First love. Second language. Final goodbyes.

For Lily, mastering Chinese means connection: To her family Her heritage To herself But what if waiting for perfection means it's too late to get the answers she wants most? The electrifying new novel from literary phenomenon, Rebecca F. Kuang, Yale student Lily Chen arrives in Taipei hungry: for family, for culture, for connection. But her summer of discovery quickly unravels.

Her classes are grueling, her roommate unbearable, and a reckless, deeply awkward trip to the hot springs with a guy she barely knows soon ignites vicious gossip. Then her grandfather dies. Grieving and adrift, Lily must confront her own questions about the culture she inherited but never fully understood.

She embarks on a wryly funny, often devastating search for understanding: of herself, her family, and the meaning of home. All over one unforgettable summer in Taipei.