Stargazing

Written by: Jen Wang

First line: Christine, your collar was undone the whole time.

Why you should read this book: Christine wants to be a good daughter/member of the Asian American community, so she dutifully practices the violin, attends Chinese school once a week, and does her best to live up to her parents' expectations, but a big part of her admires Moon, who is Asian American as well, but in a different way: Buddhist, vegetarian, wearing nail polish, dancing to pop music, and sometimes punching people who frankly deserve it. At first Moon scares Christine, but she soon finds a new kind of freedom in their friendship, even if Moon still does and says things that she can't quite condone or comprehend. Maybe Moon is too cool for Christine, or maybe something else could steal her away, or maybe Christine's own insecurity can destroy this friendship without any outside help.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You do everything your parents expect of you and you like it that way.