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Rating: 3 out of 5

Genre: YA, Diverse, Contemporary

Reasons to read it: A YA version of Crazy Rich Asians

This is not the typical book I would pick to read, but when it’s selected for book club, you have to go with the vote. 

No regrets.

Will I be reading book numero dos…. Nope. 

However, this thing still deserves a shout-out. So if you loved Crazy Rich Asians, then I think you’ll love Loveboat, Taipei. The story follows the same idea of an Asian American girl being dumped into the big pond of the rich and famous of Taipei. The only difference is, Ever isn’t in Taipei for a wedding. Instead, she’s sent to a summer program to work on her Mandarin before starting medical school in the fall. 

In many ways, Loveboat, Taipei hit the mark. Wen mixed in the conversation of mental health and dyslexia with ease. The points felt like a part of the story and not something added in at the end. I can’t say the same thing about everything else though. There’s a moment when domestic abuse is brought up, but it comes out of left field, isn’t fully discussed, and is used more as a plot device to get two characters to have a conversation. And no… the conversation wasn’t bout the previous abuse. 

Then we have Ever. Her complete abandon once she arrives seemed out of character. In the beginning, we meet a girl that does want to please her parents even if she’s thinking of sneaking off for a dance audition. That doesn’t mean she was going to up and throw medical school out the window, which is why I struggled with her confidence at times. Maybe more backstory could have strengthened everything. I don’t want to spoil anything, but there are two distinct moments I’m referring to and I think you’ll know them when you get there. 

Not that I disagree with one of them – I just didn’t see her going through with them. 

I appreciate that Ever did go a full character arc. Was it original… no. Did the overall story come across as typecasted?

Super unpopular opinion… I expected more from a diverse author… or is our typecast the honest truth? 

*Just asking for a friend*

Loveboat, Taipei was a really quick read for me. I don’t think speed was my plot issue. So many things happened, my head was spinning. We have Ever arriving and meeting Boy Wonder. We have the sneaking out. The glamor shoots. The trip to her new friend’s family. Another thing. Another thing. And then we come back around to something else… The list continues. And when I was getting settled with one idea, the plot would get flipped on its head again. I appreciate the ending wasn’t predictable, but it was too much. There was nothing to ground me in the story. I needed some sort of thread to follow. Not having all the threads veer off into different directions or being cut as soon as they were spun. 

In a weird way, I still find myself recommending the book. The concept is based on true events. Ever was a YA character that didn’t annoy me. And I mostly enjoyed the read even as it gave me whiplash. 

But that doesn’t mean my rating is going to hop off the fence. 

I honestly thought I was going to be reading an entirely different book from the cover. 

Happy Reading

Kait