If you read my last post, you know that my friend Karami and I are doing a blind date book exchange. Her August pick for me was Real Americans by Rachel Khong.

I had heard great reviews of this book. Karami herself had loved it, and highly recommended it. She said it was a beautiful story that she didn’t want to end.

The story is told in three parts, covering three generations of a non-traditional family situation. The first part covers the love story between Lily, a Chinese woman born to immigrants to America, and Matthew, a white man with multi-generational wealth.

Although Lily and Matthew’s relationship progresses, there is tension with her family, like they don’t approve of her relationship.

On Matthew’s side of the family, he’s being pressured into following in his father’s footsteps, taking over the family’s foundation, when in reality he’s tried to separate himself from his family’s business for a long time.

What I didn’t expect from this book was a deeper conversation about ethics. Lily’s parents had been scientists, specifically working on genetics. Without spoiling anything, there were topics about genetic testing, IVF, and manipulating genes for more favorable outcomes, like eliminating disease. In the middle of a family saga, these additional topics made it much deeper. There was conversation about the abilities of science and what could be done for good. On the other side, who decides what “good” actually looks like? What constitutes a “real” American, and an ideal genetic makeup, when America is a melting pot by design? It was really interesting to think about and to see how the characters handled topics as they came up.

I did love this book. I wished it had ended a little differently, but overall, I really enjoyed it. I gave it four stars overall, and would highly recommend it!