Delia Cai’s debut novel Central Places follows twenty-six-year-old Audrey Zhou as she travels from New York to central Illinois for the holidays to introduce her fiancé Ben to her Chinese immigrant parents. Audrey has taken pains to create a life in New York that even her parents could be proud of: her high-paying sales job has been supplementing her parents’ income for years, and handsome, charming, native New Yorker Ben is an ideal fiancé. Yet Audrey’s uneasy relationship with her parents stems from a long history of failing to meet her mother’s high expectations, and she fears the choices that have shaped her adult life will be no exception.

What would be a high-pressure situation for any couple is compounded by the fact that this is the first time Audrey has returned to her hometown in eight years. Before she and Ben run into a former crush in the Walmart parking lot, the last time Audrey spoke to any of her high school friends was freshman year of college. Old memories and long-buried emotions come simmering to the surface during their week at home, and the cracks in Audrey and Ben’s seemingly perfect relationship begin to show as it becomes clear just how much of her past and present feelings Audrey is suppressing. When her father’s unexpected health issues force Audrey to extend her trip, tensions in her relationships with her mother, with Ben, and with her high school best friends all come to a head, leaving Audrey struggling to find common ground between the person she was eight years ago and the person she’s fought to become.

Central Places is a book about the lengths we will go to create our own definition of home, in the hopes of influencing the ways it inevitably defines us in return. As a fellow Midwestern transplant who does not go home as often as she should, the unique nostalgia of summer nights spent driving aimlessly around with friends and crushes rang as true for me as did the heartfelt exploration of how our turbulent teenage emotions shape our feelings and relationships long after we’ve left home. Audrey is not always a kind or likable character; bending under the pressure of everyone’s expectations, she acts on impulse and rarely takes responsibility for her actions. Yet one of the most important benchmarks of adulthood is recognizing the times when your choices are in your hands and no one else’s, when you alone have the power to burn things down or make things right. By the end of this perceptive and insightful debut, Cai has both Audrey and the reader reconsidering what it means to make the right choice out of all the choices we are given, especially when that choice is love.

This lovely novel gave me all the feels. So much truth here: small town girl looking to get out; parental
Pressure; immigrant prejudice; facing your faults. I couldn’t put this one down. Read it in a single sitting.

I received an ARC of Central Places from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Central Places follows the protagonist, Audrey Zhou, on her first trip home to Illinois in nearly a decade. Audrey had a difficult childhood as the daughter of Chinese immigrants, never feeling like she fit in with her mostly white classmates, so when she left for college she never looked back. She leads a life of fun and adventure in New York City with her fiancé and a great friend group. But a trip over the holidays to introduce her parents and fiancé brings her past roaring back and she is forced to reckon with much unfinished business.

Though the Audrey’s family makeup is very different from my own, the characters and their motivations seemed very real as I read this book. Reading can expose us to different perspectives and life experiences unlike our own, and this book felt both illuminating and relatable. I hope people will read it and enjoy what makes Audrey’s story both unique and universal.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the many ways in which the title played a part in this story and it was a nice fresh take to read a book in central Asia.

I felt that this was a really good read. I felt that it was part coming home and part perception in many ways. The main character is returning home to bring her fiancee to meet her parents. She has two very separate existences, however one had lain dormant until she returned to her hometown. She is a different person depending on who she is around it seems. There was definitely a fair amount of mama/daughter drama, however I felt that this really highlighted the main character and illustrated who she was. I would definitely like to read more from this author. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Being 2nd generation American-born Chinese, this book totally called out to me. And, I was lucky to have been given an ARC of this book by NetGalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review. So many of the issues that our protagonist went through, I’ve dealt with – some I am still struggling with letting my parents see eye to eye with me. Well, onto the book review.

Audrey Zhou hasn’t been home in 8 years since moving away to New York for college. Once she was done, she started building a life there away from home – away from her parents. Until she got a call that her dad had a scheduled surgery that he wanted her to be there with him. The best part? It was the week leading up to Christmas. Audrey’s seemingly impeccable fiancé Ben urges her to go, and what perfect excuse to meet and be introduced to his future in-laws? Also, bonus points for being a supportive partner. Besides, they would return a few days before Christmas and they could still spend time together back in New York – just in time for the holidays.

Audrey on the other hand, is dreading every second of the return to her Midwestern hometown in Illinois ever since checking in for her flight. She’s intentionally lost touch with everyone from high school as a means to try to erase her past. This included people like Kristen, her bff and also her longtime crush – Kyle. Inevitably, she runs into almost everyone albeit at different times throughout her stay; being that it is a small town and everyone is either home for the holidays or never left. This stirs up a lot of mixed feelings for Audrey on how she left things with everyone.

Back at home, she avoids her mom like the plague – or at least she wants to. Her mom was never short to remind her that she was the accident that caused her family to suffer through all the hardships they’ve had to overcome. Always wanted her to be the best and if she had failed to do so, her mother would be sure to let her know her disappointment in her. This included letting Audrey know through her actions that she felt Ben wasn’t good enough for her.

Throughout the book, Audrey was a very unlikeable protagonist. She always carried an attitude that was very woe is me and that everyone else owed something to her. Whatever resulted from her actions no matter the time, was never her fault. I admit I got a little bored of her character about a third of the way through. What really saved her character was maturing to the point of realizing she had to make amends for the way she left things and stop making excuses. The story did come full circle in finally understanding where her mother’s mannerisms came from and why she did what she did. Most immigrant parents have had it hard and they always want what’s best for their children. Although they don’t always know how to show it, they always mean well.

She made up with Kristen and Kyle in the end and *surprise* called the engagement off with Ben. As to why? Well, I urge you to pick up a copy of this book when it’s due to release on January 31, 2023. You won’t be disappointed! A great debut novel 🙂

I wanted to like this book. The characters were interesting and the plot had potential but it never really took off. I found myself wondering what plot was or if something more was going to happen.

4 stars - This book has lingered with me post reading. I am so glad I read this. Thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Highly recommend this one! This was my first book to read by this author but definitely won't be my last. The characters will stay with you long after you finish the book and you will find yourself wishing the story would never end.

(3 1/2 stars) This book ends well but unfortunately it doesn’t really get going until more than half way and the first half is kind of a slog where the story feels like it’s treading water as the author repeatedly hammers home the same points about her impossibly critical mother, her white fiancé who means well but doesn’t get it, and the alienation she felt growing up in a predominantly white midwestern town. Yes, these are all points that are central to the character’s experience and provide context for the second half of the book but give the reader some credit for getting it. That half of the book could have easily been trimmed down to a third and been a breezier read. Overall, I am glad I didn’t give up and actually got to the second half of the book because it does wrap up nicely.

Feelings about home are complicated. So are families. You can love a person or a place the same time as you loathe them. It's all so tangled that it's easy to misunderstand your own feelings.

Delia Cai's new novel shows you can go home again, and that it's a part of you no matter how much you deny it. Cai's Audrey is messy and relatable and infuriating all at once. She's definitely a force, and I'm excited to see what she does next.

Minor quibble that didn't affect my rating--this cover does not fit the tone of the book at all. Picking it up, I thought it was nonfiction. I'll be interested to see if it's updated for the paperback release.

This was a really great book, I loved it! Audrey was a very flawed character but it's what made her a good protagonist and an interesting one too. I liked how we slowly learn more about her early life and the people that played a part in it. The relationship between Ben and Audrey was well written and even though I would've liked Audrey facing the problems in that relationship more I still liked how it turned out. My main problem with Audrey was how she dealt with problems but the fact that she was self aware was good for me so I'm not too bothered by that. The relationship between Audrey and her mom was so frustrating to read but it was very well written. My only (tiny) complaint is that I wish they had talked more about their problems.

This book was very well written, I was engaged from the beginning and couldn't put it down, Delia Cai did a really great job!

Delia Cai's Central Places was so well written and it will be sticking with me for a long time. Audrey and her fiancé Ben go to Audrey's hometown for Christmas so her family can meet the man their daughter is marrying. Going back home has Audrey thinking of the girl she used to be and the girl she thinks she is now. You can easily see how the characters develop and change from beginning to end and I loved it. This book shows an example of complicated mother/daughter relationships which really resonated with me.

In Delia Cai's new novel, Central Places, Audrey Zhou is newly engaged and bringing her white fiancé, Ben, home to meet her parents in Hickory Grove, a small town in rural Illinois.  Audrey's kept her NYC life and her small-town, immigrant upbringing entirely separate so far, creating a relatable set of worries.

When Audrey is asked where she's from, no, where she's from, you know, Ben jumps in to say Audrey's a Midwesterner. But really, Audrey spent all her time in Illinois planning to get out of town, and when she left for college, she basically never returned or kept in touch with anyone from her hometown.  I thought this meant she'd outgrown her small town, in the way that Manhattan fiction protags always have, but when they arrive in her hometown, it becomes clear that Audrey has unfinished business with basically everyone.  The characters of Hickory Grove are well-developed, with different lives and perspectives, but a shared view that Audrey was just counting the minutes until she could leave Illinois forever. There's a real small-town feel in the descriptions here, but without the book feeling like the joke's on the Midwest.

In New York, Audrey is a successful sales rep, a job that's equally mystifying to her artistic friend group and to her traditional parents. I liked that Audrey's mother wasn't a Tiger Mom stereotype, but still pushed incredibly hard to Audrey to have a particular type of success, and that sales rep wasn't one of those correct career paths. Even though Audrey was financially self-sufficient (more than that, she supported Ben for a while), and seemed to enjoy her career, that wasn't the kind of success her parents had envisioned.  At the same time, Audrey's childhood as the daughter of a Midwestern engineer doesn't match the immigrant narrative her New York friends expect.

I saw this again and again in this novel -- that there was the Hickory Grove way and an New York way and, in the middle, a mystery to everyone, was Audrey.  Audrey finds herself caught between Kyle, her high school crush, and Ben, her current fiancé. I felt like this was showing the difference between Hickory Grove and New York City, but I found I was on Team Nobody.  I didn't feel like Kyle was the one magic man who fully understood Audrey's soul, he was a perfectly nice small-town guy.  I didn't feel like Ben was an aspirational NYC boyfriend, either, he had the cheerful upbeat personality that comes from being safely wrapped in family money and connections.  Audrey, you can do better! DROP THEM BOTH! 

The overall feeling of the narration is sharp-eyed and clever, with these little descriptive lines so accurately hitting New York creative class and small-town customs, but Audrey herself feels unobservant and kind of drifting through her experiences. While this can  definitely be a realistic part of an adult child returning home, especially with the sort of feelings Audrey has for her hometown and her mother, it's frustrating when a fiction protag seems more acted-upon than active.  So, it's a book I liked a great deal, with a central character who inspired eyerolls in a few places. 

The themes in Central Places are very relatable, with Audrey caught in the pull of her parents' expectations and her fiancé's family, between her childhood and her new life in the city.

The deal: Audrey returns to her hometown in Central Illinois for the first time in eight years with her rich white fiance. Things do not go according to plan. (P.S. I got an ARC from NetGalley)

Is it worth it?: Imagine if a Lifetime Christmas movie cranked the “identity” and “inner turmoil” narrative dials. And then that movie was produced by A24, so the notion of plot became a mere suggestion. I liked this — I’ve been a fan of Cai’s writing for a while, and thought the characters had just the right amount of unlikability to feel real without being obnoxious. Could have done without that little Harry Potter narrative thread, though.

Pairs well with: anything by Celeste Ng

B

The title of this book is extremely appropriate. The central place in question is the main character, Audrey's, hometown in Illinois. While this book doesn't necessarily have a big twist or surprise, it is a well-written investigation into the importance of the journey back to our roots. Audrey is relatable--she does make mistakes and act in ways that do not endear her to the reader, but it is easy to see parts of ourselves in her. Delia Cai's writing style is exquisite and vivid. I never thought I could be so invested in the family and friend drama happening in a small town out in Illinois. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a family-centered story or anyone reflecting on their past.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did, because I did feel like it was a more realistic portrayal of a relationship with highs and lows. But in the end, Audrey did not work for me as a character. She was well developed, but she spent most of the book acting like a child. She would go out, get drunk or make a bad decision, and then blame it on someone else (usually her parents). Which, I guess, is the point of how she goes home and reverts back to who she was when she was growing up in a small town filled with prejudice. The book is well written, although it seems a bit slower paced than it needs to be. There were a few really fun moments and some good characters, but the pieces I wanted to see more developed were left a bit hanging. I am very glad for the meal towards the end where people come together. It was a moment for me when I thought, hey, this book is at least a 3 star.

I will give Cai full credit for capturing a lot of the challenges faced by children of immigrants, especially the love-hate relationship with everything that is tied to their family history. Audrey loves the food, but at the same time is ashamed of it for being different from what all of her friends eat. As someone whose close friend is Chinese, it was eye opening to read about some of the things that Audrey faced and consider that some of these things likely were happening to my friend and I was totally oblivious to it. It also explained some things that, as a visitor to her home, I always wondered. And I will admit that I looked up how to wrap a remote control in plastic because that strikes me as very hygienic. I wish more hotels would do that and then change it between guests.

All that to say, that this book was good, but it was not quite what I was looking for and took me longer to get through because of it. If you want a romance, this is not it. But if you're looking for a character who grows up and into themselves a bit through the course of the novel, then this would definitely work. (I know this is really weird, but I found the paragraphs really long, so any time I wanted to break to do something, I kept getting stuck trying to find a good place to pause.)

I got this as an ARC through NetGalley – it will be published on January 31, 2023. This is another one that I really loved – it’s a great story about coming home and finding yourself after being away for years. Audrey moved to New York City as soon as high school ended and left the old version of herself behind. Audrey of now hasn’t been home in years, hasn’t kept in touch with any of her friends from high school, and has a high-pressure New York City job and a NYC born-and-bred fiance. But when Audrey agrees to go home between Christmas and New Years to introduce her fiance to her family and help her father as he gets a minor medical procedure, she has trouble making the new version of herself fit into her old life at home. And being at home (and running into her unrequited high school crush) makes her wonder if her changes were actually all for the better. She has to decide which version of herself she really wants to be. It feels achingly relatable in many ways and I sped through it.

Twenty-seven year old Audrey is busy “living her best life”’ in New York, too busy to keep in touch with her Chinese immigrant parents or old home town friends. When Audrey gets engaged, her fiancée suggests they spend the holidays with her parents when her father invites her home to help care for him after a scheduled medical procedure. Returning to the contentious relationship with her mother and the small town she grew up in, Audrey is forced to revisit all the unresolved relationships she left behind when she went off to college and results in her veering off the course of the life she thought she wanted.

Central Places was an introspective book all told from the main character of Audrey. You could almost feel the anxiety as she struggles through the confrontations she has with family and old high school friends. Audrey is an imperfect character just trying to create a life she thought she wanted but ultimately realizes isn’t for her. This book encompasses themes of racial identity, first generation immigrant upbringing, mother-daughter relationships and losing yourself in pursuit of an aspired life. Overall a decent read 3.75.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this ARC

Delia Cai is certainly an astute writer as she guides us in her debut novel through a very close and almost claustrophobic view of Audrey Zhou from a small town in Illinois called Hickory Grove.

Audrey could not wait to leave this town, and after graduating from college she lands in New York and gets a job at a magazine selling ads. She is absorbed in New York life, has a wide circle of friends and has also recently gotten engaged to her boyfriend Ben, an up and coming photographer with a well-established New York family. Outwardly she seems to have gotten her dream life and kept her old one neatly tucked out of sight.

As a character Audrey is single minded, self absorbed and sometimes so myopic that is difficult to like here. She can seem spoiled and unaware of others, and certainly has little introspection. The story takes a hard direction when Audrey and Ben go to Hickory Grove for Christmas. Audrey has given Ben no insights into her old life and he is left to piece together information on his own while she tries to make amends with her friends, her old life, the town, her parents. Some of what happens is predicable, and Audrey comes to realize that maybe her home was not so bad after all. Needless to say, the playbook of a short uneventful visit, is far from what happens.

There is some optimism at end of the book, as Audrey starts to clean up her old life in order to create a new one.

I wanted to like this book more, but it just seems to drag a bit, but maybe this is true to life, as information slowly get revealed and absorbed. Cai is a fine writer. She truly draws you into the world and gives you a great sense of the place. I do think this is an honest and realistic story about a young woman wanting to escape from her small town life.