Ann Liang

Alice Sun has always felt invisible at her exclusive International School. She's the only scholarship student and her parents tell her they can only afford tuition for fall semester. When she starts to turn invisible, she approaches her biggest rival to develop an app to use her new gift as a way to make some money. Her whole life and identity at school starts to change when she connects with her arch-rival, Henry. Soon they become partners in crime using the app Beijing Ghost.
Alice is a character I found likable in her gruffness.… (more)

This Time it’s Real by Ann Liang
Contemporary YA romance. Own voice, Beijing, China. HFN.
17 year old Eliza Hunts school essay goes viral. She made up a story about meeting the love of her life. Everyone is enamored with the. Story and her writing. She proposes a fake relationship with K-drama and school mate Caz Song. They pretend to be a couple and as time goes on, they become friends. But Eliza has always lost friends when she moves with family. They all disappear over time. Eliza is afraid to tell Caz how she really feels in case he breaks her heart.

Their relationship is built on a lie. Eliza has known the potential crash since the beginning yet she pursues it regardless. I enjoyed the first half knowing she was making a mistake but along for the ride hoping for friendship and love to follow. But she’s so afraid. So much angst. A lot of the second half of the story is so sad in her fear of the future of getting hurt. Don’t give up! Eliza learns she needs to open her heart and reach out. She can’t keep her fear or expectation of a future hurt get in the way of expressing her feelings.
Sweet, charming, a bit heartbreaking, and in the end, full of hope.

I received a copy of this from the publisher.… (more)

Alice Sun is the only scholarship student at her elite Beijing boarding school. Alice feels threatened by the rich influential peers that surround her causing her to feel invisible. That is, until she can actually become invisible. What started as an innocent way to monetize her invisibility quickly escalates from petty crimes to felonies. How far will she go to earn the money needed for tuition?

If You Could See the Sun is a young adult fiction set in present day Beijing. Alice is a Chinese American girl who is dedicated to maintaining top marks in at her boarding school. Ann Liang’s language is a bit repetitive, driving home the importance of academics, finances, and a rivalry. Narrator Natalie Naudus fluidly transitions between characters voices, while highlighting differences between internal and external dialogue.… (more)