A coming-of-age novel of a boy navigating self-identity and community in foreign spaces. Our protagonist, Cheng Ma (or Mark), is loosely based on the author’s experiences as a student in China. Cheng Ma, having only attended local school in China, finds himself in the overwhelming landscape of an international school— where the language, culture, assignments are all vastly different from what he’s grew up with. We step inside the brain of this shy and anxious student as he questions the surrounding systems and philosophies. Aaron Wang writes so that we can feel the protagonist’s social anxiety and linguistic isolation in this time of his life, and as well as his determination to discover a means of fulfillment.
What I love about this book is that it’s not meant to compare schools and cultures in a way that presents one as superior to the other— rather it reveals the brokenness, pains, but also some joys, of these structures. Between Two Names is a quiet, simple novel that invokes nostalgia, universal adolescent themes of belonging, and surprisingly profound ping pong metaphors.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC, review is posted on Goodreads

A raw, authentic and engaging accounting of identity, being young, and an international student. Feels and reads like a memoir.
I did not expect the thrilling and mysterious aspects which were a nice addition.

YA life in China.

We follow a Chinese High School student from a very working class background as he’s given a chance to study an international curriculum with a peer group who are vastly wealthier than him. The struggles of fitting in, of finding his feet and comfort in English and what an alternate future might hold.

I loved this story and the window into early 21st Century education in China.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author Aaron Wang for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Between Two Names by Aaron Wang is a quietly powerful novel that explores the emotional terrain of identity, culture, and the secrets we carry. Centered on a Chinese student living abroad, the story delves into the disorientation of being caught between two worlds—where language, family, and selfhood feel constantly in flux.

Wang writes with restraint and clarity, capturing the loneliness of cultural displacement and the unspoken weight of expectation. As the protagonist searches for meaning in both his past and present, Between Two Names becomes a moving portrait of a life shaped—and sometimes fractured—by what remains unsaid.

I'm going to surprise myself here by giving this work five stars. Frankly it needs attention from a good proofreader. Not due to the author not being a native speaker of English, but rather due to a few discrepancies in the timeline.
But this book is such a lovely surprise! It's very fresh and new. It feels so authentic and it gives us a look at high school life in China which I found fascinating. But much more than just that, the author is possibly the most gifted at self-reflection. It's truly a marvel to read his journey. I can't wait to see what he writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It's a brilliant work and I hope it is a breakout success!

This novel explores themes of privilege, identity, and hidden secrets within an academic setting. I believe it is not just a coming of age novel because it has rich literary themes and deeper meanings. The clash of two different cultures was particularly thought-provoking, challenging many of my previous perceptions about Chinese culture and its people. Although written from the perspective of a Chinese high school student, the book carries a profound depth that resonates more with adult readers.