Thanks to MacMillan Audio & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a new adult love story for all the Gen Xers who feel left out of this new-ish genre. It seems to be an autobiographical novel, and the author goes hard for the music of the post-punk late '80s - mid '90s era. We get playlists at the top of each section, so if you're into that era and type of music (as I am), you can amuse yourself seeing what might be familiar to you. The basic concept here is that our MC, Young Wang, is very into numerology, and under the tutelage of his Shu-Shu (uncle), believes that everyone on earth has 7 great loves. When we start off with Young, he is meeting #6, college GF Erena, an everywoman-manic-pixie-dreamgirl with a potty-mouth but a pure heart. From there we go on to catalog AALLLLLLL of Young's previous loves, #s 1-5, which can get a little tedious TBH. I felt like the book could have been 100 pages shorter. There was a lot of emphasis placed on pointing out the fatefulness of certain situations, but then that did not translate into a grand "hand of fate" occurrence (no spoilers, but the end of the story lacks clarity, let's say).

It's a sweet story but decidedly lacking in the classic struggle of the MC beyond figuring out what he wants to study in university. There's a bad breakup (sort of?), a very contrived fight at a family party, an adorable baby sister who exists to be cute but never seems to advance beyond the age of perhaps 5. So while it was overall enjoyable, it was overlong and read more like a cataloguing of life from age 10 through 20 something.
I imagine if the reader was a New Yorker in the '90s they might find it more compelling than I did. Solid effort and it's nice to let that era in pop culture wash over me again.

The sheer amount of pop culture references to which I could relate were astounding! I am roughly the same age as the two characters, so this 90s setting for a couple in their early 20s was spot-on.

I don't want to say that many of the characters were not believable, I've just never known anyone like Erena, Paris, or Young's uncle. The flamboyance, quick-wit, and unrelenting energy were alien to my little brain and I found them both overwhelming and exhausting. But this isn't about me! So, while the characters felt unrelatable, they were fun and different.

The numerology that Young is obsessed with was both amusing and concerning. OCD is hard to watch, and harder to have. And while there were a lot of funny bits to the story, at no point did I feel like anyone made fun of Young for his fixation on numbers.

This is not your typical romance, so if you're hoping for a Hollywood ending, you won't get it. You've been warned.

Young Wang has received plenty of wisdom from his beloved uncle (Su Su), and one sticks with him the most: everyone gets just 7 great loves in their life—so don't blow it. Young meticulously analyzes everything in his life, driven by Chinese numerology and superstition. When he falls in love with the brilliant & charismatic Erena in 1995, Young realizes she's her 6th love. Is Erena the one? How will Young's superstitions affect their relationship?

888 is a coming-of-age story that will have 80s/90s babies nostalgic with its pop culture references. While I only sometimes got the music/movie connections, I was utterly impressed with this unique Chinese/Taiwanese immigrant story that doesn't rely on ANY stereotypes. Young's shyness & romanticism, Su Su's free-spirited demeanor, Erena's NSFW humor, and Young's supportive family, 888 demonstrate the joys, wonders, and awkwardness of growing up with loving friends & families.

Chang's skills as a poet shine through in 888, where second-person narratives, non-linear writing, and Su Su's advice written in letters alternate to deliver an experimental reading experience. For those wondering if the writing style will work for you, I highly recommend the brilliantly narrated audiobook by Eunice Wong.

I absolutely love the ending. Who would've thought a coming-of-age story about finding your one great love would make a grumpy 30-something tear up? I adore the message that our lives go on even if the story ends. Chang does something fascinating stylistically to demonstrate that while we are all the protagonists in our journey, others in our lives aren't just side characters either. The ending brims with tenderness and earnestness and makes me wish I had grown up in the US (something that NEVER happens when I read Asian immigrant stories for obvious reasons lol).

Clocking at 400 pages, it took me a bit to get into the rhythm of 888, and I wish the book were shorter, but the ending is so worth the build-up. For those looking for a unique narrative with experimental writing on growing up Asian in the 90s, don't miss 888!

This was not for me. I am disappointed that it is compared to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I did not care for the random 2nd person point of view and the uncle's letters just really got on my last nerves. I enjoyed the present tense story with Erina. I listened to the entire book waiting for the past and present to collide and when it did, it was a bit of a let down.

What seemed at first to be a manic pixie fever dream, turned out to be an intricate, unusual coming-of-age/love story. I loved the shifting timelines marked by a clever use of perspective—3rd person for the story’s mid-90s present day, 2nd person for the anytime else. Early on, the proverbial MPDG twinkles onto the scene in all her anime-niac realness, rocking the world of the sweetly, devastatingly OCD main character—she won me over with her quirks and catchphrases (I mean, that’s her tropey job, isn’t it?) Rife with pop culture references and balanced against the main character’s numerological tics, this story will charm even the snarkiest Gen-Xer. And the ending! I’ll say nothing at all except I give it an 888 out of 10.