Real Americans
Beautiful
Compelling
Meaningful

Real Americans A novel

Rachel Khong2024
From the award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin: How far would you go to shape your own destiny? An exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family, and asks: What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures? Real Americans begins on the precipice of Y2K in New York City, when twenty-two-year-old Lily Chen, an unpaid intern at a slick media company, meets Matthew. Matthew is everything Lily is not: easygoing and effortlessly attractive, a native East Coaster and, most notably, heir to a vast pharmaceutical empire. Lily couldn't be more different: flat-broke, raised in Tampa, the only child of scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Despite all this, Lily and Matthew fall in love. In 2021, fifteen-year-old Nick Chen has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where he lives with his single mother, Lily. He can't shake the sense she's hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than answers. In immersive, moving prose, Rachel Khong weaves a profound tale of class and striving, race and visibility, and family and inheritance—a story of trust, forgiveness, and finally coming home. Exuberant and explosive, Real Americans is a social novel par excellence that asks: Are we destined, or made, and if so, who gets to do the making? Can our genetic past be overcome?
Sign up to use

Reviews

Photo of Eva Ströberg
Eva Ströberg@cphbirdlady
5 stars
Jul 19, 2024
Photo of Cheri McElroy
Cheri McElroy@cherimac
4.5 stars
May 22, 2024
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
5 stars
May 9, 2024
Deep
Layered
Magnetic
Eloquent
Touching
Beautiful
Remarkable
Compelling
Expressive
Meaningful
Paradoxical
Awe-inspiring
Extraordinary
Contemplative
Thought provoking
Photo of Charlene Jackson
Charlene Jackson@charlenejackson
4.5 stars
Sep 20, 2024
Photo of Katelyn Caillouet
Katelyn Caillouet@hellokatelyn
3.5 stars
Sep 3, 2024
Complex
Fast paced
Photo of Barbara
Barbara@brubru
2.5 stars
Jul 31, 2024
Photo of Rosie Reyes
Rosie Reyes@sweetierose
4 stars
Jun 26, 2024
Intense
Beautiful
Meaningful
Photo of Ashley
Ashley@pterodashtyl
3 stars
Jun 4, 2024
Unique
Candid
Cerebral
Touching
Compelling
Insightful
Meaningful
Contemplative
Photo of Jemima Scott
Jemima Scott@readwithmims
4 stars
Apr 7, 2024
Honest
Meaningful

Highlights

Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln