I’m always intrigued when I see that a New Yorker staff writer has a published piece of work outside of the magazine. A recent example of this is Hua Hsu’s Pulitzer Prize winning memoir Stay True, an account of growing up as the son of Taiwanese immigrants in the Bay Area that begins with Hsu’s teenage years and ends with the murder of one of his best friends while they are both attending Berkeley.

Hsu is at his strongest when reflecting on the emotions associated with being a teenager and young adult. How your friend group feels like center of the world, passionately trying to find your true self through whatever music or books or movies you’re currently absorbing, and viewing every new experience as an opportunity to try out new personalities.

The descriptions of male-centered bonds were achingly touching and refreshing to see written about with the depth that is typically only ascribed to female friendships or under the guise of sports. Hsu does such an exceptional job of this that I actually wish he had written two separate books-one about his relationship with his father and another about his friendships, as the combination of both under one memoir felt disjointed at times. As well, Hsu’s journalism background comes out in interesting ways, sometimes ascribing research and theories to his life that take away from the emotional piece of it all and -I can’t state this enough- emotional complexity is where Hsu thrives.

A very great memoir about grief and friendship and finding oneself. Thanks for the review copy. I know others will be moved by this one.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.*

Stay True is a memoir of journalist Hua Hsu's time at UC Berkeley, especially his friendship with Ken - a more popular, outgoing fellow Asian-American student.

When Ken is murdered, Hsu's other friendships and his plan for his future change.

Well-written and a voice of Gen X. I'll definitely look for more by Hua Hsu.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the honest review in exchange for the digital ARC.

Stay True won the Pulitzer for Memoir/Autobiography this year. It was the perfect choice to read in honor of Nonfiction November.

My god, friends. I went into this book blind. In it, I found the most beautiful ode to friendship. Real friendship–the kind that shapes who you are and who you’ll become.

Hsu and Ken’s friendship began when they were both students at UC Berkeley in the 90s. I felt transported back to the 90s by the references to the music, movies, and relics. Also, the memories of that pervasive sense of uncertainty, fear, and longing experienced by many during your college year resonated with me. Connections with people were your lifeline. Hsu found a lifeline in Ken.

Tragically, Ken died in a robbery while Hsu was still a student. Stay True reads as a way to come to terms with the grief of that experience while also celebrating the many small moments that made Ken magnetic and important to Hsu. This memoir explores grief, art, the search for self, Asian American identity, memory, and love.

In case you’re wondering, the title Stay True is how Hua and his friend signed off their letters or emails to one another. “Stay true to the game. True to yourself. True to who you might have become.”

I enjoyed reading this book, as sad as it was at times.

This was a very interesting memoir that gave me a lot of 90s nostalgia. The discussion of friendship really stuck out to me and stayed with me after ending this book. I was left to consider my own relationships and found myself reflecting on my own past while reading and after. I am a sucker for a coming of age story and this one delivered.

Thank you to NetGalley and Libro FM for providing me with both physical and audio copies of Hua Hsu’s memoir, Stay True.

A recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize for memoir, Hsu recounts his childhood and college years, including the murder of a close friend.

I’m the same age as Hsu and what struck me most about Stay True was how Hsu so vividly captured young adulthood in the late 90’s. I felt transported back to that time in a way that I have not felt from any other writing set in that decade. It was a remarkable experience. Further more, having also lived in the Bay Area during college, I went to Mills and the author attended Berkeley, I connected with the setting, in addition to the era.

Prior to the death of his friend, one of Hsu’s primary concerns was establishing his identity. Visiting record stores and curating his music tastes is an important aspect of this. I remember doing the same in the late 90’s, prior to mp3 players or streaming, when figuring out your tastes and identity took quite a bit of effort and perhaps, even seemed more meaningful.

Hsu creates zines to reflect his thoughts and tastes. Zines are still around of course, but with blogging and social media, a zine feels like a relic of the past. Compared with modern sensibilities, a rapid-fire consumer culture and short attention spans, a zine is positively slow and permanent. It’s akin to a piece of art. All this to say, I had forgotten how we existed in the 90’s and the things that seemed so important when coming of age. Through Hsu’s writing, I felt nostalgic for those early internet days, before social media and before it was common to capture every moment with our phones. How do we know what is special, if we always aim to capture everything?

In addition to pop culture, Hsu’s identity is shaped by his family and the death of his friend. Hsu is a Taiwanese-American and an only child. I am also an only child and I can verify that this signifier has an enormous impact on developing identity. During high school. Hsu’s father moved to Taiwan for work. It’s hard to believe it now, but back during the 80’s and 90’s it was enormously expensive to make phone calls. I think of how lucky we are now, especially as my step kid’s live in Sweden and we can inexpensively speak with them whenever we want. But back then, even the shortest of calls, even calls to a nearby city, were prohibitively expensive. As a work around, Hsu would connect with his father via sending faxes, including getting help on homework this way.

Hsu’s friend Ken was murdered during their time at Berkley. Ken and Hsu had very different personalities. While Hsu sought out obscure bands and thrift store clothes, Ken was less alternative, blending in, rather than stand out. However, this isn’t to say that Ken was actively seeking to mesh. Ken was authentically himself or at least appears to be. Ken’s death during a robbery, shook up Hsu and their extended friend group, the first peer lost. I didn’t experience the loss of a peer until I was in my mid-twenties. It is of course shocking and upsetting to lose a friend, but there is the other level of the death of a person your own age. A confrontation with mortality when you feel invincible.

I was engrossed in Stay True from page one and felt emotionally connected until the last page. A fantastic memoir, one that I have been recommending to everyone. I’m sure with the Pulitzer win that it will get a big, much deserved boost.

Oh, and nothing to do with the book, but one more little side note. I discovered that Hsu is a professor at Bard College in New York, which is where I spent the fall semester of 1995, prior to having to leave due to a family illness.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for his ARC. This is a beautiful remembrance of a time past - a friend, the loss of that friend, the man the author was at that time - and how all this shapes who the author is today. It is a bittersweet and touching recollection, written in the most honest and revealing way. Some things are only clear when we look back on them. I loved this memoir and was thoroughly touched by the story. It made me recollect friends from college that shaped and changed me. This is one of my favorites of 2022!

Interesting read- the author's relationship was not too close but also close enough to paint a good picture of who his late friend was. It also gave the feeling of an outsider looking in which was confusing. How well did he really know him? It really evoked a certain period of time and was so melancholy- shoe gazey.

I was excited to read Stay True, but I unfortunately left feeling a bit underwhelmed. It felt unfocused (or perhaps it was the case of poor marketing) because despite the fact that this was marketed as a story about friendship and grief after the loss of Hsu's friend Ken, I didn't get a great sense of their friendship outside more surface level observations (e.g., they were very different from each other, Ken liked Pearl Jam while Hsu despised them!). In fact, I was distracted by how frequently Hsu talked about how he curated his brand/image in college to appear alternative/intellectual. I can definitely relate to wanting to appear a certain way when I was younger, but I didn't understand the relevance here, especially since it came up so often. My favorite parts were when Hsu discussed his family's move to the States and his relationship with his father.

This coming of age story is relatable. It speaks of the power of friendship and how we evolve as we grow older. friendship can be a fragile object.

Thank you for allowing me to read this piece. I’ve gifted it to people already

A moving and thoughtful memoir filled with life, deep emotion. and an examination of relationships. I enjoyed myself here and will not forget this soon.

As someone who heavily associates music with every memory and moment in my life, I loved the emphasis on music as the soundtrack to the friendship. This is a story of grief and an opposites-attract friendship- and while that doesn't always work in real life, it certainly does here. It is also a moving story of what it means to be American, and the ways that children of immigrants find themselves in a place that is not the most welcoming to them. Through music and pop culture, the main character finds footing in who he is and establishes identity. I loved the nostalgia and depictions of friendship, and the capture of the zeitgeist in America in the 90s. I'm not sure this book is for everyone as it is rather intellectual and covers topics that, if not interested in, you may lose interest in the book itself. But that's every book, no?

"Friendship is about the willingness to know, rather than be known.”

Good Lord, this knocked me out. Some of the most beautiful writing and explanation of emotion I have ever laid my eyes on. Hua Hsu is a once in a lifetime talent and I need about 100 more books from him. How is it even possible to do such beautiful things with so little plot? I was captivated.

This book is by no means bad but was just not for me. I got about 40% of the way and it just didn't keep my interest. I felt some similarity to the author with the interest in music but the philosophical part was hard for me to pay attention to. I will not be reviewing this on my social medias, as I value each person's voice in a memoir and don't want to discount that.

Stay True is a comforting book written by a Taiwanese man whose Japanese friend was murdered. Author Hsu writes about his 1990s college days, the music he listened to, and the times he spent with Ken talking philosophy, political science, women, and Asian American culture. Readers will never listen to the Beach Boys song "God Only Knows" or Dave Matthews Band "Crash Into Me" without thinking about Hua and Ken and their college days. An essential selection for book discussion groups.

I cannot believe I spaced on recommending this amazing book. It's all over end of year critic's lists, and for good reason. It's beautifully written and absolutely heartbreaking.

This memoir is in many of the best of 2022 lists. The writing is faultless and the writer is engaging. About a friendship in college with a seemingly opposite type, the strongest part of the story is the second half. I couldn't relate to the music and cinema as it wasn't my decade but the longing and grief and trying to find yourself at a young age are universal components not only of the college experience but life in general. The philosophical leanings and finding your tribe are all relatable. I would have liked to know more about his visits with his parents and their background but that's not this story.The therapy scenes were favorites and I would like more. A good read worthy of the accolades.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

"Stay true to yourself. True to who you might have become."

I love diving into non-fiction for a million reasons but my favorite is leaving the story with a renewed knowledge. I love being able to absorb new information. Memoirs are so brilliant in the sense that you're not just reading facts and dates but you're getting a first hand-perspective at an event or moment that shaped someone's life.

Hua Hsu's Stay True is a book I wouldn't normally pick up and I hate to admit that but I went outside of my comfort zone. I am so glad I did because I learned a lot about Asian American heritage and going up in the early ninety's.

"It's fucked up the way it is sometimes."

Stay True is focused around Hua Hsu's friendship with Ken and the moment that shaped his world. Ken was murdered in a car-jacking one evening leaving Hua pondering about his space in American culture. I could feel his devastation through the grief that he described throughout the entirety of the memoir. Ken's friendship and passing truly shaped his mindset about the world around him and how he views himself.

It's tough reading about a racially motivated violence like the one Hua Hsu experienced. It's unfair that specific groups aren't accepted for their values and upbringing. I feel that reading memoirs such as Stay True I can help better educate myself and advocate to help shape a kinder world for tomorrow. It was heartbreaking having to grieve alongside Hua yet his growth is what makes his story so powerful.

While I did learn a lot about Hua Hsu's culture and the violence that Asian Americans experience, this was a story that made you think about understanding your true being and learning about your own identity. Hua described himself as a person who was ahead of the crowd when it came to "popular" ideals. He always wanted to set a trend rather than follow the crowd especially when it came to movies, music and fashion. He was very individualist and judged people who didn't fit his mold.

But when he meets and accepts Ken into his life, he seems to change. Their bond drastically changed Hua's mindset.

The writing style shows that this stories focus is growing up and learning about yourself as an individual. The moments that Hua recalls are sporadic and feel random yet I think that accurately represents how our minds, personalities, hobbies, desires and ideas constantly change when our life continues to unfold in front of us.

At one point he poses the question "What does it mean to truly be yourself?" I think that this question accurately represents the whole idea of his coming of age story. Identifying your "true self" comes with time and defining moments.

Thank you Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of Hua Hsu's memoir! You can purchase this coming to age non-fiction now!

Stay True by Hua Hsu is a beautifully written memoir that reflects on his friend who was tragically killed in college.
Though a quick read, it was profound and moving. Hua has so many memories of his friendship with Ken that he writes about as well as what he discovers about himself when going to therapy.

A lovely, elegiac memoir about Hsu's college best friend, who tragically dies--I loved reading about growing up Asian American in the 90's in Berkeley.