ABOUT ASKING FOR A FRIEND

This charming YA rom-com follows a strong-willed, ambitious teen as she teams up with her childhood frenemy to start a dating-advice column, perfect for fans of Emma Lord and Gloria Chao.

Juliana Zhao is absolutely certain of a few things:

1. She is the world’s foremost expert on love.

2. She is going to win the nationally renowned Asian Americans in Business Competition.

When Juliana is unceremoniously dropped by her partner and she’s forced to pair with her nonconformist and annoying frenemy, Garrett Tsai, everything seems less clear. Their joint dating advice column must be good enough to win and secure bragging rights within her small Taiwanese American community, where her family’s reputation has been in the pits since her older sister was disowned a few years prior.

Juliana always thought prestige mattered above all else. But as she argues with Garrett over how to best solve everyone else’s love problems and faces failure for the first time, she starts to see fractures in this privileged, sheltered worldview.

With the competition heating up, Juliana must reckon with the sacrifices she’s made to be a perfect daughter—and whether winning is something she even wants anymore.

“The challenges they face from being “raised by one culture but living in another” will ring true for readers who share their identity, while the sweetness of their romance will win over everyone else.

A swoonworthy, heart-wrenching view into the trials of growing up second generation in an immigrant community.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Chen deftly and sensitively portrays the varied experiences of teens and adults, first- and second-generation immigrants… and the romance that blossoms is sweet and compelling, all factors that make this book hard to put down. Teen readers will root for Juliana to figure out what she wants—and who she wants to be—in time to have a shot at the happiness she’s spent so long denying herself. “ - Booklist

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