Central Places - Delia Cai

 Central places - Delia Cai

Release Date: January 31, 2023

She read

Audrey Zhou grew up as one of the very few Asian Americans in small town central Illinois, had a difficult relationship with her mother and couldn’t wait to get out.  After college, she moved to New York where she obtained a good job and a white fiancé, Ben. She hasn’t returned home for eight years but his called there over Christmas when her father has to undergo a medical procedure.  Ben travels with her, but her visit is complicated by her difficulties with her mother as well as encountering her high school crush and her former best friend with whom she had a falling out years ago.  

There are many emotional rabbit holes in this story. There is the poignancy of being ethnically different in a white bread American  town where kids can be really cruel, the effects of parents who are different from the “norm”, and never feeling that you truly fit in,  the often fraught mother daughter relationship especially when the mother is demanding and seemingly cold. There is dealing with parents who are aging and the inner conflict in a child about what debt is owed them. There is the draw of a first love; finding equality in a mature human relationship, and letting go.

This is well written by a debut author.  She captures so well those feelings about returning to your parental home (your “central place”) as a young adult when your parents are moving on and you see your childhood room for the last time.  I really liked the first half of the book. It became a tad tedious for a while because I thought Audrey was a bit immature and bratty and Ben a bit snobbish and dickish.  But it ended strong with the satisfaction of resolution. This is a worthwhile read. 

Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhouse  for the ARC

*****