Logo image
  • BookDragon
  • About
  • The Blogger
  • Review Policy
  • Smithsonian APAC
 
44199
post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-44199,single-format-standard,stardust-core-1.1,stardust-child-theme-ver-1.0.0,stardust-theme-ver-3.1,ajax_updown_fade,page_not_loaded,smooth_scroll

BookDragon Blog

18 Jul / A River of Stars by Vanessa Hua [in Booklist]

In Perfume Bay, a luxurious oasis just outside Los Angeles, pregnant Chinese women are pampered through the U.S. birth of precious progeny who will provide their parents with “a foothold in America.” Among the guests is factory-manager Scarlett Chen, sent to the U.S. to bear the son of her older, married lover, who’s also her employer.

As their long-distance relationship stagnates, Scarlett can’t risk losing her unborn child to Boss Yeung. She manages to commandeer the residence’s van for a late-night escape, then discovers a stowaway: Perfume Bay’s youngest and most rebellious resident, Daisy, who still believes she can find her missing boyfriend. The unlikely pair flee to San Francisco’s Chinatown, where accepting the kindness of strangers, clever bartering, peddling the “Chinese slider,” and catering a gay wedding keep them afloat until the inevitable confrontation converges at City Hall.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Vanessa Hua follows her intriguing short story collection, Deceit and Other Possibilities (2016), with an astute debut novel that confronts identity, privilege, freedom, and a 21st-century rendering of the American dream with poignancy, insight, humor, and plenty of savvy charm.

Review: “Fiction,” Booklist, July 1, 2018

Readers: Adult

Published: 2018

By Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Repost Tags > Betrayal, BookDragon, Booklist, Civil rights, Family, Friendship, Immigration, Love, Parent/child relationship, River of Stars, Vanessa Hua
2 Comments
  • Pingback:Option Now, Film Soon! [in EastWind] | BookDragon Reply
  • Pingback:Forbidden City by Vanessa Hua [in Booklist] | BookDragon Reply

Post a Comment
Cancel Reply

Smithsonian Institution
Asian Pacific American Center

Capital Gallery, Suite 7065
600 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20024

202.633.2691 | APAC@si.edu

Additional contact info

Mailing Address
Capital Gallery
Suite 7065, MRC: 516
P.O. Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012

Fax: 202.633.2699

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

SmithsonianAPA brings Asian Pacific American history, art, and culture to you through innovative museum experiences and digital initiatives.

About BookDragon

Welcome to BookDragon, filled with titles for the diverse reader. BookDragon is a new media initiative of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), and serves as a forum for those interested in learning more about the Asian Pacific American experience through literature. BookDragon is inhabited by Terry Hong.

Learn More

Contact BookDragon

Please email us at SIBookDragon@gmail.com

Follow BookDragon!
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Looking for Something Else …?

or