This was a great book. I loved how sex positive it was along with giving perspectives that aren't spoken enough about. I think there will be a lot of readers who could relate to the main character and as a child of immigrants, I understood so much of how she felt. I also understood her anger and her sarcasm. I wish she saw through some of the things that went on around her (especially microaggressions/subtle racism) but I also understood not acknowledging things as they happened being the one experiencing them. I also loved her friends & their dynamics. It was an overall great story.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book dealing with the struggles of high school love and first-time sex this well delivered. The main topic is about growing up in a demanding Asian family, but I couldn’t relate to that—even though it was superbly interesting—contrary to the fact of being eighteen, which plunged me back into my own past.

This was an interesting depiction of the turning point between high school and college, where June struggles with her Asian identity, friendships and relationships, all while trying to work out what she wants her future to look like.

However, I'm not sure I appreciated the way men are portrayed in this book. I can't think of any boy June saw as a friend, she saw herself in relationships with all of them, regardless of their toxic personalities, and got herself hurt frequently for it. If the genders were reversed, June herself would seem like a Nice Guy.

This story did slog for me, as June wandered from guy to guy, getting herself hurt in the process and constantly putting up with being ignored, given racist nicknames and pressured into sex. However, I did enjoy the moments of her relationships with her friends, sister and mom.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for the eARC!

Trying to work out your place in the world is tough, especially when you’re also trying to live up to your parent's expectations and navigate relationships at the same time. Boys I Know follows June Chu as she finishes high school and tries to decide which college to attend. Of course, high school comes with even more challenges.

When I started reading the book, I didn’t expect to relate to June so much, especially considering we had fairly different high school experiences and families. However, Anna Garcia did an amazing job of making me want June to succeed at everything she tried, and the entire college plotline hit a little too close to home.

I gave this book 4.75 stars rounded up to 5, and I would definitely recommend it. The only reason I didn’t give it a perfect rating was that the conversation with Rhys at the end seemed a little out of nowhere, but I’m glad June got to say what she wanted to him.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed seeing a version of high school with bigger issues that happen in real life, and I’m so happy that June found where she belongs, even if it took a while for her to go in the right direction. I loved June and was constantly cheering for her, even when she was making some interesting choices. The second someone wronged her, I was immediately ready to fight them, even if they are fictional.

All in all, you should absolutely read Boys I Know, and I’m really glad I did. The ending of this book made me so happy and reading something like this last year when I was also panicking about choosing universities would have absolutely helped me realise everything would work out eventually.

I love how layered this is and how it accurately depicts the Asian experience. If you like the exploration of teens fighting what parents want versus what you really want for your own future, this is for you. If you thought teen friendship would last forever, but found life diverges, this is for you. If you’re a woman who has ever felt like you’re not ___ enough, for love, for attention, for your potential career— or anything, then June understands you.

For BIPOC women, this hints at fetishization and being called by whatever celeb name is popular at the time for your demographic. The MC being called “China” or “Covey” by boys made me flashback to being called various racial slurs, talked to in pretend Chinese, asked if we named kids by throwing silverware down the stairs, & being called “Connie Chung” or “Kristin Kreuk.” I’ve seen other reviews complaining about June’s choices, but this is reality as a teenager— she’s not an adult with hindsight. Still, she grows so much in this book and I’m rooting for her.

I didn’t have books with Asian protagonists when I was a kid, so I’m glad this can be there for another generation.

this is something i enjoyed at 24 and wish i had to read at 16! this book was fun and real and honest and i enjoyed every minute of it.

Sometimes, I wish I have these kind of books when I was younger to help me navigate my teenage years. Boys I know resounded to me in ways I didn't even expect. If you can read at least one book this summer, please try to include this one to your lists!

When I started reading this book I thought I wasn’t gonna like it very much mainly because I can’t really relate to the main character. She’s Taiwanese-American and in her last year of high school dealing with a lot of “boy problems”, I, on the other hand, am brazilian, white, in university, my last year of high school was during the first year of the pandemic and I’m asexual and also on the aromantic spectrum.

I was partially right. I didn’t relate a lot with the main character, our life experiences were very different, but I did like this book a lot. When I started reading I thought it was going to be a shallow book only talking about teenage relationship problems and it did talk about it but also a lot more. It talked about parents' expectations, friendship, fitting in and sexuality.

My favorite topic it approached was the sexuality one because it’s not often you see a book about heterosexual relationships talk about sexuallity. In queer books we have a variety of approaches to sexuality and how they are represented but in heterosexual books it’s not a topic that’s discused very much because hetesexuality is seen as the “norm” so I really apreciated this aspect of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen Books for the e-ARC to read and review. I thought this book did a phenomenal job at capturing the messiness of those later teens-going into college years. The story feels full of those moments that I have a lot that are just like, "am I doing this because I want to, or is it just expected of me? Is it just that my friends are doing it and I don't care strongly enough one way or another to come up with something else? Is hanging out with these people really better than being lonely?" I love that this book brings up those questions really naturally for readers to ponder over, but I think I didn't love that those thoughts are tied up explicitly as they're unfolding. Our main character, June, comes to those realizations a lot, but she overly explains their grand meaning in a way that feels like it's coming from an adult perspective. I wasn't invested in any of the boys June came to know, and I wasn't even invested in her college-picking journey because I felt like every option was contingent on either following someone (a boy, her friends, her sister, her parents' expectations) or just rejecting it all and going as far away as possible. I really wish for her (and honestly, a lot of real life teenagers!) that there was a third option.

this was a fast read and interesting. i didnt like a few of the characters but still found myself wanting to finish the book, so i guess that's a good thing! thank you for the arc!

I really enjoyed this read! It was pretty chaotic from the get go but in the best way! The book is meant to be messy and it starts that way from the jump. Our MC has to deal with casual racism, boys, sex, POC characters living in a predominantly white town. Everything was handled well but it starts out a little all over the place.

I loved the romance and how the author handled it. One of my favorite parts of this book was the sex-positivity and also the realness of worrying about sex and partners so much as a teen! Overcoming expectations and finding out what you want is a long process but it starts out in your teenage years so I really enjoyed this portrayal of that issue.

Overall, I thought the characters were nuanced and emotional. The story was poignant and messy and entertaining. I loved it!

I would recommend this for readers who adore younger characters with messy lives like those written by Mary H.K. Choi!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

Relatable, real, brutally honest, uncomfortable, smart, hilarious. Diversity Representation: Asian American (Taiwanese) protagonist and author. A high school senior navigates messy boys and messier relationships in this unflichingly honest and much-needed look into the overlap of Asian American identity and teen sexuality.

Thank you @netgalley and @peachtreeteen for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

June Chu is your average Midwestern Taiwanese American teenager trying to figure out who she is in the world.

This is a coming-of-age story and was super realistic. The characters were all flawed and that made me very happy 😊.
June makes a series of mistakes (that we've all made) and begins on a journey to self-actualization.

Overall, I give this book a 3.75/5 stars.

Wonderful debut by Anna Gracia and I loved the messy MC and the acerbic prose as well too! Really hoping for more books by this author.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book, all thoughts are my own.

Boys I Know is a coming of age novel. It follows June Chu, a Taiwanese-American senior as she navigates unhealthy relationships, always seeking someone to love her.

This book was so raw and realistic. I think so many people forget or don’t want to see how teenagers are. Anna Gracia didn’t shy away from having our MC make many mistakes.

As a mom so many times I would scream at June about her bad ideas. Being real, I was so much like June as a teen. We all want to feel like we’re good enough, feel loved, feel wanted, and that is what is at the heart of this story.

This is very much a character driven story. I wouldn’t say there’s a real plot outside of June and her life. It’s very much a coming of age story.

The author shows what it’s like to grow up in an Asian American home while living in a predominantly white area. As a POC I could relate to many things.

Overall, Boys I Know was a great book with so much heart. If you want something messy, and real this is the book for you.

I really liked the discussions of Taiwanese - American identity and was very sex positive. But I just wanted a bit more from this book.

DNF at 35%.

I couldn't get into this book. While I was intrigued by the idea behind it and how the author would portay the conflict between being a teenager and coming from Asian American family, the lack of plot and character development left me hanging.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the advance reading copy.

The book delivers on all the promises stated in the summary. The plot and characters are well developed and keep you hooked until the end.

The main character June is very realistic and down-to-earth. The characters aren't perfect, but neither are people! I really liked June's mother, she's a staple character.

This story is something you have to take your time with and wrap your mind around June's life and why she makes the choices she does. Overall, it's a great read.

June Chu is a Taiwanese-American high school senior growing up in Iowa. "Boys I Know" follows her through her last year of high school as she navigates boyfriends, sex, parental expectations, and choosing a college. The treatment of sex in the book is realistic and messy. However watching June navigate her relationships was actually fairly painful. I also felt like the book really slowed down at the end to the point of getting boring. Still a multi-layered book for high school readers.

It was so fun getting to know June in BOYS I KNOW by Anna Gracia. It is so wonderful to see YAs featuring Asian Americans. From the relationship between June and her mother to the exploration around not feeling "enough" to navigating young adulthood, this book captured such real feelings and experiences.