Title: When You Wish Upon a Lantern
Author: Gloria Chao
Publisher: Viking
Hardcover: 352 pages
Source: Publisher
Summary: (taken from Goodreads):
Liya and Kai had been best friends since they were little kids, but all that changed when a humiliating incident sparked The Biggest Misunderstanding Of All Time—and they haven’t spoken since.
Then Liya discovers her family’s wishing lantern store is struggling, and she decides to resume a tradition she had with her beloved late grandmother: secretly fulfilling the wishes people write on the lanterns they send into the sky. It may boost sales and save the store, but she can’t do it alone . . . and Kai is the only one who cares enough to help.
While working on their covert missions, Liya and Kai rekindle their friendship—and maybe more. But when their feuding families and their changing futures threaten to tear them apart again, can they find a way to make their own wishes come true?
4/5 stars
*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.*
This was really cute. As someone who lives near Chinatown Chicago, I loved the references to places that made me feel like I was there and that I might run into Liya and Kai when going out. I loved the chemistry between them; part best-friend, part crush, their shared humor and wonderfully awkward teen moments were perfect.
This is a wonderful, quick read about grief, growing up, and what it means to do right by your family. While much of it focuses on Liya’s struggle with her feelings of loss from her grandmother’s death, I didn’t feel as though this were too heavy or sad. Instead, it feels hopeful and inspiring, and the romance elements are so perfectly on point.
Purple People Readers 