This book handles grief in an amazing way. Having read this as I was losing a grandparent myself, Liya's desire to honor her grandmother's wishes was heartbreaking but incredibly relatable. I loved the relationship between her and Kai, and I loved how the story ended. It wasn't what I expected or had wanted, but it was incredibly satisfying nonetheless.

Was a very cute story, but started losing my interest about halfway through because nothing seemed to really happen. Did enjoy it though towards the end!

When You Wish Upon a Lantern is a heartfelt and cute book. It follows childhood best friends Liya and Kai, who both grew up in the shadows of their parents' small Chinatown businesses. Liya's family runs a store where they sell wishing lanterns, and Liya grew up working with her grandmother to make those wishes come true in some capacity. Following her grandmother's death, Liya ropes Kai into doing it with her, and it isn't long until sparks fly--or something that was there all along finally comes to light. Though this is a romance, a big part of the story is also about grief. I also lost a grandparent as a teenager and would have loved to have read a book that explored those feelings in a sensitive, but not overly doom-and-gloom, way.

I also liked how Liya was a classic overthinker, and how that was incorporated into the plot line. I definitely laughed (a little ironocally) at her constant fear that she needs to tone it down and about how her overthinking was stopping her from acknowledging what was right in front of (as any overthinker can attest, this is sadly way too accurate). I also appreciated the way Chao tackles Kai's tenuous relationship with his dad and brother in his chapters. I feel like sometimes YA authors exaggerate imperfect family relations, but the tension between Kai and his brother in particular felt realistic.
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This book releases on Valentine's Day, and I think it fits the spirit of that holiday perfectly.

Life got in the way and I could not finish the book. Thanks to the publishers for the chance to read the book.

This was really cute! It was a nice read and I liked that it was about romance but also navigating complicated family dynamics.

When You Wish Upon a Lantern was the perfect bit of sweetness I was looking for over my holidays. It’s a fluffy and adorable teen friendship turned romance story with little adversity and a lot of lighthearted fun. Liya and Kai’s friendship is pure sweetness—the kind of friendship that few truly find in their lives. Though they are at odds when this story begins, it’s truly a deep miscommunication and a whole lot of foolishness that’s gotten in their way. As they reconnect and their friendship continues to grow and deepen, they are able to find ways not only to connect with one another, but with their community, their pasts, their futures, and their culture as well.

This beautiful cover sets the stage for a luminous story. There’s so much to explore as Liya and Kai strive to strengthen the bonds of their community and work to bring people together. You’ll encounter family rivalries, deep cultural bonds and celebration, battles with gentrification and rising costs to hard working business owners, secret wishes, and so much more in these pages. It’s worth the read!

While there is romance, the majority of this book is pretty PG which certainly will appeal to younger readers. It’s about true connection and deep friendship first and foremost. The romance is chaste and lovely—a beautiful first love. It’ll have you smiling at the cuteness overload and rooting for the underdogs as they gain the confidence to fight for what they want most in the world.

I’ve wanted to read this book ever since I first saw the beautiful cover - it reminded me of Tangled. This YA romance celebrates Chinese American culture and hopefully new and established readers of Gloria Chao will love it as much as it deserves! Not super original but cute!

As sweet as a cinnamon roll, this YA romance centers two teens who love their community and each other, but don't dare admit it. With a dash of humor and a generous helping of lyrical lines, this author has written romance to remember.

Kai and Liya are best friends, but their families are rivals, a long-standing feud ignited by trash in a shared alleyway and an exploding dumpster. When a hilarious-for-the-reader misunderstanding pulls them apart, it takes Liya discovering her family's shop is in crisis to pull them together. Together, they find new ways to pull their Chinatown community together through cultural festivals and granting wishes while they work to save Liya's grandmother's beloved business.

The cutest part of this book is the wishes. Liya and Kai work as wish fairies behind the scenes to help the wishes people write on the lanterns come true. In addition to playing matchmaker for elderly couples, they also get a dog adopted and help a boy's father accept his dreams of playing basketball. A few nudges, a little manipulation and presto, wish granted! But the biggest question is: will Liya and Kai ever get the courage to grant their own wish and be together?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the whimsical aspect that came with this, as well as the difficult topics of feeling the burden from their families as a way to push them to do better. When the grandmother convinces both of them to work together, while they do but heads, everything does work out in the end. Overall, this was a super cute read.

3.5 stars
GOSH! This book was SO cuteeee!! When looking for a YA romance, this is what I mean. This book was lighthearted, while still having depth, face paced and swoon worthy!
Liya and Kai were childhood best friends grew up doing everything together, knew each other better than anyone until one event happens that kind of changes how they both view the friendship. This was probably my least favorite part of the book I hate miscommunications, and this one was such a large one that was almost irritating. I just wanted to yell at them and be like just talk about it!!! lol it was honestly though pretty easy to overlook it was kind of In the background, if that makes sense like it was a past event that happened and wasn’t really brought up too many times throughout the story. Miscommunication was definitely a common trope in this book which definitely wasn’t my favorite, but I do feel like it was resolved in a pretty timely manner and didn’t drag out which I definitely appreciated.
Liya and Kai both were very real and relatable characters. They both had their own struggles going on, but still came together to make magic happen within the community, which I thought was so sweet to read about. I also loved how different cultural aspects were woven into the story, I honestly learned a lot about Chinese traditions and different holidays/ how they’re celebrated. I thought these were brought into the story so well and seamlessly, it definitely added an extra layer to the book!
Aside from the miscommunication my largest complaint was probably the feud between Liya and Kai’s fathers well I do understand it. I feel like it was a bit dramatic and excessive. Like you are grown men, I don’t know it just didn’t feel too realistic to me if that makes sense.
Overall, despite my few complaints, this is a cute, fluffy and fun little contemporary romance. I especially think it’s great for YA romance, there’s a lot of self discovery mixed in and wonderful cultural representation as well!

* Thank you Penguin Teen and team for an ebook in exchange, for an honest review. All opinions above are 100% my own!*

Ex-best friends reunite and start to feel something more for each other. Such an incredibly sweet read and I loved Liya and Kai together. Kai had some really sweet lines and he was definitely in love with Liya. I also love to see representation and loved the Chinese traditions, food, and culture woven throughout.

I did not have time to download and read this book before it was archived, so I'm unable to leave a review.

This is a light and fluffy romance novel that is a good 'beach read.' I loved American in Panda and found that story and its characters more charming than this one. But, I still recommend it to those who love a sweet romcom with high-achieving teenagers. I enjoyed the Chinese superstitions, food, and other cultural references that are woven throughout the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for this DRC.
Liya and Kai used to be best friends. Liya’s family store may have to close but Liya and Kai set out to save it. The book has many cute moments but overall I just felt annoyed.
#WhenYouWishUponaLantern #NetGalley

"I didn't mean to stay away this long, but now I don't know how to find my way back."

[I would not like to give a star rating on this book for reasons I will explain below]

Thank you Netgalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for a copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I requested this book last summer after seeing the stunning cover! The synopsis only mentions they are "teens", and paper lanterns are a specific weakness of mine, so I requested a copy in spite of knowing that it might be a high school contemporary romance.

When You Wish Upon a Lantern is a dual POV contemporary romance that follows Liya, a girl who works at a local paper lantern store and who just lost her grandmother, and Kai, her former best friend/crush and son of a rival family who owns the bakery next door. Will the two of them be able to repair their friendship in time to save the wishes of the paper lantern customers and in time to save any chance they have at romance?

I am DNFing this one at 27%, but I would still recommend it!

The main characters are 17, but seem to act even younger for their age. Think Rapunzel from Tangled. I did do some naively silly things at their age due to being homeschooled/sheltered, so I hesitate to say whether the book is 'unrealistic' as much as feeling too young to me as an individual. The entire romance plot revolves around what is also a very silly miscommunication that could be easily cleared up at any point from page 1.

While I didn't enjoy those two things, I thought the setting and the overall premise of the book are stunning! I love the setup of getting to learn about the side characters immediately, and how much their personal stories matter. I love the theme of wishes and paper lanterns, too! I think that plenty of people would really enjoy this story!

This was so sweet and filled with family and culture. I didn't think it stood out as super unique in this genre but it was still a pleasant read.

I’ve wanted to read this book ever since I first saw the colorful gorgeous cover. This YA romance celebrates Chinese American culture and hopefully new and established readers of Gloria Chao will love it as much as it deserves!

Childhood bestfriends from rival shop owner families both want more than friendship but their ability to communicate and their families get in the way.
The main characters were a little too squeaky clean for me. Did they ever do anything wrong? The two most altruistic teens of all time with the inner thoughts of angels. Not super believable. The pacing was also kind of off for me.

Thank you to penguin teen and netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

When You Wish Upon A Lantern feels a little bit like a Disney movie and a little bit like a warm hug. We follow Liya, whose family owns a lantern shop, and Kai, whose family owns a baking shop. They were childhood friends but then a huge misunderstanding came between them. When Liya’s shop is at risk of closing for good, she recruits Kai to help her fulfill the wishes that are written on the lanterns.

This book has a surprising amount of tropes! There’s miscommunication of course, but also found family. If you love watching a community rally together, then check this out! Personally, I did really enjoy Liya and Kai’s story. However, I felt like it leaned a little younger than I was expecting. That’s perfectly fine, because now I have a go-to book to recommend to my little sister and her friends!


Like I said, this story does lean a little younger. But it feels like a Disney short come to life. Okay, so maybe I’m mostly just thinking of Tangled but still! Liya and Kai are absolutely adorable together, and watching them serve* their community by fulfilling the wishes of the store’s customers was so fun.

*sure, they had some ulterior motives. but personally, i think they went above and beyond. to infinity and beyond!

Every single scene with the lanterns was so magical. It’s truly the perfect foil for any and all romantic moments. But beyond the romance, I loved that we got to see a variety of relationships. Liya and Kai have different relationships with their parents. Every character has a different dynamic from other characters. And honestly, I just thought Chao did a really great job at creating a world so alive that it felt like you could meet any of these characters any day.

Super cute premise, but the characters act immature for their age. I could see this written with middle school protagonists, but I have a hard time believing they are teens.