Win Me Something

This is an exquisite novel about a young woman who feels herself separate from everything. Willa is bi-racial and feels replaced by her parents “second” families. Rather than trying to relate, she withdraws. She doesn’t feel Chinese or white, she feels that the world looks down on her because she is a misfit in both communities.

Much of this inner-life and isolation is dissipated when she inadvertently becomes a nanny for the wealthy, privileged Tribeca family, the Adrians. She becomes attached to their daughter, Bijou. Once again she faces separation because she is neither servant nor family member. She is drawn to the mother, Nathalie, but finds herself hurt and confused.

Though I often find it hard to relate to young protagonists, Willa is so beautifully drawn that I found her and the setting engaging. Like “The Nanny Diaries” and “Prep” I found myself immersed in the story and the writing, not the demographics.

Honestly, I can’t think of any woman, daughter or mother who will not enjoy this novel. I highly recommend this to book groups of all ages.

Thank you Netgalley for this lovely little jewel.

What exactly is the phrase, “Win me something”? Perhaps a demand, or a call to arms, or a request made between companions. For one to ask another to win a thing for them implies a particular sort of intimacy, for it is an intimate act, both to accrue and accept a debt.

But there is also something troublingly ambiguous about the phrase. For what, exactly, is something? Why is it contingent upon material acquisition? And what is this unspecified debt?

In Kyle Lucia Wu’s novel, the phrase “win me something” is not the defiant, declarative statement it first appears, but an offhand comment made between Willa (our protagonist) and her mother, when Willa's mother sends her to school after pulling her out for a “mental health day”. In a twist, the day off is a maneuver which Willa correctly discerns as selfish. Willa is forced to skip the day before for an important spelling test, and her mother sends her to school the next day, conscious of the text but unaware that there is no test left to win.

This small moment in her debut novel is a microcosm of the emotional landscape of the book, how it highlights a mind warped by a lifetime of emotional precarity. Willa is a victim of this from both sides of her family--not quite of neglect, but of thoughtlessness.

Kyle Lucia Wu’s emotional palette is considerable. She is always feinting at different ways a scene can be perceived, always thinking her way into a narrator for whom every scene is laced with a certain low-grade anxiety. It is a book in which the way that an egg is cook is drenched with meaning. This is a unique book, and a subtle one, and also a gentle one, and I’ve never seen anything quite like it. A stunning literary debut from a voice I’d like to see more from.

I received a free, advance copy of this book through Netgalley for my honest review.

I adore books with imperfect characters on journeys to better understand themselves, even if the journey is not taken with purpose. Willa Chen, a Chinese American in her early twenties, has struggled to find a place that felt like home to her, even within her own family. She grew up in a white community in New Jersey, with a Chinese father and white mother, but they divorced and formed new families, leaving Willa to not feel grounded in either part of this new life. These aspects of her life have left her feeling untethered and unsure of herself. When seeking a new job, a friend recommends that she babysit for a wealthy white family in Tribeca, a long subway haul from her not-trendy apartment in Brooklyn. This babysitting job leads to Willa becoming the live-in nanny for Bijou (because of course that's her name) and becoming a resident herself of this wealthy community.

I found the writing to be stilted, but purposely so, which did so much to bolster the angst and unsettled existence of Willa, and is a sign of a very talented writer. The author navigates Willa's experiences of race based micro-aggressions, class divide, family dynamics, a boss/employee relationship, being a parent figure, social interactions, and even Willa's new found disposable income (thanks to not having to pay rent as a live-in nanny) in ways that make you feel the discomfort of not knowing where one might fit in. This author also manages to be sympathetic and kind to her young protagonist, without writing Willa in a way that diminishes the very real struggles that she faces, which isn't always the case in books written about young women struggling to find themselves.

This is a really special book, and I'm excited for this new author. I'm excited to read anything else she would publish. Also, I would really love a Willa-revisited in her late 30s book as a follow up....She's a character that I don't want to leave in her twenties...I want to see her grow.

Willa has always been on the outside looking in. Half Asian, half white, she fits into neither group in her suburban community growing up. Her parents divorced and started new families, neither of which she feels truly a part of. After feeling like she has spent her life as an afterthought, she takes a job as a nanny for a wealthy white family in New York, leading her to question her family, her upbringing, and how she might truly belong.

Win Me Something is a coming of age style novel, as Willa navigates who she really is and tries to learn where she belongs. Her parents leave a lot to be desired, both sets keeping her on the periphery of their newer families and not realizing what she might need. She's a rather sympathetic character, especially due to the benign neglect of her parents, and the reader wants her to succeed in spite of them.

A very successful debut novel! I'm drawn to novels and non-fiction on bi-racial characters because my own children are bi-racial. Wu's novel is an unusual one in the genre of White-Asian biracial families because it is the mother who is white and the father who is Chinese. Her parents are divorced and both have started new families. Willa does not feel she belongs at either home and she finds a new home as a Nanny with a wealthy NYC family. She doesn't belong there either, but she discovers more and more about herself as she tries on different identities.
Nanny stories are always fun as they provide a glimpse of how other people live. And Willa is certainly not a perfect Nanny. It is. both a light and heavy read. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Writing: 4.5/5 Plot: 3.5 / 5 Characters: 4/5

Lit Hub lists this as one of the “22 novels you need to read this fall,” so I moved it to the top of my review list.

Willa is the bi-racial (Asian dad, white mom) daughter of parents who divorced when she was young and moved on to build new families. Somewhat adrift in New York City after finishing college, she falls into a live-in nanny position with a wealthy family and a precocious child and wonders what life would be like to be part of such a (in her eyes) perfect family. The story alternates between the present day and various experiences in Willa’s past.

What I liked about this book was the content-rich and easily flowing writing style and the high degree of reflectivity on the part of the main character. While at times it appeared to move slowly, that is a good reflection of how normal life proceeds, and I enjoyed the access to Willa’s mind as she slowly came to understand what was important to her and how she could make changes in her own behavior to make her life be what she wanted. I also liked the way the story focused on Willa as an individual and not as a representative of a particular group. It traces the impact of her various experiences (some teasing at school for being Asian, lack of attention in her broken home situation, etc.) without calling attention to an overly dramatic agenda. It’s a personal story of an individual.

This was a beautiful story about a young biracial woman living in New York who feels so disconnected, separate, and other. Her parents were divorced and she never felt like she had a real home with her mom or her dad. They both went on to have more children with their new partners. She was always getting racist comments thrown at her from kids at school and people in her life about being Asian, but she never felt fully connected to her Asian heritage. In this novel we are following Willa as she becomes a live-in nanny for a wealthy family in New York. She starts to feel like she belongs to them and finally starts to feel like she has a home, but as time goes on, things change and she realizes that her home is where she makes it and people do love her when she lets them in. I would recommend this story to anyone who loves a story about family dynamics, race, class, and finding your way through the world as a young adult. The prose was nothing short of exquisite and I can't wait to pick up another book by this author in the future.

Willa Chen has never felt like she fit in exactly right. Born to a now-divorced white mother and Chinese father who have each gone on to create new families, she has recently taken a nannying job with a wealthy family that doesn't 100% accept her either. Win Me Something is a story about identity and belonging that will stick with readers long after its completion.

Wu's characters and scenes are imperfect, awkward, and believable. Many authors seem to struggle to write realistic children, but Wu artfully brought Bijou and her relationship with Willa to life. I enjoyed this book a lot, and found there to be a great balance of entertainment with poignant messages about who we all are and our struggle to belong.

Note: I received a free ebook copy of 'Win Me Something' from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Willa Chen is drifting along in her mid-20s in New York City, when she gets a chance to nanny for a wealthy family in Tribeca with one daughter. Soon, she's ferrying the precocious Bijou to dance class, Mandarin lessons, and enriching museum trips. She idolizes Nathalie, the career woman who seems to have it all--huge apartment, amazing wardrobe, great job, supportive husband, and who welcomes Willa (mostly) warmly. But even after Willa becomes their live-in nanny, she is physically present but still not part of the family.

Nothing too dramatic happens in this short, meditative book, which feels exactly what it's like to be Willa's age. You're an adult in the eyes of the world, but you still feel like a kid playing dress-up, and maybe you haven't found the right career or romantic partner yet. You're trying things on and waiting, watching. Willa has a deep longing to belong somewhere, but doesn't feel like she fits anywhere. Not with her own family (or families--both her parents remarried and had more kids with their new partners), and not exactly with Nathalie and her family, either.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I am a sucker for a good coming of age book and Win Me Something is a good one. A young Chinese American woman takes a job as a nanny for the daughter of a wealthy family in New York City and is exposed to a lifestyle she's never known. Her childhood was split between parents who remarried and started new families of their own, families she never felt a part of. It's interesting to see her attempts to find a place for herself in the home where she is a nanny. It's a fascinating read. The writing style really suits the story and as I finished the book, I felt promise for the main character as she continues through adulthood.

5 stars!

Growing up as a biracial Chinese American in New Jersey, Willa Chen has never felt like she truly belonged. She always felt like she was too Asian to fit in with her white peers and too white to fit in with her Asian peers. Home was just another place where Willa felt out of place. Her divorced parents have remarried and had children with their new spouses. Years later Willa is working as a live-in nanny for a wealthy, white family in Tribeca. While she loves the family she works for, it forces Willa to come face to face with what she missed out on growing up. Her time with the family allows her to reflect on who she is as a person and what it means to belong.

Do you ever feel like you don’t belong? I’m sure you have, I think we’ve all felt that way. Sometimes that feeling can make us feel so incredibly alone that we are left searching for places where we can fit in. Willa’s feelings of loneliness, discomfort and desire were so raw and relatable. There were certain moments that cut me to the core because they were feelings that I could relate to. I'm a big fan of Sally Rooney and I got similar vibes with Wu's writing. I really felt like I was in Willa's mind and was experiencing all of the feelings that she was. This is one of those stories that will have you reflecting along with the main character and one that will stick with you once you are finished. This was such a solid debut and I’m very excited to see what’s in store next fo Kyle Lucia Wu!

Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!