Underspin
A Novel
by E. Y. Zhao
You must sign in to see if this title is available for request. Sign In or Register Now
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Sep 23 2025 | Archive Date Sep 09 2025
Astra Publishing House | Astra House
Talking about this book? Use #Underspin #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
Stay True meets Headshot in this intimate, bruising coming-of-age novel about the short and tumultuous life of a charismatic and enigmatic table tennis prodigy, as seen through the eyes of those pulled into his orbit.
Ryan Lo begins playing table tennis at age eight, under the tutelage of his brilliant but ruthless coach Kristian, who sees talent in him that might be nurtured into greatness. Throughout an adolescence circumscribed by Kristian's demanding behavior, Ryan forms jealousy-fueled and mutually adoring friendships with his teammates and competitors, falls in love with fellow table tennis star Anabel Yu, and above all, wins championships.
By twenty-one, Ryan ascends all the way to the German Bundesliga, the highest echelon of international table tennis, just as he was supposed to, but he doesn't stay there. It is clear to all that Ryan Lo was meant to be the greatest in the world. Instead, he abandons competition and is dead before his twenty-fifth birthday. What happened?
In crisp, evocative prose, Underspin masterfully delves beneath the relentless pressure that forges a champion, considering adolescence, estrangement, and the great injustices committed within our closest relationships. A love letter to an underdog sports circuit and a tender exploration of love, loss and abuse, Underspin is a bildungsroman and literary puzzle for readers of Rita Bullwinkel, Hua Hsu, Susan Choi, and Brandon Taylor.
Advance Praise
“Underspin is a kaleidoscopic novel about many things: the dark center of hurt, its ripples, and the unpayable costs of ambition. Zhao’s prose is a marvel—sly, seductive, and cutthroat as a kill shot.” —ROB FRANKLIN, author of Great Black Hope
“E. Y. Zhao’s Underspin hurtles down the line and leaves a trail of fire in its wake. An electric debut.” —JENNY TINGHUI ZHANG, author of Four Treasures of the Sky
Marketing Plan
MARKETING AND PUBLICITY PLANS • Profile in national media outlet • Early excerpt in sports outlet • Original pieces in sports and literary outlets • Pitch to major book clubs • Interviews in print and on podcasts and radio • Outreach to publications and reviewers focused on sports, Asian American narratives, coming-of-age stories, and debut fiction • Target table tennis influencers and prominent figures with an interest in the sport • Bookseller outreach • Swag package • Debut novel awards campaign • Book tour including stops in Ann Arbor, NYC, San Francisco, St. Louis, Boston, & DC
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781662603266 |
| PRICE | $27.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 304 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Media/Journalist 766033
Amazing debut novel by a talented young writer!
Underspin is a novel in stories about Ryan Lo, a table tennis prodigy who seems destined for greatness but ends up dead before his twenty-fifth birthday. Each story is from a different character's POV, from his on-and-off girlfriend Anabel, also a table tennis player, to Herr Doktor Eckert, the German psychologist hired by his table tennis league.
Beautifully written, funny and tragic, this is a book about ambition, envy, and greatness, about getting what you want and then giving up and spinning out!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Elisabeth M, Reviewer
Underspin is a surprising yet devastatingly heavy novel, focusing on the cruel underbelly of adolescence professional sports, gross abuses of power, on grief, trauma, and the impact of staying silent. Ryan Lo was one of the best table tennis players of his generation, that is, until his untimely death. Underspin begins with the day of his funeral, details of his demise unclear, and then rewinds to tell the story of Ryan’s life from the perspective of others. From the eyes of friends, acquaintances, and even strangers, we slowly piece together Ryan’s deeply complex yet misunderstood story. He is sweet and kind at times, he is distasteful in other stories, and his toxic relationship with his coach hangs over each interaction like a dark cloud. What is really going on in Ryan Lo’s mind?
Underspin was a heavy and slow read, not just from the intense material, but from entering into completely new lives and stories each chapter— Zhao does an excellent job in detailing the ins and outs of each backstory, down to each minute detail. As beautifully as the novel was written, sometimes the text was confusing to read with long streams of consciousnesses and overlapping thoughts, making some particular stories hard to follow. But overall, Underspin is an extraordinary and dynamic read, unlike any book I’ve read before. E.Y. Zhao writes with such power and heart, and I appreciated the storytelling structure as a realistic way to understand the complexities and dynamics our characters.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC, posted on goodreads
