Real Americans

A story that follows a three different people and eras. First we have Lily, a girl born in America to Chinese immigrant parents. As someone who can’t even speak Mandarin, she struggles with feeling like an American yet not being perceived as one by the people around her.

The story then jumps forward to Lily’s son, Noah, who looks identical to his white Dad. He identifies as half-Chinese, but everyone only sees him as an American, and he struggles with this gap in his identity.

The third character is Lily’s mother, May, who takes us on a time-skip back to 1950s China. May’s struggles are more real and immediate as she lives through the harsh poverty caused by the Cultural Revolution.

There’s a secondary plot around genetic engineering, and developing the ability for certain genes to be more dominant when giving birth, as well as this weird magical ability the characters have to (occasionally) slow down time - although they don't really use it much at all. I think that magical side-plot should either have been expanded upon more, or cut out altogether, because I didn’t feel like it added much to the story.

As a fellow half-Asian I related the most to Noah’s story. We have Lily who so desperately wants to fit in and feel included as an American by her peers, and yet Noah, who has the comfort of already being accepted, instead wants to be recognized for his differences. Is your identify something that you decide for yourself, or is partially influenced or constructed by the people around you?