3.5 stars

The fact that I was able to finish this in 3 days in the middle of a massive slump is testament to how addictive and entertaining this book is. Do I think that it's perfect? No. I think there's a number of plot holes and inconsistencies, but it honestly didn't impact my enjoyment too much because at the end of the day, this book was just a lot of fun. I don't know if I would've loved it as much if it weren't for the romance subplot, because I absolutely adored the chemistry between Alice and Henry. I am a sucker for a good academic rivals-to-lovers trope, and this one ticked all the boxes for me (ie. one of them doesn't even know they're supposed to hate each other 😭). My biggest frustration with the book is the lack of consequences for the main characters' actions, but I think this is pretty in line with other similar YA books that I've read. All in all, If the idea of a YA dark academia with speculative elements that takes place in Beijing, with a highly shippable academic rivals-to-lovers subplot, I would definitely recommend picking this one up!

This is a story about feeling invisible and wanting to be seen, but then not wanting to be 100% seen as you truly are, but as the perfect version of yourself. It is about wanting more than what you have and what you fear your station in life will allow, and what you are willing to do to get it. This book covered some serious topics: racism, classism, and pressures put on students (sometimes from themselves) to succeed, but addressed them in a not too heavy way.

I loved this book. The turning invisible aspect put a unique spin on things. This is an enemies to lovers trope, but you also have this main storyline of the Alice using her invisibility to make money which adds a whole different aspect. This story shows you that just because someone is rich, it doesn’t mean that their life is easy (something Alice always assumed but learned differently) and it demonstrates how far some people are willing to go to get what they want and how easy it can be to lose yourself and become someone you don’t recognize.

This was a wonderful and fun novel that gave us a beautiful look at Beijing, and had some important lessons. Even though this is set in a prestigious and expensive international boarding school in Beijing, the issues these kids are dealing with I think are issues that many students could relate to. It is a quick read. I think this book would be a hit with young adults, but even this older mother of young adults loved this one.

Thank you Net Galley and Inkyard Press for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand. I will post a copy of this review on Goodreads, and after this novel is published, I will share it on Amazon and B&N.

This would make for an amazing tv show. I loved Alice and the idea that why couldn't you use your power to keep yourself in school. What could go wrong? Well that question is answered in this story that I could not put down. I loved how engaging it was and how it made me care about Alice and her life. It was well paced and emotional. Hope, humor, and some romance await the reader of this epic tale.

Wow! This was more entertaining, action packed and engaging than I expected!

When I saw the cover and read the blurb that mentions a Chinese American girl who is aspiring, brilliant scholarship student monetizes her power to pay her school fees, I expected to read something more dramatic, depressing and sad. I didn’t mean this book is not enough thought provoking with strong messages like criticizing class differences, racism, inequality, poverty but the way of giving those messages was brilliant! And I have to admit I truly sympathize with Alice from the first chapter where she eats a lunch with her family at a restaurant and feels something ominous about to come ( family eats lunch rarely: for birthdays, for deaths and for dramatic news)

As a successful student/ study machine of Airington College, Alice can only get partial scholarship and she finds out her family cannot afford the rest of her tuition. She has two options : going back to the states for attending a school located in Maine or even worse going to the public school in Beijing.

Deeply frustrated Alice has time to decide till the end of the semester. Clock is ticking!

When she thinks nothing can be worse than this situation, after an award ceremony and ugly banters with her nemesis Henry, she feels like something is truly wrong. She starts shivering, and a few seconds later she gets hyperventilating as if she’s suffering from fever and then BAM: She cannot see her own image in the mirror! She’s freaking invisible!

She needs to consult someone as genius as her: that means she needs her nemesis’ help! Maybe they can work on a special app called Beijing Ghost which can help the other students by reaching everywhere without being notice.

Alice thinks her secret power helps her get enough money to pay her tuition and help out her family’s financial problems. And her partner in crime Henry seems like not as annoying as she’s imagined. But knowledge is power and also too much uncontrollable power may ruin people’s lives. Alice is about to experience it from the first hand!

Fantasy meets enemies to lovers romance with powerful messages made me enjoy my reading a lot more than I expected.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This book was great! The characters were relatable and well-written, especially Alice, the protagonist. I feel that she is someone that a lot of high schoolers can relate to. The plot was interesting and relatable (sorry about the repetition). The book itself is a really creative spin on a typical high school character tropes, and I am excited to see how my students will enjoy it.

This was everything I wanted in a book right now!

It's enemies to lovers, although the ml thought they were just in a fun little competition the whole time.

The main character is headstrong and ambitious and the love interest is a bit of himbo, despite them being rivals for the best student award at an elite Beijing high school.

I absolutely loved their banter and Henry pining for Alice's compliments was chef's kiss! "I didn't know you had such a praise kink."

I began reading as soon as I got approve for an ARC and finished this in one night! This was just the perfect amount of cheesy and poetic and it's definitely going to be one of my favorites.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange an honest review!

If You Could See the Sun is a charming YA debut from Ann Liang that is part speculative fiction, part contemporary coming of age story, part love letter to Beijing.

The premise of this book, a working class girl, Alice, is attending a prestigious international school in Beijing and working hard to be the top student in her class when she learns that her parents can no longer afford her school tuition. Shortly thereafter, she also discovers she can become invisible, literally invisible. In order to stay at her beloved school, Alice decides to monetize her new powers of invisibility with an app that she creates with her academic rival (and later love interest), Henry Li. Alice and Henry's app allow students to request PI type missions, protecting and/or exposing the secrets of her wealthy and powerful classmates, and taking risks they cannot take themselves.

What is more interesting than the invisibility capers is Alice's struggle to come to terms with her working class background and the inferiority she feels in the face of her ultra-wealthy classmates. Alice is driven by the need to do better for herself, to elevate her family above their working class status, to make something of herself. She loves writing, but only considers majoring in something with a high earning potential. She studies obsessively, but has no true friends. Alice's all consuming ambition is made sympathetic through glimpses into Alice's humble home life, including her family's attempt at immigrating to the United States which ended with a return to Beijing when their Chinese grocery store in California failed. The class divisions between Alice and her classmates are stark, and the systemic inequality which allows even less talented students to receive preferential treatment at school make it hard to fault Alice for sticking it to the man, even when the app leads her down some morally questionable paths. Her romance with her academic rival, Henry, feels organic, as does her growing realization that she is not as (metaphorically) invisible to her classmates as she had thought.

I should mention that Beijing really comes to life here as the setting for the majority of the book. I lived in Beijing for five years myself and If You Could See the Sun is one of those books which has loads of little tidbits that anyone who is local to the setting will recognize and delight in. Sometimes you can tell that an author has chosen a setting which they have no personal connection to, but this is not at all the case here. Just a chapter into the book and I said to myself, this writer is either from Beijing, or lived there for a long time, and moreover, she loves this city with all her heart. The choice of details-- the toy sellers outside of Shimao Tianjie, the public school students with their tracksuits doing homework outside their parents shops, the spam stickers on the doors of the lower middle class housing (that is tiny and 2 hours outside of the city and probably still costs more to buy than a McMansion in Texas)-- capture the time and place just perfectly. This book made me intensely nostalgic for Beijing, and I hope Ann Liang revisits this setting because she has a knack for writing it.

Overall, I thought this was an excellent debut and I can't wait to see what else Liang has in store.

I just have to say before I bother with anything else, that I absolutely adored this book from start to finish and everything else in between.

The fact is, this book balanced out the discussion on wealth and power so seamlessly with the romance aspect that I couldn’t imagine it being any better. From the obvious parallels to Macbeth to the understanding that to be seen we must first see ourselves, I loved every moment

Better yet, Alice didn’t become visible suddenly because of Henry. Their relationship isn’t the point, it’s merely a prize. Alice, throughout all of this, had to understand that while wealth does move mountains, our life is defined by more than just successes.

Speaking of success—I, and everyone else who reads this book, is going to fall completely in love with Henry Li. You beautiful fool of a boy.

Please read this book, if only for a few wide grins, and some hope.

. Alice Sun feels invisible in her Beijing private school.One day she actually finds out she can become invisible. With the help of a friend, she starts selling secrets to fund her tuition.

This book was a wild ride. Alice's power is kind of cool, and she soon is overwhelmed with requests to buy secrets. It also highlights the difficulties of a poor family and the pressures of a child succeeding and having a better life. Alice is the only student at her school on a scholarship, and it doesn't cover all her tuition. Her family has given her two options - move to the US and attend school there or attend another school locally. She wants to succeed and is very smart, but she doesn't have a lot of options. Overall, this was an excellent YA novel!

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard press.

I devoured if you could see the sun in a little under two hours. I got really into it the second I realized it had academic rivals to lovers. This takes place at Beijing boarding school, and it costs a lotttt of money, which our main character, Alice, is in serious need of if she wants to stay there. This book address social class, privilege, and has Chinese rep. It's a contemporary romance but with a bit of fantasy - Alice begins to randomly go invisible. Her rival, Henry and her create an app that lets people request things in return for payment. Things escalate and her life begins to spiral because of it. I would have liked to see Alice be able to control her power more, or recognize what caused it to occur. I also loved Chanel and would love more backstory on her.

Between the gorgeous writing and the incredible class commentary and Henry Li, if I wasn't squealing into my pillow, I was near tears at feeling seen by the Chinese culture and diaspora experience woven throughout.

An all-time top favorite.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.