Genre Fiction
![Kyle Lucia Wu - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B09CF11QLY.jpg)
Win Me Something
An Indie Next Pick
A Washington Post, Shondaland, NPR Books, Parade, Lit Hub, PureWow, Harper's Bazaar, PopSugar, NYLON, Alta, Ms. Magazine, Debutiful and Good Housekeeping Best Book of Fall
A perceptive and powerful debut of identity and belonging―of a young woman determined to be seen.
Willa Chen has never quite fit in. Growing up as a biracial Chinese American girl in New Jersey, Willa felt both hypervisible and unseen, too Asian to fit in at her mostly white school, and too white to speak to the few Asian kids around. After her parents' early divorce, they both remarried and started new families, and Willa grew up feeling outside of their new lives, too.
For years, Willa does her best to stifle her feelings of loneliness, drifting through high school and then college as she tries to quiet the unease inside her. But when she begins working for the Adriens―a wealthy white family in Tribeca―as a nanny for their daughter, Bijou, Willa is confronted with all of the things she never had. As she draws closer to the family and eventually moves in with them, Willa finds herself questioning who she is, and revisiting a childhood where she never felt fully at home. Self-examining and fraught with the emotions of a family who fails and loves in equal measure, Win Me Something is a nuanced coming-of-age debut about the irreparable fissures between people, and a young woman who asks what it really means to belong, and how she might begin to define her own life.
A Washington Post, Shondaland, NPR Books, Parade, Lit Hub, PureWow, Harper's Bazaar, PopSugar, NYLON, Alta, Ms. Magazine, Debutiful and Good Housekeeping Best Book of Fall
A perceptive and powerful debut of identity and belonging―of a young woman determined to be seen.
Willa Chen has never quite fit in. Growing up as a biracial Chinese American girl in New Jersey, Willa felt both hypervisible and unseen, too Asian to fit in at her mostly white school, and too white to speak to the few Asian kids around. After her parents' early divorce, they both remarried and started new families, and Willa grew up feeling outside of their new lives, too.
For years, Willa does her best to stifle her feelings of loneliness, drifting through high school and then college as she tries to quiet the unease inside her. But when she begins working for the Adriens―a wealthy white family in Tribeca―as a nanny for their daughter, Bijou, Willa is confronted with all of the things she never had. As she draws closer to the family and eventually moves in with them, Willa finds herself questioning who she is, and revisiting a childhood where she never felt fully at home. Self-examining and fraught with the emotions of a family who fails and loves in equal measure, Win Me Something is a nuanced coming-of-age debut about the irreparable fissures between people, and a young woman who asks what it really means to belong, and how she might begin to define her own life.
Editorial Reviews
"A lovely coming-of-age story that will resonate with anyone who's felt separate, or questioned where they belong."
― The Washington Post
"Finely crafted."
― The New York Times Book Review
"Wu understands the human heart keenly, and her novel is a subtle but powerful triumph."
― NPR Books
"A poignant, impressive debut that should herald the rise of a literary force to be reckoned with."
― Shondaland
"Carefully observed and subtly devastating."
― VOGUE
"Winsome and tender."
― Harper's Bazaar
"Come to read about a live-in nanny deal with the antics of a rich family in Tribeca, stay for the nuanced exploration of identity."
― NYLON
"A story about growing up and finding your place in the world―or creating one of your own."
― Good Housekeeping
"I've never read a novel quite like Win Me Something, which is to say that I've never seen the nuances of navigating a biracial identity put, so beautifully, in fiction. . . . Readers will recognize themselves in Willa's loneliness, and they will feel that they are, finally, in good company."
― LitHub
"A deeply moving coming-of-age novel."
― Ploughshares
"Tender, melancholic, self-reflexive, and quietly poignant. In other words, it feels like growing up."
― Necessary Fiction
"[A] poignantly executed. . . . exploration of kinship of all stripes."
― Departures
"This poignant debut is about identity, acceptance and complicated family dynamics."
― PureWow
"A powerhouse debut, this nuanced coming-of-age story is for anyone who has felt hypervisible and invisible, inside and outside, seen and unseen."
― Ms. Magazine
"Willa's story―and figuring out her sense of self―truly leaps off the page."
― Alma
"Readers looking for a taste of the millennial psyche but perhaps intimidated by the hype around Sally Rooney will want to check out Win Me Something by debut novelist Kyle Lucia Wu. . . . this tale of Willa, a young biracial woman, will resonate with a lot of younger people."
― Napa Valley Register
"A soul-searching journey to be heard, and to belong."
― West Trade Review
"Wu's writing is pitch perfect from start to finish. The introspective and subtle plot floats off the page."
― Debutiful...
― The Washington Post
"Finely crafted."
― The New York Times Book Review
"Wu understands the human heart keenly, and her novel is a subtle but powerful triumph."
― NPR Books
"A poignant, impressive debut that should herald the rise of a literary force to be reckoned with."
― Shondaland
"Carefully observed and subtly devastating."
― VOGUE
"Winsome and tender."
― Harper's Bazaar
"Come to read about a live-in nanny deal with the antics of a rich family in Tribeca, stay for the nuanced exploration of identity."
― NYLON
"A story about growing up and finding your place in the world―or creating one of your own."
― Good Housekeeping
"I've never read a novel quite like Win Me Something, which is to say that I've never seen the nuances of navigating a biracial identity put, so beautifully, in fiction. . . . Readers will recognize themselves in Willa's loneliness, and they will feel that they are, finally, in good company."
― LitHub
"A deeply moving coming-of-age novel."
― Ploughshares
"Tender, melancholic, self-reflexive, and quietly poignant. In other words, it feels like growing up."
― Necessary Fiction
"[A] poignantly executed. . . . exploration of kinship of all stripes."
― Departures
"This poignant debut is about identity, acceptance and complicated family dynamics."
― PureWow
"A powerhouse debut, this nuanced coming-of-age story is for anyone who has felt hypervisible and invisible, inside and outside, seen and unseen."
― Ms. Magazine
"Willa's story―and figuring out her sense of self―truly leaps off the page."
― Alma
"Readers looking for a taste of the millennial psyche but perhaps intimidated by the hype around Sally Rooney will want to check out Win Me Something by debut novelist Kyle Lucia Wu. . . . this tale of Willa, a young biracial woman, will resonate with a lot of younger people."
― Napa Valley Register
"A soul-searching journey to be heard, and to belong."
― West Trade Review
"Wu's writing is pitch perfect from start to finish. The introspective and subtle plot floats off the page."
― Debutiful...
Readers Top Reviews
J.K
I didn’t quite understand Willa. I had sympathy for,her, shuffling between her parents’ new families and feeling like she didn’t belong anywhere. Yet, she’s an adult and seems to just be drifting with no purpose or direction in life. It’s a decent read.
Richard T. Hopwood a
I was taken with Willa and her story of identity and belonging. She is never quite seen, though always watched and seeing her navigate early adulthood was a deceptively simple and, ultimately, very memorable read. I catch myself thinking of this story when I am driving or walking the dog and I can't recommend it enough.
Laura
Writing: 4.5/5 Plot: 3.5 / 5 Characters: 4/5 Lit Hub lists this as one of the “22 novels you need to read this fall,” so I moved it to the top of my review list. Willa is the bi-racial (Asian dad, white mom) daughter of parents who divorced when she was young and moved on to build new families. Somewhat adrift in New York City after finishing college, she falls into a live-in nanny position with a wealthy family and a precocious child and wonders what life would be like to be part of such a (in her eyes) perfect family. The story alternates between the present day and various experiences in Willa’s past. What I liked about this book was the content-rich and easily flowing writing style and the high degree of reflectivity on the part of the main character. While at times it appeared to move slowly, that is a good reflection of how normal life proceeds, and I enjoyed the access to Willa’s mind as she slowly came to understand what was important to her and how she could make changes in her own behavior to make her life be what she wanted. I also liked the way the story focused on Willa as an individual and not as a representative of a particular group. It traces the impact of her various experiences (some teasing at school for being Asian, lack of attention in her broken home situation, etc.) without calling attention to an overly dramatic agenda. It’s a personal story of an individual.
kathleen g
Willa's never felt part of a family- her parents divorced and started up new families with their new spouses- but now, for just a moment, she's feeling something about the Adrians. Although it's not quite family. She lucks into a job as a nanny for Bijou Adrian, a precocious New York kid who wants to be a chef, among other things. It's not Bijou who fascinates Willa but Nathalie Adrian, a finance executive whose life feels just so pulled together. This is in some ways a familiar plot- an underachieving twenty something who becomes a nanny for a wealthy family- but Wu has done a nice job with her characters. The story moves back and forth in time to tell Willa's story with both her father and her mother. I found myself wrapped up in the story even though I sort of knew what was coming, although not the specifics or the impetus. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.
Katherine Devine
One of my favorite novels this year....both quiet and narratively propulsive, it was a dream read. The voice, the nuanced characters, the structure, the pacing. I hope this book receives all of the accolades and readers it deserves!
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