I read Helen Hoang’s debut novel and despite full on romance novels not usually being my thing, I enjoyed The Kiss Quotient with all its cheesiness, but I liked this one more. Helen Hoang, as someone who is autistic herself, does a great job of portraying how difficult normal social interactions can be for someone who is autistic. Khai is someone with slightly lower functioning autism than her previous protagonist. It was great to see what autism is like from a male perspective and with someone on a slightly different area of the spectrum. Khai has feelings and desires like any other person, but he doesn’t process emotions and trauma the way most people would, so unfortunately he often comes off as insensitive to those around him. However, the truth is quite the opposite. His emotions run very deep and he cares about people a lot. The only thing is that his emotions don’t come out outwardly, but instead affect him internally in ways only those closest to him can perceive. I really appreciated Hoang showing the thought process behind the way emotions can work for someone who is autistic. She shows that there isn’t anything inherently wrong with the way Khai is, but that he’s simply different, and that’s okay. 

There is also an immigrant story to be told in this book. Mei is an amazing character that gives us a lense into what it is like for many parents who are forced to leave their home country and leave their children behind in order to find a better life for themselves and their children. Despite her initial actions of trying to seduce Khai in order to be able to obtain permanent residence in a foreign country, it is very clear from the beginning that she is doing everything for the love she has for her daughter. She isn’t someone who is selfish or is there  to take advantage of Khai, she simply has priorities. I especially love that Mei is shown to be someone who is intelligent despite not being fluent in English. This book showed the reality of how accents affect how people are perceived and treated. Mei was treated very poorly when she was working in the restaurant because her English wasn’t great. People perceived her as being less intelligent because English was not her first language. It’s a ridiculous notion but something that is so true for so many immigrants. My mother had to work in low level jobs for a long time like Mei did in this book and did not speak English fluently at all. She also had to leave my siblings behind when she first came to the U.S., so Mei’s story resonates very deeply with me and I’m sure it will with many other people that read this book. Overall, I really loved this book and how Hoang’s books are giving a voice to communities that often don’t have them. I’m looking forward to her future books and highly recommend the ones she currently has out.