When You Wish Upon a Lantern

This is a story that focuses on finding and creating magic in your everyday life, despite all the worries that weigh us down. In this book, Liya and Kai are a modern, Chinese-American version of Romeo and Juliet that are fun, fluffy, and sweet, as well as compulsively readable.

The romance between the two characters is very slow-burning and it remains PG but wasn’t the only focus of the story. Since the characters live in an Asian-dominated area of Chicago, there’s a small-town feel with a heavy Chinese influence—the author incorporates a lot of Mandarin words that are easy to figure out the meaning of through context, although there’s also a glossary at the back of the book. The Chinese influence is evident through the inclusion of foods, traditions, language, customs, and celebrations, all of which work their way into the book in a natural and flowing way.

Overall, this was a fun read that had a surprising amount of humor in it. I loved learning more about Chinese culture, and it’s age-appropriate. The connection between the characters and their community members, as well as their family was easy to get lost in, and seeing how the characters were able to integrate ancient Chinese customs and festivals into a more modern American life was heartwarming. This is definitely a book to check out if you like YA romance.