Reviews with content warning for Violence - Real Americans

This story is one that’s going to sit with me for a while as I reflect.

The first two parts left me with so many questions. Part 3 was my favorite. I felt as if I couldn’t put it down once I had Mei’s perspective.

• Multiple POV
• Multiple timelines

Read on audiobook and would recommend a listen.

Content Warnings

machenn's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

lauren_lovestoread's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

I liked lot, but didn’t love it. I felt there was some loose ends that were left unfinished and some parts of the story could have been spent on those plot points. Sometimes it felt that the author didn’t quite know what the story should be, with all of the different plot lines and characters. That being said, it was a fascinating family saga and I recommend it!

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I don’t know why this one. No really “good” reason. I just saw this one around a lot and it seemed everyone was enjoying it. So, I gave it a try.

In a blurb that borrows heavily from Goodreads: Real Americans begins on the precipice of Y2K in New York City, when twenty-two-year-old Lily Chen, an unpaid intern at a slick media company, meets Matthew. Matthew is everything Lily is not: easygoing and effortlessly attractive, a native East Coaster and, most notably, heir to a vast pharmaceutical empire. Lily couldn't be more different: flat-broke, raised in Tampa, the only child of scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Despite all this, Lily and Matthew fall in love. In 2021, fifteen-year-old Nick Chen has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where he lives with his single mother, Lily. He can't shake the sense she's hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than answers. And in the near future, Nick and his grandmother cross paths unexpectedly, and the full story of the family history all comes out. Can the family relationships mend and recover or are they broken forever?

This is written in that common “contemporary” lit fic writing style. There’s an easy cadence to the writing, it’s well-paced, smoothly written, easy to follow, sort of conversational (but in a thought-out way, not stream of conscious), and the dialogue is really natural. Just, quality generic writing/storytelling. And I mean that in a complimentary way.

The intergenerational perspectives that tell this story, and the jumps in time between them, really help maintain the mystery and unfolding drama over the course of the book. I was invested in all three characters’ narrations, even as they were such diverse voices/experiences and I personally identified more with some than others. It was impressive that Khong made all three as authentic as each other, despite how different they were. There were so many major topics and themes that were explored in these pages, from belonging to politics/history to science to morality (and more), all delivered within a framework of super high-intensity family drama, and a plot of intrigue and secrets. I loved that combination; it made for a page-turning reading experience. Perhaps a few holes/things that fell flat, with so much included, but overall very successfully done. And the ending…it was open-ended and not “clean,” but with a path towards reconciliation clear (if still not fully chosen by everyone) and that made, for me, a realistic and satisfying, and quite touching (tbh), conclusion.

As I mentioned, there were a ton of complex questions Khong addresses in these pages. And I want to share a few of my primary takeaways, reactions/reflections, or otherwise just listing the themes that I thought Khong explored well.

- A really interesting take on making a difference/making the world a better place. Can it be done from the “inside,” as it were, or is it better from a grassroots effort? When considering a safer/healthier future, is forced genetic sciences a reasonable option or should we put effort into creating a world in which that doesn’t matter, because the framework (equality) is better? (I know where I lean…the latter.)

- Looking further at equality, Khong demonstrates how easy it is to cleave to money/power, whether born to it or adopted into it (and it is easier) versus the bravery to step away. Which actually allows a person more freedom (in general, like with temporal/financial independence, and as far as choosing a path for themselves)? Where is the perfect line between the two? Fascinating conversation.

- The always heartbreaking reality of how each generation wants the same for the next: freedom, choices … and yet due to our own experiences and the way time changes, how we choose to provide that has its own limitations. So, often, despite all our best efforts/intentions we can never achieve that singular goal.

- Whoa, the morality of genetic therapy (and the enduring strength of genetic ancestry/connection) is explored in a fascinating, engrossing way. A totally unexpected aspect of the novel for me.

- What an emotionally devastating look at how there is never enough time to do/be everything we want. And how yearning for more time so often causes us to lose the present (the time that we do have) even more/faster.

- As a sub-theme, which feels like a surprise because of the title, the question of what - internal and external - makes one believable as a “real” American. This is such a widely felt and explored concept in literature, and this book is a well-done addition to that body.

There was a lot going on in this book, but each piece – plot, settings, characters, themes, writing – were developed fully in their own rights. It kept me totally entertained the entire time, and has a little something for a lot of different kinds of readers. I’d recommend this one for sure.

“But the truth was something else - a reluctance to acknowledge a reality that made me uncomfortable. In the act of giving I conceded that I had more than I needed, and some had far less than they did. It was for no real reason, it wasn't fair. It shattered the illusion of my own free will - that I had made choices, and those choices had resulted in my life. To look away was easier.”

“Once she had believed that connection meant sameness, consensus, harmony. Having everything in common. And now she understood that the opposite was true: that connection was more valuable--more remarkable--for the fact of differences. Friendship didn't require blunting the richness of yourself to find common ground. Sometimes it was that, but it was also appreciating another person, in all their particularity.”

“I'd thought transporting me to another setting was all that was needed to render me normal. I'd failed to consider that I might be the same person here.”

“Without time, ambition is worth nothing: It is only frustration. Time was what I wanted, more than anything.”

“Time passes, indifferent to me. So much of my life I have let slip by, because I have not attended to it. All this while, instead of seeking more time, I could have been paying attention.”

“This was what love had always been for me - denying your own reality in order to protect another person.”

“Hearing a story, what did it accomplish? Nothing. And everything.”

Content Warnings

ivi_reads_books's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Content Warnings

karinreadsalot's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Beautiful Deep dive between 3 characters about what it means to be human and American.

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