The MC can be infuriating but perhaps that’s the entire purpose of her arc. She is trying to get the reader to sympathize/empathize with her on her
romantic and familial plights. She succeeds mostly.

Thank you for this opportunity!

Central Places is a great novel, exploring what it means to come home again, being different in your beliefs than your parents, etc. I really liked the concept of coming back home after being gone for 8 years. I liked the interplay of the relationships, as tough as they were to read at times.

The premise to this novel sounded right up my alley, but unfortunately I didn't particularly feel like I knew the characters very well - a lot of the character development felt surface-level.

I've just discovered a new favorite author--and if this is Delia Cai's debut novel, how amazing will her future books be?

I have to start by thanking NetGalley for offering a free advanced reader copy. I was hooked from the first sentence, and I could barely put the book down.

Briefly: the novel unfolds over a few weeks around Christmas and New Years Eve. Audrey Zhou, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, is a 27 year old working for a top newspaper in New York, who refuses to set foot again in her old small town in central Illinois. Her fiance, aspiring photographer on the cusp of success and comfortably-rich white New Yorker, convinces her to visit her family in advance of the couple's decision to buy their first house together. Despite Ms. Zhou's biting criticism of her daughter, Ben tries his best to accommodate his future in-laws and impress them with his willingness to integrate into their culture. But as the old conflicts between mother and daughter intensify, Audrey runs into old high-school friends, and Ben encounters the opportunity of a lifetime to propel himself into fame by photographing a natural disaster, uncomfortable truths about Audrey's and Ben's relationship start to emerge, and the old hurts from Audrey's past push her into an acute crisis of identity. It's a novel about passing down the trauma of immigration to the next generation, about finding a way to communicate and ultimately start healing by removing toxic people from your life and embracing the past with all its mistakes. Only then can the little joys we overlooked regain their shine.

This book made me feel so many things: anger, compassion, love, displeasure, acute discomfort. None of the scenes that provoked such strong emotions were overdone, but they all hit a very soft spot. Because I grew up with grandparents who were at times uncomfortably close in behavior to Audrey's parents. I've experienced the same pressure from the older generation to never be satisfied with my accomplishments and it took me years to stop judging myself by their standards. At the same time, I allowed some of the bad habits I've learned from my interactions with those elders to sink into my personality and took too long to remove them myself. The author is both compassionate and critical of Audrey's decisions and choices, and I thought she was honest and fair in her portrayal.
"(she fights with Ben) the same way that my mother fought with me and with my dad: by shutting myself down and then feeling for all the soft parts of his psyche and sharpening my knives. I know it hurts Ben that I'm not immediately capitulating, that I'm refusing to play along and make up, but even the fact that he expects a tidy resolution--makes me more furious. I can feel a tightness settling inside my chest and stretching out as I yank my hand out of Ben's grip. His face falls and then turns slowly."

And speaking of Ben: I guessed from chapter 1 that the way he put so much effort into making a good impression with Audrey's parents signaled future disappointment, and I was worried the author may be too harsh, too unfair with someone who seemed like a genuine good guy. But as I read I realized: I know a Ben. As self-centered and discreetly toxic as this fictional character. A fake blessing in disguise: "And that was what I had fallen in love with, this ability to smooth away the edges and pick the right snacks and take care of everything for me, to hold the possibilities of life up like a complicated garment that he would always help me get zipped into, and all I had to do was hold my arms out." Real life Bens usually seek out shy, passive individuals who can accommodate their wills without protest and cherish their very existence. The also take time to reveal themselves. But once you see the true man behind the mask you cannot stick around. "Ben made my life beautiful and exciting, the lens of his attention bringing things into focus I'd never dreamed of [...] There was something wrong with me, to look so baldly at all that and dissolve it in one night." Yet dissolve you must.

I had only one small worry with the book: the vitriol Audrey's mother threw at her daughter was so much that I had doubt the damage could be repaired in such a short time. Perhaps a family medical emergency can indeed speed up that recovery. Either way, I was deeply satisfied with Audrey's decisions at the end of the novel. Her modest re-start in New York in the New Year felt well earned and auspicious.

I suspect some readers won't be able to empathize with the main character. Some male readers may find Audrey's passivity and lack of communication hard to defend. Others may find her upbringing too comfortable to justify all the hurt she is feeling. Things are definitely easier to comprehend when you experience them yourself: "[...]my New York Friends--they'd never get it, not when they've all lived in comfortable geographic proximity to their pasts and, as a a result, remained unfamiliar with how the act of migration cleaved your time space continuum into a strict before and after." Should you find yourself struggling to empathize with the characters, my advice is: try to just listen to their full story and accept it as different from yours. Maybe you won't agree with Audrey, maybe you'd never make her choices. But her life, her decisions, as faulty as they are, are also real. Listen. Forgive. Learn. Repeat. And I hope you too will enjoy this read.

4.5 stars

It’s not often that I come across a book where I’m able to resonate so deeply with the main character that, as soon as I turn the last page, the first thought that pops into my head is: wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt so seen! That’s exactly how I felt after meeting Audrey Zhou, the main protagonist of Delia Cai’s debut novel Central Places.

To be honest, Audrey wasn’t a likeable character for much of the story — as I was reading, there were so many instances where I found her actions and behavior annoying and frustrating, not to mention I kept wanting to yell at her to stop being so self-destructive and making a mess of her life. With that said however, Audrey was also a character I empathized with immensely — and in some areas, saw aspects of myself in. With my shared cultural background of being the Chinese daughter of strict immigrant parents as well as growing up in an environment where very few people looked like me, I was absolutely able to relate to so much of what Audrey went through in the story, but more importantly, I was able to understand, on a deeper level, the complicated family and society dynamics that shaped her into who she eventually became as an adult and why she ended up making some of the decisions she did (even ones that I disagreed with). I’m able to empathize because I went through many of the same struggles myself (some which I am still working through even now).

On a personal level, I know what it feels like to grow up in an immigrant household where there is always an unspoken pressure to prove the worthiness of your existence; where you constantly have to worry about living your life in a way that justifies the sacrifice your parents made in leaving their prior lives behind and moving to a foreign country where they are largely treated as second class citizens; where you are expected to be obedient, to follow the path your parents laid out for you, to work hard and keep your head down, and no matter what, don’t draw attention to yourself, which often involves not reacting when people make fun of you for being different (or, in a real life example, when classmates make a game of deliberately kicking the back of your legs so it looks like you are kneeling and bowing down to them); where there is constant pressure to be perfect, to succeed, and not make any mistakes along the way so as to not give those who don’t want you here in the first place the satisfaction of seeing you fail; where you are destined to endlessly strive for approval and acceptance that never comes. These are just a few examples — both in the story and in my own real life experience, there are way too many examples to list them all out.

The other aspect of the story that really resonated with me was the relationship that Audrey had with her mother — the relationship was a strained one that was plagued with communication issues, misunderstandings, silence as a form of punishment, and, the most destructive of all, an unwillingness to let their true emotions show for fear of letting their guard down and exposing their vulnerabilities. For someone who may not be familiar with the unique dynamics that often define Asian (especially Chinese) mother / daughter relationships, it can be hard to understand Audrey’s immature behavior when she’s back in her parents’ presence in Hickory Grove. For me, I understood it acutely because I lived that same reality for most of my life (and continue to do so to this day). Culturally, Asian daughters have a whole set of expectations placed upon them from the moment they are born — expectations that Asian mothers are responsible for reinforcing throughout their daughters’ lives…hence the relentless criticizing / nagging / judging / critiquing that we are constantly subjected to, regardless of how old we are or how successful we become. I’ve actually lost count already how many of my Chinese female friends (all of whom are around my age, in their 40s, and are strong, successful, financially secure women) complain about resorting to “petulant teenager mode” each time they are in their mother’s presence — a sentiment that I resonate with wholeheartedly because I’m the exact same way whenever I’m around my mom. Even though rationally, we know that arguing is fruitless because, as much as we don’t want to admit it, our mothers’ nitpicking is their way of expressing their love for us, the hurt and pain we experience in the moment often defies all logical thought. It’s a phenomenon that’s very hard to explain, but those who live it (whether daily like me since I live with my mom, or only occasionally like my friends who live separately from their moms and only visit once in awhile) will undoubtedly understand.

One other thing I have to mention is how much I appreciated the realistic portrayal of the characters and what they go through in the story. Life is messy, complicated, and unpredictable, with both good moments and bad ones that are impossible to fit nicely into a box, to be put away and taken out whenever we feel like it. This book did an especially great job showing this complexity, which is probably why the story ended up gutting me in ways I wasn’t expecting — in fact, it hit so close to home for me in so many areas that, at certain points, I had to put the book down so I could clear the lump in my throat (and actually wipe the tears from my eyes a few times). For me, there was so much to unpack with this story and in all honesty, I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface with this review. While I focused primarily on the aspects most familiar to me, there are actually an abundance of themes in here that are worthy of further discussion (i.e.: themes such as coming to terms with the past, self-discovery and self-reflection, mixed race relationships, etc.). I definitely found this to be a worthwhile read, but I know that each person who reads this book will get something different out of it, and in some cases, may not be able to relate at all to the story, which is absolutely fine, as that’s the beauty of books and reading — they meet you where you’re at.

Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.

I think it would have worked better without the running into the high school boyfriend storyline. She didn't go home for 8 years! She made a very different life for herself, she is finally bringing her rich white boyfriend home. That was enough. I guess I'm not super into the return of the childhood boyfriend stories in general but I felt like it took a lot of space that could have been spent delving more into Audrey's life during those eight years. I did enjoy the Midwestern setting, it's nice to see books take place in places other than LA or NYC and not have them be completely backward.

****Publishing January 31, 2023****

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Audrey works for a magazine called The Current, while her Fiancé Ben is a photojournalist in New York City. He is fiercely protective of her as he gets annoyed when she is asked “Where are you from?” Being Chinese American, growing up in small town America, and her mother’s strict expectations who is constantly critical of her, made for a difficult childhood for Audrey. So when Audrey goes off to college, she feels the need to keep her parents and hometown at a distance. When it’s time to come home for Ben to finally meet her parents, will her past life resurface? Will Audrey be able to show Ben where she grew up or will all her regrets get in the way? How will Ben react to it? Will her parents accept Ben? Will Audrey be able to come to peace with her past and have a successful marriage to Ben?

A coming of age story on how your past can shape and influence your future. Can your past haunt you years later when you are about to get married? Can you fit back in to a town where you have left it behind?

This author does a good job of putting you in the shoes of someone whose living with their parents who are 1st generation Chinese Americans living in small town America and how it can have long lasting affects.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, I was provided an ARC of Central Places by Delia Cai via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Audrey Zhou left her hometown in small town Illinois, she knew she was never going back. From the University of Chicago to New York, she's moved her entire life beyond her childhood in that small town. She's avoid coming back - separating herself from the few friends she had and keeping her distance from her parents.

Now, she's engaged to Ben, a born and bred New Yorker, and she's returning home for the holidays and bring Ben with her. Within a matter of days, she runs into her high school crush, her ex-best friend, fights with her mother and attends a bonfire full of old classmates. On top of all of this, Audrey and Ben tiptoe around each other and the tension that is building between them.

----
*sigh*
At first, I saw a lot of myself in Audrey. An overachiever, an Asian girl in a small, very white, very conservative town. Someone who leaves and never wants to come back. Someone who knows that there's more to life beyond the city limits, but still has those teenage longings and wants the same teenage things like prom dates and kisses.

But that's where the similarities ended, because, my GOD, Audrey was an ungrateful asshole to her parents and frankly, to everyone. Her hateful attitude about everything and everyone was difficult to take at some points and I understood why some of her friends dropped her.

That said, this was still an interesting story. I do feel like there was some unresolved issues that should have been wrapped up in the end - not that it needed a bow on the end, but at least some sort of answers.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A debut novel set about a young woman coming home - family and culture and worlds colliding all written really, really well. While the plot felt a bit forced, the writing made up for that. I would have liked it just focused on that feeling of coming home and facing the person you were “back then” versus who you are now. It’s a fine balance. Lots to relate to in this regard which will make this a great book club discussion choice. Thanks to Random House Ballantine for the advanced copy.

Cai's Central Places, uses the framework of romance as a way of expressing wayward desires. This is seen through Audrey Zhou's cheating on her fiance Ben with her high school crush, Kyle. Zhou further unexpectedly rejects both Ben and Kyle and chooses herself in the end. What is more unexpected is her parents' decision in the end. Cai also crafts an excellent arc for Audrey as she learns to come over her past trauma in Hickory Grove and to resolve relationships with past friends. While some of these past friends fall flat in terms of characterization and depth, Audrey's relationships with her parents remain the strongest throughout the book..

Central Places is a quiet character study about a girl, Audrey, who visits home in Hickory Grove after moving to New York and getting engaged to her photographer boyfriend. Upon her return, she's forced to grapple with her critical mother, her aloof father, and the friends that she left behind.

Books about Asian Americans of this ilk are often difficult to not fall into cliches about childhoods surrounded by white people and smelly lunchboxes, but Cai writes about the topic subtly and admirably. The prose is understated if not beautiful, and Audrey's character is imperfect and compelling. I really enjoyed this book.

Central Places tackles what it’s like to go home again, when home is where you fled. Chinese-American Audrey grew up in Hickory Grove, Illinois, but now lives in NYC. Now that she’s engaged to Ben, a born New Yorker of upper crust parents, she only returns at Christmas so Ben can meet her parents. Audrey hasn’t been home in the 8 years since she left. And her relationship with her demanding mother is just as stressed now as then.
Audrey is no sooner home, when she and Ben run into her high school crush.
I am not the intended audience for this book and I struggled to relate. As the main character, I’m assuming that Cai means her to be sympathetic. But I found her self centered and obtuse. She struggles to survive without matcha. She is still so oblivious she doesn’t even realize she should be apologizing to her HS bff. I kept wondering when she would grow up. Of course, taking Ben out of his element doesn’t cast him in the best light either. But when he said he felt tricked, I totally understood. And despite the disagreements she had with her mother, she was just so inconsiderate. <spoiler> for example, not calling her parents to tell them she had gotten stuck overnight at Kyle’s </spoiler> . By the end, it was encouraging to see her starting to act more like an adult.
I’d be curious to know if younger readers relate more to Audrey.
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for an advance copy of this book.

The setting: "Audrey Zhou {Chinese] left Hickory Grove, the tiny town in central Illinois where she grew up, as soon as high school ended, and she never looked back. She moved to New York City and became the person she always wanted to be, complete with a high-paying, high-pressure job and a seemingly faultless fiancé, Ben [Caucasian].... But returning to Hickory Grove is . . . complicated. Audrey's relationship with her parents has been soured by years of her mother's astronomical expectations and slights. The friends she's shirked for bigger dreams have stayed behind... And then there's Kyle... her unrequited crush from high school that she finds herself drawn to again. Ben might be a perfect fit for New Audrey, but Kyle was always the only one who truly understood her growing up, and being around him again after all these years has Old Audrey bubbling up to the surface."

What can I say?! This book immediately drew me in. Though I'm far from Audrey's contemporary [she's 28], I understood her--especially her relationship with her mother.

I found this novel thoroughly entertaining and often humorous although it also was serious. The narrative did seem to bog down a bit nearly two-thirds through as it seemed to change tone, but it did pick up again.

There were many phrases/descriptions I loved.
For example:
"maple tree, shivering noisily in the wind"
"hands tightly pretzeled across my chest"
"voice like an extended palm"
"Judging by my dad's equation of meat with hospitality, Ben's going to need all the arugula he can get."
"...my parents grew up somewhere completely different and therefore had no idea how to meet emotional needs through the avenues standardized by Disney and ABC Family." PHEW!
"Even though my mother and I were constantly at each other's throoats, the antagonism made us familiar with each other."

New Audrey takes us through her upscale life in New York with Ben, and Old Audrey revisits her life in Hickory Grove--which she couldn't wait to escape--her parents, her awkwardness, her crush, her teenage life. Who is she? What molded her? Audrey stayed away for years; the visit is Ben's idea. So although Audrey is keen on showing Ben her growing up place, it doesn't necessarily work for either of them.

This is a debut novel {awaiting next book!] although Delia Cai is the vanities correspondent for Vanity Fair, and has an infrequent newsletter, Deez Links.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was happy to be taken along for the ride. I also give kudos for the ending.

This book may not be for everyone, but it hit the spot for me--especially following some lackluster reads.

3.75, rounding up.

Audrey Zhou relocated to New York City from a tiny Midwest hamlet in quest of larger dreams. After an eight-year hiatus, she is returning with her photographer boyfriend, Ben. She must face the difficulties she has evaded and determine whether she is the New Audrey or the Old Audrey.

This debut work has made an indelible mark on me. The language was beautiful, and the storyline remained vulnerable throughout. This story's characters were highly complex. At times, the primary character was dislikeable.

Central Places
By Delia Cai

This is a coming of age story. Audrey Zhou is a Chinese American girl, born and raised in Hickory Grove, IL. Her parents immigrated from China, hoping to seize the American dream and pass it on to their daughter.

Audrey has always felt an outsider in her small, white hometown – stifled by the strict upbringing of her Chinese parents. As soon as she is able – right out of college – she heads off to the bright lights of New York City and never looks back.

In New York she hooks up with Ben, the scion of a rich WASP New England family who has never really struggled for anything because of his strong support system. When Ben asks Audrey to marry him, she eagerly agrees – this is her dream come true. But when they decide to finally go back to Hickory Grove to meet Audrey's parents, the past catches up with both of them.

The author does a great job here of delineating the cultural differences involved. She leaves us with a thoughtful ending with gives the reader hope for Audrey's future. I really liked this book.

I liked the premise of the book. I like how it dealt with family trauma, especially also having grown up in an Asian household. I thought it represented it well. Some parts were a bit boring, but I did enjoy the overall story!

Such a good read, especially in time for the holidays. I really related to this book and am so happy I picked it up. Such great writing and kept me interested throughout.

How many of you have graduated high school and not looked back … quite literally, as in putting as much pavement between you and your former life as you can and never returning again? As someone whose life is very intertwined in that of my family’s, it is almost inconceivable to me that people just up and leave their loved ones and strike out on their own without roots nestled firmly in the ground. But of course it happens and is the subject of Delia Cai’s debut Central Places, which I must confess, I LOVED.

This validating, resonant novel tells the story of Audrey Zhou, who is named for the starlet Audrey Hepburn, but that’s where the similarities end. Audrey, a second generation Chinese American, felt stifled by her upbringing in her small midwestern town of Hickory Grove, Illinois. Subjected to feelings of just not fitting in or being understood throughout her childhood, Audrey couldn’t wait to leave her isolated hometown and make a new life for herself in New York City.

It’s been eight years since Audrey has returned home to Hickory Grove. She found success in New York City and is engaged to a professional photographer, Ben, a white man who grew up on a mountain of privilege in stark contrast to Audrey’s own upbringing. But as much as she would like to, Audrey can’t avoid her hometown and her parents forever - her dad is scheduled for a medical procedure over the Christmas holiday and has asked Audrey to be there. With Ben in tow, Audrey ventures home for the holidays, but is unprepared for the ways that her past confronts her in the most surprising and unexpected ways.

Central Places is a novel that speaks to me, and what’s funny is I can hardly personally relate to Audrey and her plight, but Cai’s writing is so authentic and thought-provoking that I can’t help but feel connected to her character. Audrey is such an interesting person to read about and reflect upon - it is obvious that she considers herself so mature and over the people and places of her past, yet that couldn’t be further from the truth. Audrey ran from her former life, never looking back, but also without ever coming to terms with everything that she left behind. Back home in Hickory Grove, she is still that same little girl looking for acceptance, but afraid to show her true self to those that matter most. She is one of the most fascinating main characters I have encountered in some time; unconsciously stuck in the past and self-destructive to a fault. I loved observing her redemptive character arc throughout this novel and felt genuinely satisfied by the course her life took through these pages. Cai did not write Audrey to be likeable, but she did write her real, and I appreciate that.

Aside from Audrey’s personal struggle within herself, Central Places also highlights the conflict that exists between Audrey and her parents, Audrey and her fiancé, and Audrey and her former friends and flames. Each of these plot points is played out to perfect pitch and timing and unfold intricately throughout this novel, showing Audrey that perhaps it is she who is the problem in each of these equations and giving her the opportunity to redeem herself as a daughter, lover, and friend.

Central Places comes highly recommended to the wistful dreamers out there; those who wonder what could have been or who have ever dreamed of another life. Central Places also focuses heavily on the theme of the dutiful daughter and will appeal to readers who are carers of aging parents.

3.5 stars

As a long-time fan of Cai's work, I was thrilled to have the chance to read this debut novel. Prospective readers interested in getting very familiar with a relatable main character will enjoy this quiet, tightly structured effort.

Audrey, the m.c., is leaving New York with her partner, Ben, to visit her parents in her hometown: Hickory Grove. Though she's been gone for years, it really feels like Audrey left a whole other self behind, and that's apparent throughout every detail in the novel. Audrey's career, romantic life, and sense of self have all evolved apart from her parents and her high school friends and contacts, and those differences are only highlighted by her return to the scene of her origin story.

Anyone who has moved away from home, who has questioned their romantic relationship, who has a challenging relationship with their family that they manage best through distance, and especially who has set aside hurts from earlier in life will relate strongly to Audrey's encounters. This is not so much a novel about earth shattering events or tremendous realizations, though these crop up, as happens in life. This is, instead, a quiet look at both Audrey's past and at a slice of her present: who she is, who she was, and how one informs the other.

Cai does employ detail, spare language at times, and pacing that force readers to feel and experience Audrey's pivotal moments in what can feel like real time. This isn't a speedy or a quirky read, both of which are expectations I had as an incoming fan. Instead, it's a focused and thoughtful read that I expect many audiences will find relatable in more ways than one.

Audrey Zhou, a dutiful Chinese-American daughter, has achieved in school, graduated from a prestigious university, found a job in New York and a “perfect” fiancé. She has not been back to her small Illinois hometown for years and is dreading the holiday meeting of Ben, her fiancé, and her parents, especially her mother. Having spent a great deal of time with his parents who are liberal and welcoming, she has doubts about bringing someone home. In the years away she has missed a wedding, a reunion and a death. This does not surprise anyone who knew her since she spent her school years promising she would leave as soon as possible and never return. She turned away from former friends. Now, face to face with her past, she sees her life both past and present in a different light. At first reluctant, she starts to open up to misunderstandings that have crippled her for years. Delia Cai’s protagonist, Audrey, is not likable at first. As she discovers the truth, however, I found myself cheering her on.