CW: Teen drinking/ drugs/ sex, affairs, vomiting, zodiac/ astrology mysticism


My Summer of Love and Misfortune is the funniest book I've read so far this year. It's bright and snappy and heartfelt. However, if you do not like YA that actually reads like YA, you know, for actual teenagers, you won't like this book. Iris gets sent to Beijing after failing high school and being a general mess, which lets be honest wouldn't really happen. I think, in reality, her parents would A. force her to either repeat her senior year or get her GED in the US and B. Wouldn't send her to live with relatives they knew little about.

There are a lot of unrealistic things in this book. Iris is a dreamer, fantasizing about having different parents, a different life, etc, but she just wants to impress everyone. This book is full of rich descriptions of the Beijing high life. So many of the scenes reminded me of my own time in China.

Yes, this book has issues. Iris is vapid and silly, but that's kind of the point. She thinks like the irrational teenager that she is! There is a full character arc, which I appreciate. Frank has a motive, but we don't really get to see him as a full character, just kind of as a cute prop. If there had been more focus on Iris' education, and working on persuading Iris from the beginning, I might have felt more for his plight. The end solution comes a little too quickly. I wish there had been more building up to the fundraiser. Ruby was an interesting character, and I think she could have benefited from more depth. The ending just came so quickly that we didn't get to see her transformation.
Overall, this book is hilarious and sweet. If. you liked Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians, you'll probably like My Summer of Love and Misfortune.