed Little Bang and Finding Phoebe would like.

Asking for a Friend begins with grief. With mourning someone, but also the not knowing if the person we know, the person we love, is the person they were. In the same story, we love a good frenemy and a business competition. What I loved in Asking for a Friend is the way it takes this business competition and uses it to chat about family dreams, our own ambition, and love all at once. She wants so badly to win to honor her dad's memory, to feel connected to him, but what happens if it turns out that's all it is. That we don't want it any more.

i thought this was so sweet and funny, and it had such lovely character growth! i loved the way chen explored family dynamics through the children of immigrants and how the sacrifices immigrant parents make influence the relationships and expectations with parents and their kids.

Chen is a delightful and witty dive into high school drama and unexpected love. Juliana Zhao, self-proclaimed love expert, finds her world flipped upside down when she’s forced to partner with her childhood frenemy for a dating advice column. Just when she thought she had it all figured out, she starts to question everything about love and success. It's funny, sweet, and witty. If you're looking for the perfect summer read then pick up Asking for a Friend.
*Thank you for the ARC!