I actually enjoyed reading this book quite a lot. Being of Asian descent myself, the pressure of parental and societal expectations was very relatable! Things I loved in the book - the teenage friendships was the most fun aspect of the book; along with the regular doses of high-school competition, drama, and romance! Ticket the boxes for me for this genre. The book was also pretty good in representing the everyday struggles of immigrants trying to provide the best future for their children - you can see that some of these are authentically drawn from the author's own experience.

If you are looking for a light YA romance, this is a great choice.

Special thanks to NetGalley for sending me this ARC!
#NetGalley

Fantastic story. Sophisticated writing... but almost dry. I teach in a high achieving school so I think the students will relate to the competition among students as well as the parental expectations.

A thoroughly delightful and touching book about high school angst, with a twist: in this story, the protagonist is a brilliant Chinese-American teenage boy, a very smart but socially immature kid who studies MCAT questions for the heck of it since he’s already practically aced the SATs. When not in regular school or Saturday Chinese school, David works long hours at his family’s Chinese restaurant, which, while giving him no opportunities to date, provides plenty of opportunities to think about.

This is a lovely, feel good story, and the author captures the thoughts and behaviors of his protagonist beautifully. The characters are real, as is the story and situations in which they find themselves. And there’s an unexpected twist at the end.

Highly recommended!

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley. I look forward to reading more books by Ed Lin.

This book is presented as an amusing contemporary about the contrasts between being raised in a strictly academic household and a romantic coming-of-age. It follows David as he prepares for college applications, as the boy who wants to date and mess around at his weekend classes, and the boy who is locked in a battle for the top spot in his class and apprenticeship during the week.

Unfortunately, I didn’t connect with this book at all. The story was interesting, but David’s alternating indifferent and critical voice did little to keep me hooked. As well as this, too much time was spent talking about unimportant things. We went through his entire daily schedule for multiple days, learning every detail of every class, even when nothing happened.

A big issue for me was that women are objectified and compared often, our first introductions to three female characters being: comments on their breasts, comments on how pretty they were and whether they wore makeup, and comments pitting them against each other. Even Christina, who is ranked higher in the class than David, comes across as dumb and two-dimensional.

Despite my personal lack of connection with this book, there were some strong points. The story was easy to read, fairly light-hearted and very typical of a (potentially slightly younger) YA contemporary. It has a lot of Asian representation, highlighting the differences between Asian-American cultures in particular, it explores strained family dynamics and, of course, has plenty of high-school relationship drama and romance. As well as this, we see David’s very strong work ethic and commitment to his future goals, and it was refreshing to see how hard he tried at school and how much he wanted the summer internship that would get him into an Ivy.

Overall, this is an easy, light-hearted book. It unfortunately wasn’t for me, but I’m sure a slightly younger reader might enjoy it a lot more.

This was definitely a cute book and I loved David and Betty’s relationship as it progresses throughout the book.

What really kept me interested was the typical normalcy of David as he goes through high school. It was very accurate and played on the way students act, teachers act, and parents control. I really enjoyed reading about David’s choices and meeting his friends. It was so cool to see the different aspects of David’s life as if he really led 2 different lives.

It was difficult for me to get into this novel. I put it down several times. The opening pages just did not interest me. I came back to it after having read some of the reviews, and yes, I did like it better. It became more interesting and made a little more sense. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kaya Press for providing me with a digital ARC for honest review

2.5 stars
David Tung Can't Have a Girlfriend Until He Gets into An Ivy League College follows Chinese-American student David Tung as he competes in his cutthroat high school full of the elite of New Jersey. Vying for a coveted internship, David is asked to a dance by his competitor, popular girl Christina Tau. There's just one problem; David can't date till he gets into an Ivy league college. We follow David through his trials at school, with every other waking hour spent at his family's restaurant, excepting his Saturdays which are spent at the Chinese school where he finds refuge from expectations.

I expected this book to be a light-hearted contemporary romance with hard hitting moments. However, it didn't deliver for me. The book deals with a few important issues, specifically the pressures of school and grades, the idea of being Chinese 'enough' whether this be through being mixed race or living in a gentrified area, and classism in schools. These are all really important things, which made it all the more disappointing when they fell flat. The problem with the book is that it felt like there was no stakes. We're always told how David feels like he's under a lot of pressure, but we're never shown it. This is largely due to the tone David has. He often has an indifferent attitude, which is unusual in someone who is apparently so driven. The other issue with his tone is the air of superiority he has. While I'm someone that does love a problematic character, David's superiority was never really acknowledged as a problem. As a matter of fact, a lot of the time David is a real arse, and he never faces repercussions, often the book celebrates him for being somewhat of a bad person. All this would be redeemable if we saw David grow or develop as a character, but this doesn't happen. David's big revelation is that people still matter even if he doesn't care about them, and even this doesn't feel earned. He has the realisation off the cuff and again is celebrated for showing a glimmer of humanity. The final problem I had with this book was the latent misogyny. The book often objectifies girls, which I could excuse in the beginning as it suited the voice of the teenage boy we were following. However, again there's no consequences for David's view of women, the book almost reinforces a 'boys will be boys' view. Not only are girls objectified for seemingly no reason, but this book falls into the adage of pinning women against each other. It's 2020! Descriptions like: "Betty wasn't as sexy as Christina. She wasn't sexy at all... Betty didn't wear the necessary clothes, jewelry, or beauty products to play that sort of game" just make me roll my eyes. Christina is constantly represented as being vapid and shallow even though she has a higher class ranking than David. The girls in this book exist for nothing more than to give David something to look at.

With all that said I want to make it clear, I didn't hate this book! It was just fine. There was no real plot or point to the book, but it was an easy-going read that did have some humorous moments and some interesting insights into the Chinese-American experience. But unfortunately this wasn't enough to compensate for the problems I had.

This book brought me straight back to high school. Even though I'm not Chinese, I could relate to a lot of things David lives through because my high school rhythm was similar to his - I graduated with honors and spent most of my time studying. Well, thankfully, I didn't have to work evenings after that as David did! Being a straight A's student is already hard enough, without the added work.

And although I don't normally enjoy being brought back into my teen memories as it wasn't my best time, I enjoyed this book - because David seems to be handling things much better than I did. I really liked his character, and sometimes I wondered how things would be now if I had it in me to get out of the situations the way David managed.

I liked the story, and it wraps up very nicely, and reads quickly. It doesn't have very big dramatic events - just regular things in the life of a Chinese teen, growing up in America - but all the better, because daily struggles are just as real as life drama. So I can definitely recommend this read.

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

I recently learned that the Asian population is the fastest growing people group in the US. So, sticking with my intent to diversify my shelves, I was thrilled to find David Tung Can’t Have a Girlfriend Until He Gets Into an Ivy League College on @netgalley. The cover is so cute, I love the long emo-song-title length title and it is set in NJ! 😍😍😍

The title pretty much sums up the synopsis. It’s definitely more of a character driven novel than an action driven one. I appreciated the look into life as an immigrant in the US, particularly that from an Asian perspective, but it was clear early on that I was not this book’s target audience. Lin’s writing is humorous and youthful, and I would 💯 recommend this for actual middle or high school students (these contemporaries are always hit or miss for me since I fall no where near that actual demographic anymore 😭😅😂).

I was really glad to read this one, particularly since I’ve seen nothing on booksta about it. So, thank you @edlinforpresident and @kayapress for this early look and happy belated pub day!!

I only got about 25% through before I realized that I was bored and that it felt like a chore to read. I particularly didn't care for David's hyper-critical voice. His inner monologue was very long-winded, which I find will deter readers, especially males. Less thinking, more action.

We are deep in David’s day to day existence as the book starts. He’s got some stealth moves and secret tactics to help him squeeze every last bit of juice out of the grade grapes. It’s dog-eat-dog at his school and he’s going to go up in the standings whatever he has to (legally and ethically) do. I enjoyed settling into his head and watching him maneuver his way through a day. Since the book is actually more of a coming of age rather than a YA romance (though it does have a romance thread that begins about half way through the book) I didn’t mind the focus on him. The plot meanders a bit as David’s whole world is slowly introduced but as there are many things for me to learn about ABCs and FOBs, I found most of it interesting.

One thing is made clear – Asian Americans (and here specifically Chinese Americans and immigrant Chinese) are not a monolith Borg. Despite his parents being “Northern Chinese,” his mother made the decision to send David to a Chinese school that is predominantly Cantonese. As David freely admits that his spoken and written Mandarin isn’t as good as it should be, much less knowing any Cantonese, his mental translations of words not only makes sense but is helpful to readers who don’t know any Chinese languages.

David is the intersection between the Crazy Sorta Rich Asians and the hard working immigrants trying to establish themselves. Through his eyes, we get to see both populations. A few are only one note (bitchy Jean the Mean Girl) but most are more well rounded and show a variety of backgrounds and viewpoints. I might not have liked all of the characters but they felt real. For the most part, David just tries to keep his head down, works hard, and attempts to not make his mother mad. I do wish that there had been more background about his parents but since this is a first person POV, it could have seemed weird for David to know every detail about them.

The slow romance that develops is very low key but seems to be in keeping with what the Chinese community feels is appropriate and acceptable. David might chafe at some of the restrictions but he never thinks to go outside them. His mother might strictly lay down the law but there are also little moments that show she cares deeply for him and not just about how well he does.

David Tung has a wry sense of humor and a deep sense of honor. He’s hard working yet likes to goof off at times. He helps his friends, obeys his parents, and puts in effort to achieve what he already knows he wants. I actually wouldn’t mind reading about David 2.0 to see if he does get into an Ivy League College. Hint, hint.

David Tung Can’t Have a Girlfriend Until He Gets Into an Ivy League College is a fantastic and fast-paced coming of age novel that follows David, a first-generation Chinese American, through his everyday life of competitive high school, weekend Chinese School, and daily work at his parents’ restaurant. David deals with balancing his own goals and ambitions, as well as those of his parents, with being a teenager and all that comes with that.

This is a well-written book, fast paced and has some interesting characters. I sympathized with the character of Betty a lot, she was definitely my favourite. This book realistically depicts the pressure that some students are under, often because of their parents. If I had a mom like David, I probably would never visit her after I’d gone away to college. I mean it is one thing to want your kids to do well, but the pressure she put him under, and the rude things she said to him… that is no way to treat your child. Also the father was too passive, he just stayed silent and ran along with whatever his wife wanted.
When David got the interview for the internship (and then the internship) I was so excited, and every time he was nervous about something I felt so empathetic about it, as if I myself were about to take a test or do an interview.

Did not finish. I was willing to let the very bland writing style go and keep giving it a chance for at least a chapter or two, but not even 3% into the book and the main character/narrator is talking about how he can't believe there's a girl ahead of him in the class rank who is not only extremely smart, but very attractive as well, and how he can't believe she may be smarter than him. Nope. Not doing it. Sorry, Ed Lin.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

When David isn't studying for his high caliber classes, he is either working in his family restaurant or attending Chinese school. What he's NOT doing is dating, because David Tung can't have a girlfriend until he gets into an ivy league college. David may understand this, but his heart might not have received the message.

I really enjoyed getting to know David. Though this story was told from the point of view of a first generation American born Chinese young man, I still found many aspects of his life relatable. When David talked about the pressures of his coursework and juggling his work and school life, while trying to live up to his parents' high expectations, it was easy to understand to some degree where he was coming from.

I breathed a sigh of relief for David when Saturday rolled around, and he went to Chinese school. Instead of attending the local school, he traveled to China Town in New York. There, he was able to escape many of the things that constantly pressed upon him. This was his haven. A school, where he didn't have to worry about how well he performed. He was free from his responsibilities and could just enjoy the time with his peers.

Though Chinese school offered a respite from school, work, and familial obligations, it was another place where David felt like a bit of an outsider. The students in the school all lived in China Town and shared a common background, and there were times he felt disconnected from them because he didn't. I thought he was more at home there than he was in his own town though. He lived in a town with a large Chinese population, and though David's family were residents, they did not enjoy the economic success of the other inhabitants. He found it difficult to fit in with his schoolmates. I think so many could relate to David's general feelings of otherness more than anything.

I know I have you feeling sad for David, but I have to say, all these things were explored with so much humor. Seriously, I laughed a LOT as I read this book. David's voice was fantastic, and his observations were witty and wry, and well, really dead-on at times. There were so many things I adored, but one of my favorite things was the friendship between David and Betty.

Betty was a bit of a Chinese school outsider too, due to her being biracial. Despite that, she was the best student at the school, and initially resented David and his slacker friends. Circumstances brought them together, and a beautiful friendship blossomed between the two. Their exchanges made me smile until my cheeks hurt, and I loved how much David learned about himself via his friendship with Betty. He experience a tremendous amount of growth in his time spent with her, and I was as enchanted with Betty as David was.

This was such a wonderful coming-of-age tale. It was told with lots of humor, which delighted me, and also a lot of honesty and heart. The ending left me all sorts of warm and fuzzy and I found myself really proud of David.

Ah, fictitious Shark Beach, New Jersey (Spoiler Alert, it's Millburn/Short Hills). Harmony Health is Overlook Hospital in neighboring Summit, NJ. Midtown Direct trainline. Oh, and abundance of Asian Americans. All clues, all important to David Tung's existence that bridges the gap between child of immigrant parents and living in an indulgent suburb of New York City. And, oh yes indeed, the struggle is real. Between getting the grades, SAT scores, extracurriculars and internships, David still has to work at his family's restaurant and go into the city for Chinese School on Saturdays. The story gets so much right, like high school bullying and the pressure to be perfect and on point all the time, but the relationships with girls part . . . not sure about that. It's all so PG, hand holding and what not. A little too middle school. But, an insightful read, none the less. I appreciated the deep dive into the Chinese American immigrant experience and connected with the setting because it is where I live and work. And, Ed Lin gets setting right. Very, very right.

A delightful, Own Voices, coming of age novel following David as he navigates highschool, Chinese school, class, academics, and relationships. I love how the relationship with his parents was handled with such care, while not sugarcoating how hard it is to live with strict parents and high expectations.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this advanced reader copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing a copy of this book for me.

<i> David Tung Can't Have a Girlfriend Unless He Gets Into an Ivy League College </i> was not what I expected at all. In the best possible way.

I loved getting to know David Tung. He immediately felt like such a special character to me. He is driven and a little socially awkward (except in Chinese School when he's a right rebel). He is obedient and genuinely cares for his family. He has high hopes and high dreams and American Asian or not he is highly relatable.

I loved this insight into David as an American Asian character but since I am neither American or Asian, I will leave the analysis of this particular aspect to more capable reviewers.

I also loved his relationship with his friends at Chinese School, the way he is determined to see the best in people even though he doesn't have the best time at his high school. He is considerate and nice and he is falling in love for the very first time. And I feel very privileged to got to go on that wild ride with him.

I will heartily recommend David Tung's story to everyone who wants to read a comfortable and nice slice of life/coming of age story with a lot of heart and a lot of love.

This reminds me of all my Asian friends, and how they had to work so hard in college because of their parents. David Tung says, int he book, that yes, he had to do the same, but also because he wants to.

If you want a good look at life amongst the diaspora of Chinese living in the United States. We follow David as he goes to public high school, goes to work at his families Chinese restaurant, and goes to Chinese school in NYC Chinatown.

The details are interesting, but they don’t advance the story. Each time David, through the author, goes into detail, I’m thinking it will be something we need to know, and it often is not.

This is more a slice of life, chracter driven novel, more than anything. There is not much action. The big urgency is whether or not David can take Christina to a dance, and that is wrapped up in the first half of the book.

So, while it is a good slice of life, I kept hoping for something more to happen, and it never quite did.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

David Tung is only a sophomore, but he is fixated on his class rank. He lives in Shark Beach, NJ, an enclave or rich Chinese immigrants, where most of the families are Cantonese. His family, on the contrary, is from Northern China (his mother was from Shanghai and fled China for Taiwan as a teen), and his father claims Mongolian ancestry.
But their Cantonese neighbors are wealthy and David's family is not - they toil long hours at their Chinese restaurant, where David must spend all of his waking hours outside of school.

David also spends Saturdays at Chinese school in Chinatown, rather than attending the local Chinese school, as his mother had some sort of issue with them 8 years prior. David spends his time at Chinese school hanging out with his rough-around-the edges Chinese friends, from whom he learns about life in Chinatown and how it differs from his own. David lives a conundrum, too working class for Shark Beach, and too suburban for Chinatown.

Most of all, David is at his mother's beck and call. She has "trained him to battle for grades" and will not allow him to date until he is accepted into an Ivy League school. David, meanwhile, has internalized the academic pressure and does some hilarious things to work his way to the top, such as figuring out that one of his teachers gives pop quizzes when his socks are unmatched. But highest on David's list of priorities is a medical internship at Harmony Health Cancer Center -- David, who wants to be an oncologist (because he was inspired by Steve Jobs' story), obsesses about his candidacy. He watches every video that the oncology chief has ever produced, and because he obtained a high SAT score, jumps ahead to start studying for the MCAT every chance he gets.

David is nerdy, hilarious, introspective and totally captures the reader's heart. His quest for love and self acceptance is heartwarming and inspiring. This book provides a close look at the academic pressures that many Chinese American children face. It also dives into the classism, bias and internalized racism within the Chinese community. While YA, this book is totally appropriate and entertaining for adult readers. Once I started reading, I was hooked! #netgalley #DavidTungCan'tHaveAGirlfriendUntilHeGetsIntoAnIvyLeagueCollege