Review: Boys I Know by Anna Gracia

A special thank you to Turn The Page Tours for trusting me with a physical copy of this beautiful book.

Boys I know is a sex-positive coming of age story following June Chu, a Taiwanese American teen who struggles to live up to her parents strict expectations while living in the shadow of her perfectionist sister. The book follows June as she navigates messy romantic relationships and as she tries to figure out what she wants for her future. This book explores important themes like racial identity and the “model minority” stereotype. June is the daughter of Taiwanese born immigrants who have assimilated in the mostly white culture of her town. Boys I know gives you a glimpse into the lives of a middle class Asian American family raising their daughters with cultural expectations that sometimes conflict with the culture they have to navigate. Boys I know is a raw and honest book that contains sensitive themes that some people might find uncomfortable. TW: Dubious consent,microaggressions,casual racism,pregnancy scare. Please read with care. I received an Advanced Review Copy of Boys I know from Turn The Page Tours, the following review is my honest opinion after reading the book.

I want to start off by saying that when the cover of this book was released to the public I was excited and I couldn’t wait to read it and it did not disappoint. If I were to rate Boys I know on a five star scale I would give it four stars. (explanation coming soon)

Boys I know was a wild ride. As a Caribbean born American I could totally relate to how June felt about her parent’s career expectations. I also come from a culture that prioritizes careers such as doctors, lawyers etc. I felt it in my soul when June talked about doing her best and her best not being good enough in the eyes of her parents. This book made me laugh, cry and cringe. You know a book is good if you get second-hand embarrassment from a main character’s actions. June is a young woman who feels like her life is already mapped out for her courtesy of her parents — so she is doing the bare minimum and trying to find happiness while ignoring the impending doom of doing what her parents want for her future.

June has a complicated relationship with her mother and sister. Her mother often uses her sister’s success as a means to motivate June but this backfires because after reading this book you will see how this gives June a low self-esteem. June parent’s puts her sister Wendy on a pedestal because she has accomplished every goal they set for her and they hope to use her as an example for June to follow. You will later see how this affects Wendy. She isn’t an unphased perfectionist, she is a person under immense pressure and this affects her relationship with her sister June — who is viewed as lazy because she doesn’t aspire to be what her parents want her to be in life career wise. June’s father hardly makes an appearance, he is shown as a hardworking doctor who works hard to provide for their family, leaving her mother as the main disciplinarian.

June is a hopeless romantic. She falls for her lab partner Rhys who becomes her first unofficial boyfriend. In Boys I know you see June move through relationships with the opposite sex. She experiences different extremes in love. First from a guy who likes her but doesn’t know how to express it. Then she meets a guy who love bombs her and fetishizes her and then lastly she falls a guy who she thought genuinely liked her but she later finds out he was using her for a good time. I love that June doesn’t settle. She discovers after all the messy breakups and experiences that she loves someone who cannot reciprocate her love and I loves that she doesn’t settle. This book has sex in it but it isn’t graphic.

If you want to read a story that reminds you of high school, this is the book for you. Boys I know is high school fun, parties, sports all wrapped up in a book. It made me re-examine my high school experience.There was peer pressure, private teens only parties, alcohol. When you’re in high school, you often feel misunderstood and if you grew up in a strict household like I did, you would often go behind your parents a lot to do what you wanted. June made some bad decisions but she made some good ones too. I loved that she went to Planned Parenthood, even though her partner wasn’t really supportive. I also loved that she had access to important contraception.

There’s more I would like to say about this book but I will re-visit and post it after the book is published. I have so many thoughts on Rhys — June’s first crush and “first boyfriend”.

Boys I know isn’t a fluffy rom-com, I would say that it isn’t romance. This is a contemporary young adult book about a young woman trying to find her place in a world that wants to put her in a box. I really enjoyed this book and I think it has sequel potential. I would love to read about June’s college experience and I want to know if Rhys let her go without fighting. This would have been a five star read for me if June had a more clear happy ending. It ended with June graduating but I wanted more for her. A clear win instead of a unsure future but I can’t wait for the ride ending.

Boys I know is scheduled to be released on June 26th, 2022.

I will be re-visiting this book after it’s release. I want to give people the opportunity to read this book, before giving all of my thoughts. This was a enjoyable read.

Boys I know is available for pre-order from all major retailers.

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Anna’s Twitter: Grahseeya

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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review.