My Other Heart

by Emma Nanami Strenner

READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY

A missing child, two girls in search of their true identities–a stunning novel of mothers, daughters and best friends

In June 1998, Mimi Truang is on her way home to Vietnam when her toddler daughter vanishes in the Philadelphia airport.

Seventeen years later, two best friends in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, discuss their summer plans before college. Kit, with the support of her white adoptive parents, will travel to Tokyo to explore her Japanese roots. This dizzying adventure offers her a taste of first love and a new understanding of what it means to belong.

Sabrina had hoped to take a similar trip to China, but money is tight. Her disappointment subsides, however, when she meets a bold, uncompromising new mentor who prompts Sabrina to ask questions she’s avoided all her life. Meanwhile, Mimi purchases a plane ticket to Philadelphia. She finally has a lead in her search for her daughter.

When Mimi, Kit, and Sabrina come face to face, they will confront the people they truly are, in this tremendously moving novel that is propelled to its astonishing climax in a way you will never forget.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Coming Of Age, Literary Fiction, Book Club, Audiobook

416 pages, Hardcover

First published August 5, 2025

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down to 3

This book was decent. Two Asian girls in a coming of age story, one who is adopted, and the other living a life with her single mother. Mixed in is a young mother who's baby was tragically taken in an airport. At times joyful, and other times heartbreaking, it is a well woven story with pretty well developed characters.

I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

My Other Heart is really a story about who we think we are rather than where we come from.

Set in Philadelphia with two concurrent timelines in the 1980s and 2010s; Kit Herzog is the adopted daughter of rich parents whilst Sabrina is the child of Lee Lee Chen, a migrant from China. The girls have been best friends for years but when Kit decides to travel to Japan to find her roots, Sabrina's planned trip to China has to be cancelled and the unravelling of both their lives begins.

Throughout the summer after they have graduated we follow both girls' progress as they discover more about their own personalities while their parents struggle to keep up with the changes in their now,-adult children.

Both the girls are engaging characters. As someone of nearly 60 I have almost forgotten what those teenage days of extreme ego-centricity are like. Everything is about you. The tiniest slights take on a huge significance. Nothing is ever fair and you are just finding out that this us just the tip of the inequality of life.

I did have an overwhelming need to roll my eyes at the girls every now and again but the writing is good and the portrayals of the girls, their families and the fears of everyone as to what life holds in the future felt genuine.

There are several twists along the way that keep the story from wandering into fairytale happy-ever-after territory. On the whole I really enjoyed it. It's a quick read and would make a good summer book for young adults or anyone, like me, who just enjoys a story with a bit of a twist. Definitely recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the advance review copy.

[Anne Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My other heart is a magnificent novel to be published in the coming months. So, a big thank you to Netgalley as well as to Random House UK, Cornerstone for allowing me to read it in advance.

From the first pages, the reader is captivated by Mimi, a young Vietnamese woman who loses her baby at the Philadelphia airport. Then we take a leap into the future where we meet two teenagers who will soon be going to university and for one summer, their lives will change. Sabrina, grew up with a Chinese mother and has always been the obedient little girl, with good academic results, not going out. Today she wants to go to China to discover her origins. Her best friend, Katherine or Kit for short, was adopted as a baby by a wealthy American family. She knows nothing about her biological parents and wants to go to Japan for several weeks to discover Asia. This is the starting point of a novel that will take us into an emotional whirlwind. We actually go through all the possible feelings when reading this novel: happiness, joy, sadness and even anger sometimes.

All the characters are incredibly endearing, all these women are courageous, looking for answers and with the goal of building a better life (by emigrating, by going in search of their origins). I was extremely touched by all these stories, where everyone is waiting for this famous green card, to see the contempt or racism that people who came from the other side of the planet in the hope of a better life can experience. Being a foreigner myself living in another country, I think we often forget how lucky we are to be European and to be able to live and travel freely between different countries. I am still happy to see that there are people like Eva's character who are there, with a big heart to help all these people.

I really enjoyed seeing Sabrina and Kit blossom and suddenly grow up. It is a magnificent coming-of-age novel that is really very well constructed. In the first half, I found Sabrina to be self-effacing and thought she didn't bring much to the story, I later realized that I was wrong. Indeed, the author deliberately misleads us for a good part of the novel and the end of the novel was the most incredible part for me.

Finally, the novel really makes you want to travel, to (re)discover Japan and especially Vietnam, a country that makes me dream. Asia is an incredibly rich continent in cultures and so fascinating, which I enjoyed glimpsing in this novel.

[Shantha (ShanthasBookEra) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A missing child, two girls in search of their true identities–a stunning novel of mothers, daughters, and best friends."

I am not always a fan of coming of age stories, but this one captured my attention from the beginning. Mimi's daughter went missing in 1998 while returning from America to Vietnam. Seventeen years later, best friends Kit and Sabrina are making plans for summer before college. Kit is adopted and has affluent white parents while Sabrina has a single Chinese mother and can't afford to travel like Kit. Kit wants to find out more about her parents.

This is a beautiful story about identity and belonging, ethnic heritage and culture, class, and racism towards those who aren't fully Asian by other Asians. Also important to the story is knowing our roots and where we come from to form our identity and sense of belonging. The characters are fully fleshed out, and we feel their yearning, heartache, and dreams for the future. The three stories merge in the end for a final, shocking conclusion. Highly recommend, and the audio performance was great!🎧

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting to read as a partially Asian person because it presents Asian and Western culture from the viewpoints of different races and social classes. I connected with this book because the characters struggle in ways that are the same for my family, but I think it leaned towards YA rather than an adult book!

[Haz Packer · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75🌟
Disappointed in this one after seeing such good reviews. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters and they felt quite two dimensional. I couldn’t visualise them or their characters clearly, and their actions and dialogue felt disjointed. Sabrina and Kit call each other best friends but you never once get that feeling, and the book touches on a lot of themes without really exploring them in any depth. The main feeling I was left with was bewilderment as the focus seemed to be on boys; both Sabrina and Kit seemed more interested in boys than anything else that it made them seem quite young and immature. They’re 18 years old but they felt a lot younger, and I simply find them a bit annoying. The book ended by answering some questions but I didn’t really feel like there was much growth, especially for Kit (though I supposed that might be the point).

[Sarah Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel which I read before publication on NetGalley UK in return for an unbiased review.

The story tells of a mother who his year old baby goes missing an airport in the mid 90s never to be found. In the novel we need to Asian 18-year-olds one of whom is adopted to white parents and the other living with her Chinese mother both these young ladies live in Philadelphia in USA if you follow their lives as they reach maturity at the same time wanted to know more about their own backgrounds .
The novel touches on racism and being adopted both of which are quite deep subjects the novelist manages to do this with subtlety and poise
The author has a clear flowing prose style and the novel was an enjoyable relaxing read
The character development in the novel is covered beautifully and all the characters seem like real people. Their reactions to the individual stresses in their lives again are perfectly described.
The novel is set between Philadelphia and Tokyo where one of the young girls visits during her summer holiday holidays prior to starting university.
I enjoy a good twist in a novel and I thought I could see where the twist is coming when I was 80% of the way through the novel it was definitely worth waiting for.
This is a primarily character driven novel and I’d recommend it for those who enjoy interesting characters. If you like Yellow face by R F Yuang then I think you would enjoy this too
Read an early copy on NetGalley UK the book is published in the UK on the 17th of July 2025 by random house UK Cornerstone
Review will appear on NetGalley UK, Goodreads, StoryGraph, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com. After publication it will also appear on Amazon UK.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the concept and story, but WAY too long this could’ve been wrapped up in less than 300 pages.

[Shannon (The Book Club Mom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I hit the jackpot with this novel. It explores SO many of my favorite themes like motherhood, female friendship, and family drama. It also touches on racial identity, belonging, wealth, and class which added so many layers. It starts off with a major bang, and the momentum stays steady throughout, yet it felt extremely character-driven—which I absolutely loved. I was invested and intrigued by each woman’s storyline as they all kept me on my toes. The twists and turns were plentiful and appeared when I least expected. My jaw dropped multiple times. I was pleasantly surprised by the author’s writing style and how she told this remarkable story.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Multiple POVs and timelines
- Female friendship
- Reflections on motherhood
- Mother/daughter relationships
- Family drama and dynamics
- Coming-of-age stories
- Surprising twists and turns
- Travel and adventure
- Adoption stories
- Immigration stories

Overall, this novel was a major winner for me and I highly recommend it. Jenna and her team over at @readwithjenna sure picked a good one this month! A very impressive debut, indeed!

4/5 solid stars for MY OTHER HEART! It’s out now!

[Aggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is a decent debut novel. It had great premise. Solid chapters until it didn’t at the end. I felt like although it was revealed at the last chapters, there was still something amiss.

[The Book Review Café · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma Nanami Strenner’s My Other Heart is a deeply moving novel about identity, family, and the search for belonging. Spanning continents and generations, the story weaves together the lives of three women—Mimi, Kit, and Sabrina—who are each on a journey to uncover their pasts and understand their roots.

In 1998, Mimi Traung and her baby daughter Ngan wait at Philadelphia airport for their flight back to Vietnam—until the unthinkable happens. Seventeen years later, best friends Kit and Sabrina are preparing for summer trips to Japan and China, each hoping to connect with their heritage. But as their families watch anxiously from suburban Philadelphia, long-buried secrets begin to surface. Meanwhile, Mimi returns to the city, searching for the child she lost all those years ago. As their paths converge, the novel unravels assumptions about identity, belonging, and the meaning of family.

Strenner’s lyrical prose and deeply felt character work make My Other Heart an emotionally resonant read. The novel moves fluidly between past and present, allowing the reader to uncover the truth alongside its characters. Though the pacing is measured, the rich storytelling and emotional weight make it a compelling exploration of self-discovery.

A heartfelt and beautifully written novel, My Other Heart is perfect for readers who enjoy literary fiction that explores family, heritage, and the bonds that define us.

[Jeannine · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up. Here’s what led me to this. Mild spoilers, read at your own risk:

Main reason:

- Pick a theme or two, not 12, and do them justice. Was this a book showing the contrast between two female Asian American teens and how their experiences were different due to their family’s wealth? Was it about growing up as an Asian American vs other cultures ? Was this a book about knowing your family’s roots, being adopted, and how that changes your mindset? Was this a book about parenting? Was it about young, somewhat naive girls and their first brushes with romance with boys? Was it a coming of age story? Is it a mystery? Pick!! Because of this, none of these topics felt flushed out, they just existed for a while and then faded to gray, and there is little to no growth in any characters by the end.

Contributing factors:

- disjointed. I am 100% down with timeline jumping and with pov changes but it just did not work in this book. The chapters with sally were so irritating i wanted to quit, esp the one around 85%, and she was a little crazy, and moreover I don’t see why they even existed. They contributed nothing to the story. Likewise, Kit’s trip to Japan and meeting Ryo and Amy felt like it had the potential to be the way Kit grew up a little or had some sort of special reckoning. But it seemed pointless in the end.

- I didn’t feel like Kit and Sabrina were that close of friends to even begin with. This needed to be developed more.

- I hate when nothing happens in a whole book and then everything happens in the last 10%. It’s too lopsided, and not good pacing.

- unanswered questions: how did truong not wonder or ask what happened to Nan?

Additionally, this book ought to have been labeled as YA.

Positives:

- audiobook narrator did a good job with the voices
- Eva was an enjoyable character
- Dave was an ass, so he was realistic

[Maren Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This might sound like a hot take, but finishing this book took more effort than Sisyphus pushing that boulder up a hill for all eternity. Yeah, suck it, Sisyphus, you don't even know what hard is because you haven't tried to read this book. It was soul sucking to get ready to flip on an audiobook and see that it was this one. Why? Here's a comprehensive list:

- It's BORING. Yawn, yawn, yawn for days. Nothing happens EVER.
- The characters are awful. Kit? Reading from her POV felt like what it must be like to be inside the head of a functioning psychopath. The men? A**holes. Sabrina? Flat. Sabrina's mom? Speaking of psychopaths...
- There was supposed to be something about growing up Asian American, but it was lost in the Sea of Endless Boredom and Shallow Writing. Sorry, I said what I said.

So why did I give it 2 stars instead of 1? There was one moment when I was like, "It'd be really cool if she did this particular plot twist," and she did it, so I must reward her.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The things a person is self conscious about disappear when desperation takes over.”

“If Kit and Sabrina showed me anything, it's that friendships are often the very essence of belonging.”

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Sally (whatsallyreadnext) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since I first heard about this book, I was intrigued as it sounded like the kind of book I love to read. I was lucky to be sent an early copy of this debut novel which I read several months ago after attending a special event with the author, featuring Japanese cakes and tea = the perfect combo!

The novel captivated me from the start when Mimi loses her baby daughter Ngan at Philadelphia Airport while she's waiting to board a plane back home to Vietnam. She finds herself waking up safely home in Vietnam but without her precious daughter, which sparks her search for Ngan across the next two decades and an eventual return to Philadelphia.

Seventeen years after Ngan's disappearance, two teenage best friends living in Philadelphia are both on their own individual searches to find their roots. Having been brought up by her single mother, Sabrina is hoping to travel to China to meet her mother's family. While, Kit was adopted by an American couple when she was a baby, and wants to discover her ethnicity by travelling to Tokyo as she's convinced that her biological mother is Japanese.

I loved this book and found myself resonating more with Sabrina's character due to her upbringing by a Chinese mother. The themes of identity, belonging, discrimination, family and friendship are evident throughout, and it was an interesting depiction of Asian-American life. I thought I knew what was coming when reading this novel, but I was pleasantly surprised by the reveals which the author kept well-hidden.

My Other Heart by Emma Nanami Strenner will be out this Thursday 17th July! I'd highly recommend this book for those that enjoy reading about mixed-race families, multi-generational and coming-of-age stories, as well as fans of Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere and Hanako Footman's Mongrel.

[Violaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️
Admittedly there is something pretty superficial about this book - maybe it’s the way that, at its core, it’s a book about two teenage girls mainly concerned with navigating the hurdles of friendships, boys, their relationship with their parents and the uncertainty of starting an adult life at college. But once you accept this YA backdrop, it does reveal a very nuanced exploration of belonging and race.
Aside from the main “plot twist”, it actually surprised me a few times, by not taking the easy way out in a lot of places. The characters aren’t always likeable and the relationships aren’t always clear cut - there is something almost cold about the story whilst retaining a lot of heart. I think that really worked in the book’s favour and it gave it a certain sensibility which I really appreciated, though I feel like it might put some people off of the book by making it at the same time a little too juvenile for literary fiction and a little too uncaring for YA.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

[Merrley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel focuses on the Asian American experience from the eyes of two teenage girls, living in a predominantly white neighbourhood in the summer before they start university.

Kit is half white, half Asian (she thinks Japanese) and is adopted by a wealthy white suburban family. She’s unapologetically loud but struggles to align with her complex identity. Sabrina comes from a Chinese single-parent family. She’s on the quieter side and notices how different she is due to her poorer socioeconomic circumstances compared to her friends.

We also follow the side characters of Mimi (a Vietnamese woman whose child went missing), Sally (Kit’s adoptive mother), Lee Lee (Sabrina’s mother), Dave (friend/love interest), Eva Kim (Asian American activist) as well as Ryo and Amy (siblings based in Tokyo). One of the things I loved about this book is the switching perspectives. We see Kit pulling away from her mother whereas Sally is filled with anxiety. We see Lee Lee working hard and Sabrina’s embarrassment. We see Sabrina and Kit’s insight and views into each other and their friendship.

Many important points were brought up in this book, and there was a large focus not just on the immigrant or Asian experience but how wealth ties into it. Kit thinks Ryo’s Japanese mother is glamorous and supposes she might be of Japanese origin and leans into this imagined exotic ideal. But in Gravers Lane the suburbia of white America, she cannot bring herself to champion her Asian identity.

The plot twist towards the end with Mimi - to me - felt predictable almost from the start and I wonder if reading the book was a different experience for those who didn’t see it coming. I wish more of the book was dedicated to the events after Mimi’s return to the US and less about boys. The plot lines with Dave and Ryo as well as Amy’s dating plotline seemed irrelevant to the message the author was trying to convey about the Asian American experience and the mixed race experience.

While it was frustrating to see Kit had changed very little, you could argue that this was the point of the book. Sabrina was forced to reconcile with her identity and grow through the experience whereas Kit chose to stay in the limits of her comfort zone. This is something all second gen kids who grow up in the West must go through. Overall, the book was definitely a page turner and a 4 star read.

Thanks to the publisher Penguin Random House UK and Hutchinson Heinemann for the proof.

[Amy Snorteland · Rating 1 out of 5]

“There is an invisible line that exists between those who have money and those who don’t. That line gets more visible when you throw in minority parents, or a less educated family background.” - Emma Nanami Strenner

This is all over the place.
Is it a coming of age story or a commentary on socioeconomic inequities?
It’s kidnapping, adoption, immigration, deportation, young love, friends, friend-zones, and mostly, SO MANY CONTRADICTIONS.

The storyline continually missteps and although these main characters live in suburban Philadelphia, the language and terms they use are not culturally appropriate.
Examples: manicurist, air con, sanitary towel, + so many more.

Most egregious is the opening paragraph of Chapter 12, when the author states “The hyacinths were starting to turn.” This is July in Pennsylvania - the hyacinths would have been dead in May, they don’t fade, they die.
She goes on to describe “their ethereal, papery, fine petals” and “this year she wanted to see the whole garden covered in these elderly blooms, in all their quiet glory.”
She’s writing about hydrangeas, not hyacinths and I just can’t look past it.

I could go on, but 🤐

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Other Heart is a gripping novel about a Vietnamese immigrant mother, Mimi, whose daughter goes missing in a Philadelphia airport. She’s cruelly sent back to Vietnam alone and lives her life longing for her daughter and doing everything she can to find her again. Alternately, this book flashes forward seventeen years in time to tell about two Asian American teenage girls, Kit and Sabrina, and the tumultuous summer between high school and college as they both to seek to find out more about their Asian heritage and where they fit in the world.

I loved the multiple narrators in this story, and felt like all the storylines were super compelling. There’s also the underlying mystery of where Mimi’s daughter has gone, and I loved how the pieces came together as the story ended. I couldn’t put this book down and thought about it whenever I wasn’t reading it. This was a beautiful and moving debut book from Emma Nanami Strenner and I will absolutely be looking forward to more from her!

Thank you to Net Galley and Viking Penguin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving debut intergenerational family drama about mothers and daughters, lost connections, adoption and missing babies. Told over multiple decades and alternating POVs, we get to see what life for adopted Asian American children is like in 1980s-early 2000s America. The book gave me strong Celeste Ng vibes and I highly recommend pairing it with recent books like Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick. Many thanks to @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this coming-of-age journey of these two young women. The story explores how race, income, mother relationships, and friendships shape their sense of self in meaningful ways. Both characters’ growth feels honest and relatable as they embark on different paths.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a nice fiction pairing with the nonfiction book Daughters of the Bamboo Grove. A story of adoption and a mother who has been searching for her lost daughter.

[Mimi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 …..Never really went anywhere. 🫠

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lives of 2 teenage girls.

[Shannon Singleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn’t stop listening once it got going. I loved Brina’s character

[Rena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Marcia Suppo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author’s debut novel. Story about friendship, class and race, identity and belonging. Weaves together storylines of Mimi who is searching for her missing daughter and friends Kit and Sabrina.

[Kali · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ⭐️
An incredibly character driven novel, well written and well developed but a bit of a snooze fest overall.

[Kara Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look in at the lives of three women and their daughters. Lots of think about with the immigration stories and thinking about what people will be willing to do come to America and what part of knowing your heritage can do for you. I can see this book becoming very popular.