Off the Books can be added to the recent trend of novels about drivers for hire. Mei dropped out of Dartmouth after her father's suicide and with the help of her grandfather began to work as limo driver. Mei is hired by Henry, a handsome 29-year old, to drive from Oakland to Syracuse. Henry lugs a large oversized suitcase with him on the trip and Mei becomes curious about its content. The novel opens up into a story about Uyghur activism and the plight of little girl named Anna whose father is a professor at an American university and whose mother is being held captive. Author Soma Mei Sheng Frazier has provided readers with an original, compelling novel.

This book was hard to keep focused. I found I was putting it down and then had to re read the page I last read. It did not keep my attention unfortunately. I did finish it as I was feeling sick today so I spent most of the day just lounging and reading.


Off the books was kind of hard for me to really get into if I am being honest. However, it was very eye opening to what China's imprisonment is like, which I really had to prior knowledge to. The main character Mei is a driver who takes "off the books" jobs to make some extra money. One of her customers Henry makes her stop often on their trip. Mei figures out why he stops often and when Henry explains why it's an eye opener for Mei on how horrible and kind people can really be.

Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read the advance copy of this book!

- Měi is a limo driver who takes “off the books” jobs to make ends meet. One trip driving a man named Henry reveals much more than she expected— about Henry, what he’s transporting, the meaning of family, and geopolitical landscapes.
- This was my first education on China’s imprisonment, genocide, and sterilization of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang. I was horrified. It felt like a timely and important read. If you are unaware of the human rights abuses against the Uyghur people, this was an approachable introduction.
- The book had one of the most well-written and layered main characters I’ve read in a long time. I really loved seeing Měi grow and change throughout the short trip.
- I felt like the pacing was a little inconsistent, but the setting of a major road trip aligns with that.
- I loved the depictions of family across ethnicities, language barriers, generations, and chosen family. It was beautiful.