- The programme encouraged North American Chinese teens to go to study and work in Taiwan, but many partied and dated more than they studied
- What sets the book apart is how it brings Chinese-American readers to a place of acceptance in a way not shown in young adult literature before
Loveboat, Taipei, by Abigail Hing Wen. Published by HarperTeen. 4/5 stars
When Abigail Hing Wen was a teenager in Ohio, she spent a summer in Taiwan getting in touch with her Chinese roots. The programme, funded by the Taiwanese government, was dubbed the "love boat", even though it had nothing to do with ships or the sea.
The "love boat" programme began in the late 1960s to provide North American Chinese teens with a cultural experience in the old country. The nickname " a reference to an American TV sitcom of the 1970s and '80s " was adopted after it became known (perhaps among participants rather than their parents) more for debauchery than serious studies.
The programme was a mainstay for teens with family ties to Taiwan, including restaurateur and TV personality Eddie Huang.
It was perhaps inevitable that the programme " itself a subject of a recent documentary " would be mined for a novel.
Since heritage programmes to places such as Israel and Greece are known as rites of passage for teens of many ethnicities, Abigail Hing Wen has chosen a setting and title for her debut young adult novel, Loveboat, Taipei, likely to resonate beyond Asian-Americans.
Her protagonist is 18-year-old Everett Wong, who goes by the nickname of Ever. Her parents, immigrants from Fujian via a short spell in Singapore before settling in Cleveland in the US, are set on her becoming a doctor even though all Ever really wants is to dance.
After a string of application rejections, Ever receives an offer from Northwestern University " and, unbeknown to her parents, admission into the fine arts programme at New York University's Tisch School.
Before Ever can spring this secret on her parents, they reveal a secret of their own: they've applied for her to attend a summer heritage programme in Taiwan.
Ever knows nothing about Taiwan other than it's an island off the coast of China and, at first, it sounds like a punishment. Most of the programme participants, Ever included, have been told by their parents they aren't allowed to date until they leave for university.
During their summer in Taipei, the students attend Chinese language classes, and electives such as calligraphy, Chinese traditional medicine, Chinese dance and martial arts. At night and in the dorms, though, all bets (and rules) are off, and the counsellors and teachers look the other way when the students go clubbing at night or start dating.
Ever keeps a mental list of all of her parents' rules, ticking them off every time she breaks one. Still, even though she feels that she really is "for-Ever Wong" in her parents' eyes, she can't help but enjoy the new-found freedom.
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The characters in Loveboat, Taipei aren't just concerned with dating and clubbing, though. They also bond over issues that their non-Asian friends or their parents wouldn't understand: college admission quotas, everyday racism, and the pressure to succeed and go into professions their parents choose for them. Ever finds friends who can relate to her love of dance and how afraid she is to tell her parents that blood makes her queasy.
There's also a touch of Crazy Rich Asians to the story. Middle class, Midwestern Ever finds herself courted by two ultra-wealthy boys from prominent Taipei families.
The reader is also brought to a polished Asian city " in this case Taipei " with evocative descriptions: "A dragonfly shoots over the grass after him, quick daring movements from flower to flower. I follow him to the Qing-style mansion and through sliding panelled doors into an inner courtyard, where sunlight spills over scalloped eaves onto a square of dirt floor. More carved, panelled doors on three sides slide open to bedrooms displaying historical Chinese furniture. The scents of parched grass and oiled wood float on the wind, but despite the peaceful setting, my mind whirrs like the leaves sweeping ahead of us."
As in Crazy Rich Asians, the protagonists are Asian, yet are presented in a way that's relatable no matter the reader's background. Unlike Crazy Rich Asians, Hing Wen discusses topical issues like domestic violence, gender equality and mental illness.
But it's the setting that sets this book apart from Kevin Kwan's series. Most teens face the same pressure to be accepted, and Loveboat, Taipei brings readers to a place of acceptance for many Chinese-Americans in a way that hasn't been shown in young adult literature before.
Asian Review of Books
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