If You Could See the Sun

I'm not much into YA contemporaries these days but just the cover of this book and the slightly magical elements in the premise intrigued me and I couldn't resist.

I loved how the author establishes the setup and stakes in just the first couple of chapters. Alice as a protagonist is brilliant, smart, sarcastic and very easy to like, so we are immediately drawn into her troubles and feelings. We loathe her rival Henry just like she does and really hope she'll be able to make the money to keep continuing to study at her school. And slowly, we get to see her discover secrets and truths and grapple with what she thought about others, what the actuality is, and how justified is what she is doing with her invisibility powers. Add to this a very intriguing rivals to lovers dynamic, and this makes for a very enjoyable story.

But what really made this book good for me was how the author managed to integrate so many themes in the story while also keeping it lighthearted enough and fun. Alice's invisibility doesn't just signify her newfound powers but also the way she feels invisible and not seen in many ways by her friends because they just can't fathom what it is to live in poverty or less financial wealth than them. The classism here is really on point, because while it may reflect modern Beijing, it's also true for most metro cities around the world, and it starkly depicts how unimaginable it is for wealthy people to fathom the kind of privileges they enjoy, and how much the things they take for granted are not true for others.

Overall, this was a great YA book with light speculative elements that don't really overpower a more contemporary story, great characters who are easy to fall in love with, and excellent commentary on classism, racism, wealth inequality, poverty and more.

“And while it's important to know how to fight your way to the top... It's always nice when there are others to help lift us up, don't you think?”

WOAH.

I am so annoyed that I haven't picked this up earlier. I have heard constant good things not just about this book but about Ann Liang in general and I was not left disappointed.

I admit I went into this blind and didn't even read the premise so you could imagine my surprise when Alice began to turn invisible. I had to pause for a second and yelled at the top of my lungs “Wait, this has magic in it?” and instantly knew I needed to eliminate all distractions and devour this book.

If You Could See The Sun should be read by everyone. This is what I'm going to start advertising to everyone at least. This book made me feel so attached to the characters. I fell in love with them so deeply. Alice and Henry are now so special to me.

This book has left an everlasting impact on me and taught me the important lesson, sometimes you will feel invisible and forgotten but the right people will never lose sight of you.

My only negative is that there isn't more of this book.

This was a fun read and tbh, I do not think I have related to a character more than Alice in a long while. I am kinda disappointed there's no explanation for the invisibility thing it's just like yeah it happens go with it so that was like..okay? But anyways great debut from an author still in college