I recoeved an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed reading this book! It felt so cozy and the romance was adorable! The writing was beautiful and the main character was fun to read. I would definetly read another book from this author

"If You Could See the Sun" centers on our protagonist, Alice Sun, as she navigates what could potentially be her last year at a prestigious, expensive private school in China. Not only does she feel like an outsider because of her lack of inherited familial wealth, but she also feels completely invisible to every one of her peers, constantly upstaged by her arch-academic-nemesis, Henry. Imagine her surprise when one day she actually DOES become invisible. After a little teenage angst about it, she decides to use her new-found power to start a lucrative business and earn a little cash to cover the cost of school fees. As she steps deeper into the seedy underbelly of this Beijing boarding school, she learns more about herself and the students around her.

This is a book that sounds right up my alley -- enemies-to-lovers romance, magical realism, academic rivalry. Perfection. But it fell a little flat in its execution of character work and conflict. Even by the end, I really didn't like Alice. I like an anti-hero, and I love a good morally gray character with an explainable and justifiable motive. But Alice is and remains self-centered, focused solely on the perception of others around her. She complains about being invisible to everyone around her, but actively rejects any meaningful connection with others for most of the book. It's an invisibility of her own making, which then manifests into literal invisibility. If this is the central conflict, I'm not sure it resolved conclusively enough (which I think this book was going for).

The main action in the plot stems from Alice's invisible spying/thieving, which I found enjoyable overall. I did find the culminating task to be absurd with an unconvincing "sub"-villain, but overall this plot device helped drive the plot forward. I wish Liang had explored the unpredictable nature of her power more because other than one task, Alice's powers (which apparently do not have an on/off switch) work the way she needs them to, when she needs them to almost all the time. I also generally enjoyed the romance between Henry and Alice. I saw her growing the most in the interactions with Henry, but even then I wish there was a deeper conflict behind Alice's animosity towards him.

Readers who like magical realism, a little romance, and a dash of action, will enjoy this book!

Not only was the writing in “If You Could See the Sun” by Ann Liang gorgeous, this story was superbly, all-around entertaining, heartfelt, and absolutely adorable. The cover is also so perfect. Definitely recommend!

Interesting and unique storyline! I have not read anything quite like this before! A scholarship student - the only one - at an elite boarding school must find a way to be able to stay after tuition costs are raised. She does not come from a wealthy family like all of the others so this makes it difficult for her family to afford. She strives to be the top of her class and when tuition increases and she might not be able to stay, she becomes invisible! She leans on her friend to become just that! Twists, turns, and excitement await in this VERY creative story!

When Justine from Harper Collins invites me to join a blog tour for a new book I'm always guaranteed a great read. If You Could See The Sun may seem like your typical girl-gets-a-new-superpower-and-turns-invisible story, but this debut novel by Ann Liang blew me away with its cultural richness, humour, and heart.

If You Could See the Sun
Ann Liang
9781335915849
Hardcover
$18.99 USD
Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Contemporary
352 pages
If You Could See The Sun is about Alice Sun. Her Chinese name is Sun Yan. She was born in Beijing and moved to California with her parents when she was seven. They move back to Beijing after Alice's mother is injured when their family grocery store is robbed. Sun is an anxiety-filled, straight-A overachiever "Study Machine". She feels like her grades are the only thing she can control. She has a half scholarship at Airington and feels out of place amongst the other students who come from rich families. Alice always ends up sharing the awards for the highest achiever with her high school nemesis, Henry Li. When her parents take her out for supper she knows they have big news. They can't afford to pay for her school tuition at Airington and she needs to either attend a local school or go back to America and attend public school.

The next day, Alice suddenly turns invisible. And not just once. She begins turning invisible with very little warning and she's not able to control it. Alice teams up with an unlikely partner - Henry Li. Together they create an app where fellow students can pay to have tasks completed by an anonymous person (invisible Alice) so she can save up the money to pay for her tuition. How far will Alice go to stay at Airington?

› I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.
› Characters: 9
› Atmosphere: 7
› Writing Style: 7
› Plot: 10
› Intrigue: 10
› Logic: 8
› Enjoyment: 8
Average 8.4

My Rating ★★★★

› Final Thoughts
• If You Could See The Sun is one of the best debut novels I've ever read. Certainly top of the tier for YA books for me. This is a heartfelt story about parents sacrificing for their children. It's about the stresses of school, the importance of friendship, and the impact of racism and class. This is about actions, consequences and the dangers of unchecked ambition. There's also a cute love story and humour. What a great book! I can't wait to read more by Ann Liang.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

Alice Sun is the only scholarship student at a prestigious Beijing international boarding school, where she hopes to finally lift her family out of poverty. But just as she finds out that her parents can't afford her tuition, even with the scholarship, she is turning invisible. This power allows her access to all the secrets her rich and powerful classmates have, and selling off this skill for a price will keep her in the school. Tasks soon escalate from petty scandals to actual crimes, so Alice must decide if helping her family is worth losing her conscience or her life.

The school means so much to Alice in the beginning, as well as other people seeing her as successful despite her lack of wealth. She works so hard but is essentially invisible, so when she actually turns invisible, only Henry really cares. He's her academic rival, and the two notice each other far too closely for it to be just hate. Her jobs as the Beijing Ghost at first were to follow someone and take pictures, to delete nudes from a phone, and such things. Those are easy for her to do, for all that she fumbles aspects. The jobs escalate until it gets to the one that's more than just following, observing, or stealing objects. She thinks it's tolerable for the payout, so she can afford the tuition, but this pushes her to a crisis of conscience.

This YA novel has the socially invisible turn actually invisible. She's hollow, where even teachers tell her that she's still a child, and her parents tell her that her priorities are skewed. Her sheer focus on school reminds me of Hermione from the Harry Potter movie where she warned the boys that they might die, or worse get expelled. But there is more than school and money, and Alice sees the value in friends, connections, and doing what she loves, not just what will get her top marks. The final quarter of the book was quite a ride, and I loved how everything came together. This is a wonderful book, and I'm so glad to have read it.

This started strong and just kept getting weaker as the story went on. I was all in for the invisible girl stuff, but then, the capers began and that just didn't work. She was rewarded for lying and committing crimes. No way.

I think one of my favorite things about this book is actually that Alice never learns to control or perfectly predict her ability to become invisible. She knows about how frequently it happens, so she can kind of hope and loosely plan, but that extra tension made every job she took risky because she couldn’t guarantee she’d become or stay invisible when she needed to.

In other teens-with-superpowers books that I’ve read, I’m pretty sure all of them learn to control their ability at least to a certain degree, so I also liked that Alice never having dominance over her ability set this book apart and made me feel like it added a new type of story to the supernatural ability book list.

Alice is driven and smart, but not in a prodigious way. I liked that though she is used to keeping to herself, her ability and decisions about it forced her to open herself up to others in a way she hadn’t before. It made her realize how lonely she’d been and that people weren’t always who she initially thought them to be. I really liked Henry and Chanel, and I was glad that she formed bonds with them.

IF YOU COULD SEE THE SUN explored a lot of themes that resonated with me, including friendship and family. I’m super glad I read it. I think readers who enjoyed HOW WE FALL APART by Katie Zhao or BOYS I KNOW by Anna Gracia definitely need to read this one.

Will post on 10/14/22

What would you do if you could be invisible from time to time?

Alice Sun gets to answer that question when she suddenly finds herself with a new, but uncontrollable, ability to become invisible. Feeling the pressures of wanting to stay at her expensive private school, which is supposed to help her Ivy League goals, and the desire to offload the financial burdens from her parents, Alice finds herself using her newfound ability in a financially lucrative way…but will this last?

I enjoyed reading this book. As always, I like having books available to the YA population that includes other cultures and cultural contexts. The diversity of YA books has certainly improved since my days as a young adult reader. I empathized with Alice’s struggles of trying to be seen through academic success and the loftier desires that young people have and are often told are “not realistic.” I wanted more character development for Alice than what I got…and the same for Henry. The book covers a lot of ground in some ways and it left me wanting more in others. The premise is clever and fun. I just wish there could have been more development within the premise.

Are you going to read this? If you do, what did you think?

This book is such a jem!!!

Sadly, I wasn't able to finish it completely before pub date (today) but I will post a full review on my instagram @angstology when I do!

I'm highly enjoying this: I love the main character, the love interest, their impending romance, the class commentary, ugh!!!

One thing I've noticed is that the super power part was really treated in a juvenile way and it doesn't match the rest of the ~feel~ of the book, which is supposed to be older (since the characters are seniors)

But I would totally recommend this!

I really, really loved this book! It was incredibly immersive and I felt like I was walking the campus of Airington/the streets of Beijing myself -- impressive, since I've never been there :D The romance was *chefs-kiss* and the plot/character arcs? Masterful!

This book reminds me why I love reading young adult. It's such a wonderful genre mash-up; you’ve got fantasy, romance, family drama, and a criminal element, oh and of course, it's set in academia. So much to love.

I thought it was brilliant how Ann Liang gave Alice the ability to turn invisible when she already felt invisible among her classmates. She also wove into the narrative the reality of classism and racism. Alice and Henry’s rivals-to-lovers relationship is developed so well, first academic rivals, then business partners, and then… well, Alice sees he’s not nearly as annoying as she once thought.

Thank you @harpercollins @inkyardpress and @annliangwrites for a spot on tour and a gifted ebook.

This book turns the campus novel on its head with fantastical elements and a charming academic rivals-to-lovers romance. It embodies classicism, the pressures of being an only child, and the desire to be seen and understood. Think rich Beijing boarding school white collar crimes, but make it socially conscious.

Attending an elite boarding school in China means that Alice always kind of feels left out. As the only scholarship student, she dosen't really fit in with her rich, high society classmates. So when Alice actually gets the ability to turn invisible, it doesn't feel much different from normal.

When Alice's parents can no longer find the money to help pay for her tuition, she comes up with a scheme to raise the money, using her newfound invisibility. She'll sell the darkest secrets of her classmates and get information no one else can. But when the scheme starts to turn towards the more criminal side, Alice has to decide if it's worth it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for an advanced copy of this to review! What immediately drew me in was the cover; it might make the light for one of the best covers that I've seen all year. How can you not want to read that book just by looking at the cover? It's so intriguing!

But I digress. Luckily, the story inside the book was just as enticing at the cover. We get a bit of academic rivals to enemies, and trust me. You can feel that tension almost from the beginning. You're going to be rooting for them throughout the entire book, even as they get deeper into a possible criminal enterprise. Liang did a great job creating these three dimensional characters who are doing some shady things, but you still fall in love with them anyway. Give me a good morally grey character any day.

And the premise! Alice is kind of exposing the underbelling of the Beijing elite, willing to do whatever it takes to get the money she needs. You know she's going to get trapped in some kind of morally questionable situation, and it's what really drives teh story. I was hooked into this intrigued, and enjoyed the way Liang wove the supernatural into it. I think a lot of teens will really loved this story!

All in all, if you like genre-blended kind of stories with a tense plot and good characters, I'd highly recommend picking this one up!

If You Could See The Sun is a genre-bending YA contemporary novel with fantasy elements. This story reminded me a little bit of Turning Red, but for an older age group, as the main character experiences invisibility that feels like a "curse" and she uses the power to do favors for others in order to earn the money she needs to pay her school tuition. I really liked seeing the relationship between the main character and her academic rival mold and grow. These two very clearly had completely different opinions of each other and I was rooting for them to get together really early in the book. Overall, I enjoyed the story and how the tasks the main character agrees to do start to make her question her ethics and the kind of person she is becoming. I also appreciated the discussion of family dynamics and how sometimes we feel obligated as children to take on more burderns and responsibilities in order to honor the sacrifices of our parents.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Full disclosure, I went into this totally blind. I saw the cover and had to read it.

If you could turn invisible, what would you do with your ability? When Alice Sun is faced with this question she chooses what any desperate broke student would do, exchange secrets for money. When a big job goes terribly wrong Alice is forced to ask herself if the payoff was worth the price.

I have to say, I quite enjoyed this story. At first I didn't think I was going to but by the time I hit halfway I was invested. I really liked Alice as a main character. She was relatable and easy to root for. I enjoyed the way we got to see her struggle with herself when deciding if she was going to go through with the final job when so much was depending on it.

Overall, it wasn't a bad read. Once you get to the end there are a lot of typical YA clichés that come out but other than that it was pretty good.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang is a YA story about a teenage girl who suddenly develops the power to turn invisible. She gets into many hijinks – for a good cause, of course – and learns important life lessons along the way.

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
The title and cover are throwing me off a bit. There is something very contemporary and very literary about them to me. Yet, the story is about a girl who goes to an international boarding school with China's most influential teems and develops the power to turn invisible, which sounds like a very light and fun story. I'm not sure how this story will go based on first impressions.

Actual Reading Experience:
There is so much to love about this story. It turned out to be mostly light and entertaining but with big life lessons to learn. I thought that presenting those lessons in such a way made them more impactful and relatable.

There is an enemies to lovers' romance that is so sweet, pure, and innocent that I instantly fell in love with the characters and invested in their story. Alice and Henry have won top honors at school every year – they are basically tied for first place. This immediately lights Alice's competitive spirit on fire, which is a lot of fun. Henry is more chill about it like it all comes naturally and is what it is. Since Alice must work hard for her grades, this riles her even more. The sparks between these two are lots of fun to behold.

The peek into Chinese culture is very interesting to me. It is woven throughout the story in a colorful tapestry of little nuances that made me look at Chinese culture in a new light. The lessons learned, though, are universal and take center stage. When Alice has to choose what clients to take on and the subsequent tasks using her invisibility powers, she has to choose between her own morality and earning money for her education.

Characters:
Alice Sun is a type A student who excels at her classes because of sheer effort. She is the only scholarship student at her boarding school, but that is never an issue until her parents can no longer afford the portion of her tuition they must pay. Since Alice doesn't want to leave her school, she has to think fast and find a way to make money. Then she becomes invisible, opening up a door to endless money-making possibilities.
Henry Li is the son of a successful businessman and is poised to take over the family business one day. He is smart and though inwardly self-conscious, projects outer confidence that all his classmates respond to whether they mean to or not. It seems like he has everything and then some.

Narration & Pacing:
The story is told in first person narration through Alice's POV. Since she is the one that develops the power of invisibility, it is fun and interesting to explore it with her in this more personal narration style.
The pacing is incredibly fast, rapidly moving from one series of events to another. I love the pacing, as my focus never once left the page.

Setting:
The setting is Airington School, an international boarding school in Beijing, China. The story stays mostly within that setting, only venturing outside a few times. This setting is well-detailed and is perfect for the academic tale.

Ages Appropriate For:
If You Can See the Sun is appropriate for all YA readers, the younger and older ages. They will connect easily to the character and her situations and be able to pull from Alice's lessons learned to things applicable in their own lives. The adult reader will find joy in the hijinks, be enlightened by the cultural aspects, and absolutely adore the characters.

Read it, if you like:
• Enemies to lovers' romances
• Superpowers / paranormal
• Hijinks
• Lessons learned
• Chinese Culture

‘If You Could See the Sun’ is a contemporary YA with magical elements set at an international school in China. Alice is from a working class family who cannot afford to pay for her last semester of school. Desperate and emotional, she discovers she has the ability to turn invisible and finds a way to monetize it through collaborating with her academic rival. Chaos ensues as her tasks become more difficult and unethical, leaving Alice facing the questions of just because she can turn invisible, should she?

This was a refreshing read. I’ve read plenty of school settings with magical elements but this one was just a little more unique. Alice is a great main character, very relatable. The way she and her rival Henry play off each other as the story progresses is very entertaining and at time adorable way. There were quite a few entertaining Side characters as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not sure why I requested this book, given it has magical realism elements, and I’m not a huge fan. It sounded good, and it might work for someone who is more into magical realism than I am.

Ann Liang’s debut novel is a fantastic adventure through Beijing boarding school and the power of actual real-life invisibility. I love a good academic rivals to lovers story, and If You Could See the Sun delivered on that SO well. So excited to see what else Ann has in store.