Real Americans follows Lily, her son Nick, and her mother May/Mei through the turmoil of unanswered questions about their own lives and who they are. Their stories unfold to answer the question “what would happen if we could make choices for our children instead of leaving things to fate?”

I found this book to be gripping - Lily and Nick, in particular, were complex and interesting characters facing the consequences of choices made for them. May’s story was slower paced, but it was harrowing to read about the rise of communism in China and the implications for young people.

If you liked Pachinko or The Island of Sea Women, or other multi-generational stories, this novel is for you!

Thanks to NetGalley, Knopf, and Rachel Khong for the ARC of Real Americans!

Real Americans is a multigenerational tale that spans China to America, from the 1960s through 2030. The novel begins with Lily, a first-generation American living in New York as she is finishing college. Unlike her extremely driven scientist parents, Lily feels a bit rudderless as she floats through adulthood. This first section spans her twenties, during which she falls in love with a man from a powerful family. The second section jumps to Seattle in 2021 and focuses on Lily's son Nick's teenage years. Finally, we move to 2030 and learn more (primarily in flashback) about Lily's mother's experiences growing up in China and moving to America.

This novel is phenomenal, and certainly upended my expectations of a multigenerational tale, both in chronology and in character development. While not overly long, Khong gives an extremely detailed and nuanced portrait of each character. She then weaves these characters and their choices together in a way that addresses meaningful questions about family, free will and choices, and what it means to be an American. As the reader moves from section to section, large holes are left in the plot that are filled in satisfyingly in the final chapters.

Real Americans is a multi-generational family drama that explores identity through a beautifully layered story told in three parts. It begins at the end of 1999 with the dawning of the new millenium from Lily Chen's perspective. She's a recent NYU grad and unpaid intern trying to pay rent and find her career path. As the American-born only child of Chinese immigrants, she's struggling to find a passion that drives her like science did for both of her parents. When she falls in love with Matthew, things become both easier and much more complicated. In the second part of the book, the story moves on to 2021 on a small island off Seattle and a high schooler named Nick who is navigating college applications and an overbearing mom. In the third part, we are transported to China where Mei/May grew up during Mao's takeover of China. The characters in all three parts overlap and layer on top of each other to create a rich and deeply thought provoking book.

The first part starts a bit slow and clunky. It's hard to get a grasp on Lily and where the story is headed. But then the book seems to settle into itself and I was engrossed. The writing is strong and beautiful and the story is fascinating! Khong deftly uses her characters to explore so many interesting themes - inherited traits and the impact of our genetics, time and how we use it, productivity and purpose, race and how it fits into identity, love and forgiveness, luck and the things we can't control. I mean, so much!! There is a love story in each part which enriches the characters and breathes life into them. The third part dips into historical fiction with some heartbreaking moments in Mao's China. It also dabbles with a touch of magical realism, which I thought worked very well. This would be a juicy book club pick with something for everyone.

A few characters are underdeveloped in order to simplify the plot a bit and it isn't a perfect book. But! I absolutely love what Khong attempted and accomplished with this novel. It was ambitious and I think it paid off. I couldn't put it down and I will miss these characters! Five stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was an interesting look at family, heredity and fortune, both in finance and in recognizing your blessings. The book is separated into three parts-a love story, a coming of age story, and a family history story. All of them were important, but I felt let down by the love story and angered by the family history.
I was hoping for one resolution in particular that never happened, but I did love the ending. Still, I need to think about this book more—the epigenetics at the center of it all was a lot for my brain to wrap around and my feelings about this book are mixed. I can’t decide if I wasted my time or if I need to sit with the greater message of this book.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

📚Book review📚 :: Real Americans by Rachel Khong

Story premise: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ending: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"He wanted a boy, because a boy would carry on the family name. This was so stupid, I'd always thought. What was in a name? It was only a sound. Silently, men carried in their mitochondrial lineage: information from their mothers, and their mothers before them."

Rachel Khong has crafted a nearly perfect generational family saga. What makes this one stand apart is how deeply rooted it is in what we can't see: the mitochondrial DNA passed down from mothers to their sons and daughters.

We meet Lily, an American-born Chinese twenty something living in New York City around the turn of the century. While she's busy rooting around her identity, she falls in love with a man who will ultimately determine her future because of secrets in their parents' past. We travel to the future with Lily's son and into her mother's history.

This book has the perfect balance of interwoven narratives with entangled mother-daughter/son relationships; complicated scientific advances highlighted by just a dash of magical realism; and deep love and devotion coupled with marriages of convenience or safety.

I absolutely love how this story is passed down through the mothers' line, much like our characters' ancestry is or should have been. It's a larger story about what we absorb from our mothers, through our blood and through their choices. I was captivated from the very first page.

Thank you, NetGalley and Knopf for the early copy of this book.
This book is structured as 3 parts set at different times from different POVs from the same family.
Part 1 is more of a love story, part 2 is a coming of age, and part 3 is partially a historical fiction that asks some very serious questions.
I am not a fan of coming of age, so part 2 was dragging for me a little; however, part 3 delivered and knocked me off my feet! China's communism was interesting and too real to read about and was a very important part of the story to understand the 'why'.
The questions the author presented at the end had me spiraling and thinking, this is a scary topic that I think is more realistic than some tend to believe and these topics have to be discussed today.
Real Americans was probably one of the most unique books I've read (structure and topic-wise) and I cannot recommend it enough. I want to highlight the brilliance of the cover, it makes total sense with the story and compliments the book.

⭐️: 5/5

At the change of the millennia, Lily meets Matthew while living in New York. Though they come from different worlds, Lily the daughter of Chinese immigrants and Matthew the heir to a pharmaceutical empire, they fall in love. Years later, Nick lives with his mother Lily on a secluded Washington island, unsure what his place in the world is. When he decides to find his biological father, his journey raises more questions than answers.

One of the blurbs from another author advertised this book used the word “mesmerizing” and I have to say, it’s an accurate depiction. It starts as a fairly typical (but also comparatively well executed) fish out of water, first/second generation immigrant story, but then the intrigue just builds and builds, which makes the narrative move forward through time a lot quicker than you expect. It’s full of observations about life and culture that may not feel super new, but are still poignant in the way they’re communicated in the book. There’s three main POVs from three generations of the same family, and while Nick and Lily’s POVs sound kind of similar voice-wise, I think it may have been intentional, to draw a parallel across generations, and make the point that children tend to judge their parents with only a small amount of the actual story, since their parents often lived full lives before they came into the picture, and when it comes down to it, the children would make the same type of impossible choices given the circumstances. I loved the structure of this book, where we get the POV of May last, since it really ties the book together so nicely to bring it all full circle. This was truly a feat of a book, and I absolutely loved the reading experience!

Thank you to @netgalley and @aaknopf for this free eARC!!

REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong is an entrancing, moving story covering generations of a family fleeing their ancestral home in China as Mao's revolution gains momentum to the present day when a young man searches for his biological father. I was moved throughout by the eloquent prose and insights pushing at the heart of a story that prompts each one of us to question who we are, where we belong, and can we change our destiny by holding that precious seed in our hand as we seek new ground. I was captivated ed by the story and its quiet twists and turns I never saw coming, but which were logical and true. I stayed up way too late reading just one more chapter. Now that I've enjoyed this talented storyteller, I will track down her earlier stories. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

This book really made me think and I loved it!

A story told in 3 generations:
🇨🇳Mei - 1960s China
🗽Lily - 2000s NYC
🌳Nick - 2020s PNW

We get to see generational differences and how we really don’t always know why our parents made the decisions they did.

The story also touches on elements of nature vs nurture and ethics in science which makes your brain turn!

This really is the kind of book that you have to experience yourself and I think depending on your life you may take away something different! I’ll probably recommend this to some friends I really liked it.

Review will be posted on https://instagram.com/texas.bookworm week of 4/15!

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf For the ARC!

Rachel Khong’s bright, multigenerational "Real Americans" feels like a book we’ll be discussing for the rest of 2024.

People talk about books they couldn’t put down, but this is something beyond that—it’s a book you don’t want to pick up too often because doing so will bring you closer to its end. It’s brisk and breezy, but there’s a depth that sustains it across its three major sections—each one following a different generation.

This is a book about time. More specifically, it’s about the ambition to unwrite history in lieu of scripting the present. The book’s title reflects how characters frequently wrestle with their own sense of self-definition, and Khong’s decision to follow three separate generations is executed wonderfully. We spend so much time in the first third understanding Lily as our protagonist, but by the next section, she is almost unrecognizable. In lesser books, this would read as poor writing, but it’s clear that Khong is getting at how much the decades change us, and she’s thoughtful about when she reveals relics of past selves. With the novel’s focus on family, this approach also allows us to see how much personal history is hidden, and it invites us to question whether or not that’s a problem.

Thematically, there are some really interesting ideas about how the desire to control time intersects with racial identity and erasure, but for the sake of spoilers, I won’t get into them here. Just know that there’s more to "Real Americans" than a typical multigenerational immigration story, and Khong tips her hand only when it will be most narratively effective. We see characters caught in the tension of whether they are embodying “American” identity or merely performing it, often in very imagistic, physical, and nuanced ways.

The authorial voice is genuinely incredible across the book’s three sections. Each narrator draws on turns of phrase that feel unexpected but intuitive, and Khong constantly creates space for the specific, meaningless details that give our lives so much meaning. I underlined dozens—if not hundreds—of lines that made me stop because I hadn’t seen someone sound so naturally human. Read it; you’ll see what I mean.

As much as I adored "Real Americans," I think setting the final third primarily in the past deflates the narrative a bit, particularly because it follows a character who has been largely absent up to that point. This part of the story is still great, but its placement feels slightly off—its revelations matter less than their consequences, which we have already encountered. For a book that wrestles so explicitly with the inescapability of time’s progression, it seems counterintuitive. Perhaps it suggests that time collapses in on itself, but it interrupts an otherwise crackling rhythm.

Despite that very minor critique, I think this is an excellent book. Rachel Khong knows that if we are going to understand the characters’ desire to be—or not be—“real Americans” we must first meet them as three real people, and her care in introducing them as such feels like a triumph.

This was so good. A family saga with some science thrown in, my favorite.

This story follows three generations and the secrets that hat were kept. It’s a slow burn and incredibly sad story but so well written. I did read the authors first book and enjoyed it, but this was far better in my opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for a honest opinion. 4.5⭐️

Utterly beautiful story spread over multiple generations, exploring the meaning of identity, self, sacrifice and legacy. I can't wait for this one to hit shelves so I can make everyone I know go buy a copy.

What defines nationality? What defines ethnicity? Who is able to determine that for a person? What exactly is real? Can a person be a fake ethnicity? How far would you go for a better life? For yourself? For your children? Three generations wrestle with these questions of self, family, and society at large. Enticing, mesmerizing, beautifully woven strands of love, heartbreak, and identity.

A unique approach to the topic of the sacrifices parents are willing to make for the sake of their children. May (Mei) wanted to start a new life in America after fleeing Communist China and therefore wanted to ensure her daughter Rachel was a true American. So even though Rachel presented as Chinese, she didn't speak the language or know the culture. Rachel's son, Nico/Nick, was blond and blue-eyed yet he felt more Chinese than his fair skin presented. I enjoyed the various POVs throughout the decades and the insight they provided.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I liked it but didn't love it and the ending was too abrupt. I also felt that the three generational points of view were confusing because the chapters didn't have headings and it took me awhile to understand who each chapter was about. I also thought that the book and characters were sad.. But having said that,, this book was well written and kept me reading and brought me into the different time periods.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Real Americans by Rachel Khong is a literary exploration of what it means to be American and how that intersects with the Asian diaspora. Rachel’s parents wanted to be American and raised her to be very American, even having milk and cookies on Christmas for Santa, and Rachel feels very aware that no matter how American she was raised, she still sticks out as a woman of Chinese descent. When she meets Matthew, a white man from a rich family, she falls for him while trying to navigate her monetary concerns. In the second third, we get Nick, Lily and Matthew’s son, a young man in high school who greatly resembles his father but has no memories of Matthew or even knows who his father is.

There was a lot in here that really resonated with me as the child of an immigrant. From that feeling you get when you’re confronted with your parents’ native language but you don’t speak it to the loss of a strong connection to a culture to Nick constantly feeling like half of him is invisible, it’s poignant and heartbreaking and breathtakingly real. Khong draws attention to what we give up when we immigrate but also the reasons that we might have for making that choice and for rejecting parts of ourselves.

The romance between Rachel and Matthew was very sweet but also serves to highlight specific things, such as Asian women x White men pairings. Two of Rachel’s friends are in similar relationships to her, even further drawing attention to it. Khong doesn’t condemn these relationships, but rather makes the reader start to ask questions about why it is so common.

The three generational POVs are very much centered around characters trying to find themselves within a much grander context of important historical moments. Their Chinese identity is tested in different ways and they are constantly running towards or from something.

Trigger warning for mentions of COVID and 9/11 and a brief depiction of sexual assault

I would recommend this to readers looking for stories about the Chinese diaspora in America, fans of literary fiction with multiple POVs, and immigrants and children of immigrants.

I couldn't put this book down. It addresses the timeless themes of parental sacrifice and forgiveness in a way that incorporates real scientific issues we graple with.
I'll be recommending it to everyone.

Real Americans by Rachel Khong is on this month's "must-read" lists for many people, websites and listings. Did I enjoy it? For the most part, yes. Do I LOVE it? No, but it was still...okay.

Told in three points-of-view, by family members of three generations, this is the story of family, honor, science, fate, and destiny.

Lily is an unpaid intern at a media company. She is introduced to the nephew of the owner of the company, and very quickly the two connect. There's something about each that draws in the other. Matthew asks Lily to dinner, which then turned into a trip to Paris the same night. The two have a quick relationship, full of passion and emotion. After a brief break - in which both parties mature emotionally, the two reconnect and eventually marry.

Nick is the son of a single mom, Lily. He lives a very lonely life, with Timothy being his only friend. They live on an island outside of Seattle. As Nick approaches the end of high school, he starts to wonder about his father, and eventually finds Matthew via a DNA test. The two communicate and connect, with Matthew encouraging Nick to apply to East Coast schools.

Mei, or May, is coming of age during the reign of Mao Zedong. Despite the limited options, Mei is chosen to attend university and the world of science and genetics opens before her. She falls in love and makes a choice that changes the path of her life.
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This is an inter-generational story and while I did appreciate the way everything connected, the bit of 'magic' that was included and almost....jammed into the end took me out of the story. I liked the story - stories about race and family are always good, but this one felt forced.

While the book did play upon the discussion of fate, I don't know that I cared as much in the end. I think I was more invested in the connection between Nick and Mei. How Nick, despite never meeting Mei before, was so invested in her health and learning as much as he could before it was too late. That's the story, the connection that I look for.

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

4.25⭐️
For fans of Pachinko and Homegoing, this is a multigenerational character driven story told in three parts from 3 POVs. In the first part, we meet Lily and Matthew and follow their love story, including the exploration of the immigrant experience, societal expectations, and Asian female/white male relationship dynamics. The second part follows Nick through his late teens exploring his identity and complicated parent-child relationships. Part 3 is more historical going back in time to follow Mei, Lily’s mother, as she grows up during the rise of Communism in China and works towards becoming a female scientist.

I loved delving into each of these characters and the story comes together at the end connecting all of their experiences. There is a Chinese folklore/light magical element which was fine and did not take me out of the story.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel despite a couple small issues with the science plot point.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf publishing for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had high hopes for Real Americans after reading the synopsis and I was not disappointed in the least. I absolutely loved this story of Lily, Nick, and May. It is a muti-generational story, but starts off with the middle generation, followed by the youngest, and finishing with the oldest. Each ending felt a little abrupt to me, and I had a bit of difficulty getting invested in the next one, but after reading it as a whole, it really worked for me. I definitely look forward to what Khong releases next!