Chloe and the Kaishao Boys
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
When Dimple Met Rishi meets Loveboat, Taipei in this hilarious YA rom-com about a Chinese Filipina girl in Manila whose father sets her up on a marathon of arranged dates in hopes of convincing her to stay close to home for college.
“A sweet and refreshing story about family, first love, and chasing your dreams. The way Coyiuto writes romance will completely sweep you away.” —Dustin Thao, New York Times bestselling author of You’ve Reached Sam.
Chloe knows what it takes to be the perfect Liang daughter—stay in Manila, study business management, and join the family company. But when she unexpectedly gets off the wait list for USC, her dream of becoming an animator in the United States is suddenly within reach.
Before she goes, her auntie insists on planning a traditional debut for Chloe’s eighteenth birthday. And while a party with all her friends and family sounds like the perfect send-off, the huge production her auntie wants—complete with ball gowns and a choreographed dance number—makes Chloe want to pass out from stage fright.
To make matters worse, her father, intent on finding Chloe the perfect escort for the party, keeps setting her up on one awkward kaishao—or arranged date—after another. Why does her dad suddenly care so much about her love life? And what happens when she actually starts to fall for one of the guys, only to have to leave at the end of the summer?
At home in the Philippines, Chloe has her future all planned out for her. In America, nothing is certain. With a career in animation far from guaranteed, Chloe must decide if following her dreams is worth everything—and everyone—she’ll be leaving behind.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When Chinese Filipina teen Chloe Liang is accepted into the University of Southern California's prestigious animation program, the Manila resident can't wait to become "Chloe in America." Leaving the Philippines means escaping her overbearing family, including Pa, who exudes #ProudDad energy on Instagram but is emotionally distant IRL, and bossy Auntie Queenie. Before Chloe leaves, however, her family plans on turning her 18th birthday party into a traditional Filipino debut. Queenie insists that Chloe participate in a formal dance with 18 male friends, and proceeds to kaishao her—set up potential-partner introductions that Chloe calls "very Mulan matchmaker-esque"—with local Chinoy, or Chinese Filipino, boys. Meanwhile, Chloe's Filipina best friend Cia works on fixing Chloe up with her crush, Cia's charismatic older brother Jappy. The result is a snappy, voicey debut filled with myriad embarrassing meet-cutes involving boys within Chloe's tight-knit cohort. A sweetly rendered, idiosyncratic cast who communicate via clever, Tagalog- and Hokkien-punctuated banter populate this laugh-out-loud exploration of Chinoy culture, first love, and intracommunal tensions. A Tagalog and Hokkien glossary concludes. Ages 12–up.