Gingko Season follows Penelope, a museum researcher in her mid-twenties, who is trying to navigate love, friendship, identity, and politics. It’s definitely a coming-of-age story with a lot of heart and some smart reflections. I thought Penelope was a really interesting character, but the book lost me here and there—especially during long tangents about Philadelphia history and Napoleon that felt a bit much (aka boring). Some of the side characters were a little too immature (like one who’s obsessed with koalas). It was an OK read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Oh to be young, dumb, and in love with boys who are also young and dumb. Naomi Xu Elegant's GINGKO SEASON is a somewhat straightforward coming of age novel about Penelope, a Chinese American woman in Philly, working at a museum and getting over her first heartbreak. She meets Hoang, a manic pixie dream boy who catches her off guard. He doesn't have a phone and he works at a bar, so she both slightly stalks him until they start sending letters to each other in the mail. If this makes you both cringe and roll your eyes, thinking - stay away lady! - then you would be right. But this book does make their romance somewhat... romantic? Even though it is obviously misguided.

Penelope's best friend Apple is my favorite character. She is super fun and weird too, and their relationship is one of the most real to life friendships I've read in a bit. Apple is so into Penelope's love life, even though it's a mess and she has terrible taste in men (hmm do I relate to me when I was in my 20s? Maybe maybe not.)

The book is also about Penelope's political apathy in the year 2018 and how getting involved with unions helps her understand her place in America, and the world. There is a lot going on, but I thought the writer balanced everything well and I enjoyed the book though I wasn't 100% bowled over. The characters are strange but endearing, and it was a quick read so a solid debut overall.

Gingko Season does a good job of showing Penelope’s struggle with finding her place in the world–the uncertainty and self-discovery feel authentic and relatable. Naomi Xu Elegant does a great job capturing the subtle, often unspoken anxieties that come with being an adult—shifting careers, increased responsibilities, uncertain friendships, and the quiet loneliness that can creep in.

Penelope faces all these various aspects of life, all while trying to sort through her childhood struggles and last serious romantic relationship. Penelope’s voice and feelings are very clear throughout the entire story. The reader gets a clear sense of some of the awkwardness that she is feeling, and how she copes with not knowing what to say or do. I found her obsession with Napoleon to be equal parts strange and humorous.

Penelope’s journey felt particularly compelling because it wasn't overly dramatized. Instead, it was filled with small, intimate moments that gradually built into something meaningful. The relationship with Hoang was a slow burn, and I liked how it never overshadowed Penelope’s personal growth but rather complemented it.

I did find Hoang’s aloof nature to be somewhat off putting at times, but as the story progressed, I found that his whimsical approach to life is a good juxtaposition to Penelope’s more rigid, initial character. Both characters had quirks that I found far-fetched at times, but towards the end of the story, I was rooting for things to work out between them.

Overall, this book resonated with me not just as a narrative about love, but as a thoughtful, nuanced portrait of someone figuring out who they are and what they want. It’s reflective and understated in a way that lingers after you’ve finished reading.

Naomi Xu Elegant captures the mid-20s coming of age novel with this story about embracing your identity while navigating tumultuous unrest in an era of political discord and social upheaval. Through explorations of friendships and relationships, Xu Elegant focuses not on life’s big moments, but on the day-to-day minutia that culminate as turning points in every young adult’s life. While uncertainty permeates throughout, the title of book symbolizes the unwavering hope and vitality that grounds our narrator. It’s Ginkgo Season, after all.

Thank you to NetGalley and W.W Norton & Company for the Advanced Reader Copy

Charming and fresh, if a little frustrating. It’s a nicely drawn account of one woman’s struggle with the usual things - work, love, friends - but enlarged here by issues of culture, complicated by self-absorbed parents. Penelope has a philosophical turn of mind and a passion for Napoleon. When offered a new chance at love, she’s very slow to accept it. All this makes for surprisingly engaging storytelling, although the delayed gratification takes a bit of swallowing. Nevertheless, it introduces and appealing voice by a writer I’ll be happy to meet again.

Beautifully written and charming story with some wonderful relationships to follow. I can't believe this was a debut novel and I'm really excited to see what this author does next.

This book had so much potential—a quiet, thoughtful story about love, heartbreak, and figuring out what really matters. Penelope Lin is an interesting character—sharp, reserved, and full of self-doubt—but I never felt fully pulled into her journey. Her relationship with Hoang had moments of tension and intrigue, but it always felt a little distant. The themes of grief, activism, and self-discovery were there, but they never quite hit as hard as they could have. The writing is beautiful, and the book has a quirky charm, but in the end, it felt like it was holding back instead of fully immersing me in its world.

I had high expectations for this book (I loved the cover, the title, and the premise). But I felt like with every page it was very confusing and meandering. What is the plot? What is everyone's motivation? I thought it was just fine, but it could have been better.

I thought the slower pace of this book suited the story it was trying to tell. It created an environment in which the reader was really able to think about what Penelope was going through as a woman who felt a little lost in her twenties. The writing itself felt very thoughtful and reflective. It was easy to connect to Penelope as a character as someone who felt similar while they were in their twenties. I am past that point in my life now, but it was still an interesting read.

I enjoyed this book a lot! it kept me entertained, and it was well written. I did like the themes of friendship, relationships, love and growth. It was a good story with characters that were likeable and enjoyable!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

This is a charming feel-good read but I feel it would be more suitable for YA. I felt as if I were "too old" to read this in my 30s because I couldn't really connect with the characters.

Gingko Season is a quirky feel-good novel following Penelope, a museum researcher through several seasons of her life. Much depends on whether or not you appreciate the narrator's digressive thoughts concerning historical facts and figures. I did, more so than the friendship/romance that followed. This book may be best appreciated by those in their twenties, but I found it charming overall. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Pub Date: May 20th.

#Gingko Season

Gingko Season follows a few seasons in the life of Penelope, a museum researcher in her mid-twenties. The book is a coming of age story that engages in discussions of love, friendship, political praxis, and multi-national identity. I found Penelope to be a compelling character, but the book also lost my interest at times, especially when it went on extensive historical digressions about the Philadelphia area and Napoleon Bonaparte. I also found that the book often dipped into twee territory: side characters usually have one off-beat trait such as being obsessed with koalas or wanting to move to Antarctica. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, and I would recommend it to people looking for a quirky slice-of-life novel.

Ginko Season is a book about friends, loves, and laboratory mice.

As someone who used to work with laboratory mice, that being a big love interest plot point made me laugh - and yes, I still thought it was cute and quirky lol.

The whole book felt like a conversation between friends as they discussed some really hard-hitting topics, and some not so hard-hitting topics. Every political, moral, and identity topic was discussed in a very casual way, that made you feel like you were sat at the table with this group of people, discussing your thoughts and opinions on the world while you all brunched.

Ginko Season also had some great commentary on the individual, and where they stand in society. The characters our main character comes into contact with all shape her and make her look at her world from a different perspective, as well as make the reader question just how much change one individual can make in the world. Is it okay to take up space, and to focus on our needs, or is there a balance? Where does love fall into all of that?

Overall a very casual, thoughtful, and intriguing read.

Thank you so so much to Naomi Xu Elegant, W. W. Norton & Company, and NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book. I am forever grateful to receive stories like this at all, let alone early.

I enjoyed the writing and leisurely pacing of the story. Penelope was a compelling character, as was Hoang. I would have liked more scenes with Hoang and Penelope together, and more glimpses into Penelope’s work at the museum. Recommended to anyone looking for a quiet, thought-provoking coming of age story.

Thank you to W.W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

This story was interesting and kept me reading because I cared about the main character. I think if the reader is over 25, they are going to find something in Penelope to connect with. I am in my mid 40's and I saw a lot of my younger self in her even though for me it is Native American family not Asian. I hope people read it and enjoy it as much as I did. 4 star

I think this was another case where the synopsis promised one thing (perhaps it was the Sally Rooney comp) and I got something completely different, but once I adjusted my expectations I was able to enjoy this for what it had to offer. The synopsis makes it sound like it was going to be a literary novel exploring interiority and deep themes, but it read more like a YA or in this case NA novel with some more mature interiority.

I say YA not because the writing was simplistic or tropey but because the main character, Penelope Lin, acted more like an 18-year-old than a 25-year-old to me, but then again today's 25-year-olds are very different in maturity levels than we were 10 years ago.

But I emotionally connected to her as a character because I have struggled with similar issues - I am demisexual and need an emotional connection to feel romantic attraction so I have had a sparse dating history, and I related to her struggles with apathy and the realization that even apathy is a political choice. And I get intense crushes that I never act on, which drew me to this story - complicated friendship dynamics.

I was also hoping for a little more museum and anthropology geekery from her work cataloging artifacts for the practice of bound feet in the Qing dynasty, but that was a backdrop that played very little role in the plot. It focused more on Penelope's romantic, family and social life.

The story starts when Penelope meets Hoang at a university; he is getting fired from his job as a researcher for releasing all the lab mice. They form an instant connection but Hoang doesn't have a phone or social media. They start trading letters and Penelope, getting over heartbreak over her last failed relationship, becomes obsessed. The story goes deep into her obsession and complicated feelings about friendship as we become immersed in her various friend groups and her complicated relationship with a distant father and invisible, mentally unstable mother who'd abandoned her as a child.

I often felt like I was hanging out with her and her friends and living her life with her. Penelope, who's never voted and struggles with apathy, becomes involved with a union and discovers she is passionate about something after all. She constantly struggles with whether she's living a small life, which I could relate to. She's crushed by anxiety, fear and self-doubt and the story covers her transformation to finding her voice. I frequently worried her confusing friendship with Hoang would have a sad ending, but they do have a hopeful ending as a couple. The tension and angst between them were high but never in an annoying way. I also liked how Penelope was super nerdy, read nonfiction and had a hyperfixation on Napoleon.

This is a quirky, often lighthearted book that nevertheless also covers some deep subjects, but I feel it only touched on them in a way that didn't quite make it to that highbrow literary level. It flirted with literary but never quite got there. But I'm not really sure it ever was trying to go there. It was about grief, friendship and heartbreak but it was also hopeful and full of interesting characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Are you in the mood to read about navigating through life? Check out Ginko Season by Naomi Xu Elegant.

i really wanted to love this....the premise had so much potential—a thoughtful, quiet story about love, heartbreak, and figuring out how to live by your values. But instead of feeling deeply moved, I just felt… underwhelmed.

Penelope Lin is an interesting character—sharp, reserved, and careful with her emotions. but her journey never fully pulled me in. the book lingers so much in her thoughts that the emotional moments don’t hit as hard as they should. her relationship with Hoang had the potential to be something raw and deeply affecting, but it always felt distant, like watching something unfold from behind a glass wall. his confession about freeing lab mice sets the stage for something gripping, but their connection never really sparks in a way that feels real or intense. even the friendships, which are supposed to be as important as romance in this story, felt a little surface-level. i kept waiting for those moments that would break me, that would make me feel completely invested in these characters—but they never quite came. there were glimpses of something special, but they faded before they could fully take shape.

overall, this left me with a sense of loss. not in a profound, reflective way, but in the way that makes you wish the book had just given more. more depth, more urgency, more heart. it's a beautifully written story, but maybe too delicate for its own good drifting away before it ever truly leaves its mark.

thank you W. W. Norton & Company for the arc. i appreciate you trusting me to read it and do a review.