A Personal Book Review: As the blurbs say, it’s a highly (very straight) sexual growing up story set in the world of wealth and fashion, one most of us don’t experience. Passion, lust, choices, professional rivalry, parenthood, her traditional Chinese mom’s expectations, other family dynamics, Chiu dives in deep without flinching. The language is precise, careful, evocative of a specific perspective and culture. “I felt like the loneliest person in the world. In the mirror, an ordinary Chinese girl stares back at me. She may be my reflection but it’s as if the real me is stuck on the other side of the glass.”

Find it, read it, let me know what you thought.

You can order a copy directly from Santa Fe Writers Project: http://sfwp.com/sfwp-books/

BIO: Christina Chiu is the author of Troublemaker and Other Saints. Her stories have appeared in Tin House, The New Guard Literary Review, Washington Square, The MacGuffin, and elsewhere. Troublemaker won the Asian American Literary Award and was chosen for the Alternate Section of the Book-of-the-Month Club. Chiu received her MFA in creative writing from Columbia. She is a founder of the Asian American Writers Workshop, and has worked in the fashion industry as a shoe designer. Find her at christinachiu.org.