FROM AMAZON: A poor family moves to 18th-century London, where the father has been offered a job as a carpenter for a circus. His children befriend a young girl who introduces them to the great city. Their neighbor is none other than the real-life poet, William Blake.
Best-selling author Tracy Chevalier also wrote Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Reason Read: TIOLI #1 Happy (light)
This is was a free book from AudioSync File summer book program for YA. It has been on my shelf since May of 2020.
I found the book easy to listen too and that probably is due to the reader but I felt the story telling was trying to do too much; covering things like being a young person coming to age, trying to discover who you are, immigrates, adoption, Asian culture, LGBTQ. I won’t be looking to read any more by this author. ( )

CW: Class mate commits suicide a year earlier. Kidnapping of child. Depression. Anxiety.

This is a beautiful novel that covers some great topics but could have done with a wee edit. I have been sitting here trying to think of which storyline could have been written out. I have concluded that the novel wouldn't have suffered if the 'Sandra' storyline had been removed. In fact I think it would have allowed the other storylines to be less diluted if you know what I mean. Everything else felt crucial to our journey as the novel was primarily about Danny's family and his close friends. I thought Danny's relationship with his parents was wonderful and their love for him clear to see. Their grief over the loss of their daughter was set aside in order to channel their energy towards Danny's future.

"They understand what it means for your life to orbit around a single choice. How everything that comes after will always originate from a single point."

The choice his parents make at the end of the novel had a tear sliding down my cheek. The love of parents is truly powerful.

I was captivated by the way the author chose to reveal how the story ended! So remarkably original and brilliant. A wonderful novel. ( )

"Family, art, love, duty, and longing collide in this painfully beautiful paean to the universal human need for connection.

Cupertino, California, high school senior Danny Cheng has a tight circle of friends, adoring parents, and a full scholarship to his dream school, the Rhode Island School of Design. But lurking just beneath the surface are secrets and tensions that threaten to tear apart everything he holds dear. Closeted Danny has kept hidden his longtime attraction to his best friend, Harry Wong, who is in a serious relationship with Danny’s close friend Regina Chan. Some of his parents’ oddities also turn out to be more than just eccentricity; they are hiding something dark from their past. Danny knows he had an older sister who died in China, but little beyond that. He stumbles across a mysterious file of papers, but his parents refuse to explain. Meanwhile, some in Danny’s circle of school friends are struggling with demons of their own. Gilbert paints a vivid portrait of a largely Asian-American community, diverse in terms of socio-economic status, ethnicity, and religious faith. While the topics dealt with may be heavy, the book is suffused with the warmth of the characters’ love for one another. Imperfect in their human frailty and noble in their desire to do the best they can, they are universally recognizable and sympathetic.

Exquisite, heartbreaking, unforgettable—and, ultimately, uplifting. (Fiction. 14-adult)" www.kirkusreviews.com, A Kirkus Starred Review

adult/teen coming of age - realistic fiction (family secrets, layered characters, Chinese-American middle/upper class kids from Cupertino).
I would call this "character-driven" except that it didn't appear to be going anywhere, just a guy moping around with his poser friends, giving partial backstories and not talking about that box full of stalker files and the big secret his dad is hiding. I skimmed ahead and it sounds like there is a suicide among his close friends later so it may also touch on mental health issues, but I'm guessing these are characters that aren't able to talk about their real problems, so it could just be a bunch more seemingly meaningless interactions while we wait for these character details to come out.
To be fair--sorry, I am totally NOT being fair--I only made it to page 54, so I can't actually speak for this book as a whole; these are just the fleeting impressions of someone expecting plot-driven/emotionally-driven teen lit and finding something much quieter and deeper. Becky Albertalli's glowing review was put on the cover, so I was at least expecting something snarky, but alas. ( )