Real Americans: A novel

Real Americans is an exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family and asks: What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures? The story begins on the precipice of Y2K in New York City when twenty-two-year-old Lily Chen, an unpaid intern at a slick media company, meets Matthew. Matthew is everything Lily is not: easygoing and effortlessly attractive, a native East Coaster, and, most notably, heir to a vast pharmaceutical empire. Despite their differences, Lily and Matthew fall in love.

In 2021, fifteen-year-old Nick Chen has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where he lives with his single mother, Lily. He can't shake the sense she's hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than it provides answers. Real Americans explores the profound tale of class and striving, race and visibility, and family and inheritance. It's a story of trust, forgiveness, and finally coming home.

The novel asks: Are we destined, or made? And if we are made, who gets to do the making? Can our genetic past be overcome? Real Americans by Rachel Khong is a "Mesmerizing" read, according to Brit Bennett. Andrew Sean Greer calls it "Gorgeous, heartfelt, soaring, philosophical and deft," while Ha Jin describes it as "a page turner." The book also earned a spot on READ WITH JENNA’S MAY BOOK CLUB PICK and is a NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. With its immersive, moving prose, Real Americans is a social novel that traverses time with verve and feeling.

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