Parachutes, by Kelly Yang- 5 STARS, AAPI Reading

[Joi]

Ok- I just worked my way through Kelly Yang's Front Desk series, and now whipped my way through her YA novel- Parachutes. Damn. I'm sold. I'm reading anything this woman writes.

Parachutes: Students (typically Asian, in this case- Chinese) whose parents drop them off in America for school, and leave them there. They are left to their own devices with host families, or on their own. Often times have family funded money, and endure a strangely specific set of familial dynamics, class dynamics, racial dynamics, and more.

This follows two high schoolers. Claire, a recent parachute, and Dani, her new host sister. Their lives and bubbles are just adjacent, as the two don't get along-they view each other and are influenced by each other as their paths cross. There's a common theme between the their stories, but this isn't discovered by the characters until close to the ending, which brings them together. The side characters are great, and delve into even further racial and economic class themes. The situations are all nuanced, and are described and played our so well, my description can not give them justice. Big themes are broken down and made so accessible to the reader- sexual assault, dark academia, racial divide between "Asian American's" vs "FOBs" vs "parachutes". So much packed in here.

This was similar to the Front Desk series in a few ways- a GREAT message on many different angles and subjects put together in a readable and manageable way for a younger audience. One aspect was also based off the authors personal experiences. And also similar- this was a little corny- rah, rah with the message, and a few of the characters were a little cardboard-y. But I DONT CARE. The message is so important, so well done, 5 stars! Tens, tens, tens across the board.