Information:
- Author: Ann Liang
- Genre: Contemporary, Fantasy
- Page Count: 336
- Year Published: 2022
Read This If You Like:
- Asian representation
- Magical realism/speculative fiction
- Prep school stories
- Scandalous novels
- Outsider protagonists
- Academic rivals-to-lovers
Spoiler-Free Summary:
Despite being one of the top students, Alice Sun has always felt like an outsider as one of the only scholarship students at her elite high school in Beijing- and it doesn’t help that her parents can’t afford the tuition anymore. But suddenly, Alice finds herself turning invisible- as in no one can see her invisible- at random points in the day. Alice decides that the power is the perfect way to gain enough money to pay off her tuition- she’ll create an app called Beijing Ghost that will allow users to request Alice to use her new power to find the scandalous secrets of their rivals in exchange for a hefty amount of cash. And although Alice needs the help of her academic rival Henry for things to work out, she finds herself soon on the way to paying off her scholarship. But as the tasks escalate to serious crimes- and the payment counts rise- Alice must decide if her goal is truly worth losing herself.
Review/Opinions:
This was a very unique story filled with magical realism. I love the cover art on this one, I think it’s one of the most beautiful covers that I’ve seen. And the story is the perfect balance of entertaining and thought-provoking.
The magical realism aspect was one of my favorite parts of this book. The idea of invisibility powers provided perfect symbolism for how Alice felt like she wasn’t seen at her elite high school due to her identity. While the ideas of the invisibility power are perfectly executed, they could have been developed a little better. Although we are given the incident where the powers first manifested, it isn’t explained why Alice gained them and if it was an effect of previous events or something else, as well as if the power disappears at the end of the book. The book still is great without these explanations, but I still wish there was a bit more development of the magical realism.
Another aspect I loved about this book is its themes and real-life connections. A huge theme of the novel is about Alice’s identity, including how she doesn’t have a wealthy background like the other students, and how it affects her chances of staying at the school. Another big theme is the one relating to conscience. Throughout the novel, Alice does many dangerous tasks all with the promise of higher amounts of cash to pay off her tuition, and the tasks escalate to a mass crime near the end of the book. This really helps to add to Alice’s character and how she’ll do “evil” acts in order to continue her current life at her school.
This novel also strongly incorporated the academic rivals to lovers trope. In the novel, Alice makes an acquaintance with her fierce rival Henry Li in order to help develop the app that Alice uses to accept the tasks she uses her power for, and Alice and Henry eventually fall in love. I liked how Alice and Henry accepted each other after only their 2nd or 3rd interaction, as normally enemies-to-lovers book focus more on the “enemy part then the “lovers” part, so it was nice to see a change. The actual romance, however, was a bit slow-burn, but it was still very sweet and romantic.
Overall, this is a unique novel for anyone looking for a unique story with a speculative fiction atmosphere. It blends many different styles and vibes- romantic, magical, scandalous, and thought-provoking.
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