If you're starting college soon and are wondering what it might be like, here are some recommended reads:
AMERICAN PANDA BY GLORIA CHAO: At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents' master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies. With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can't bring herself to tell them the truth--that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese. But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels?
CHECK, PLEASE! BOOK 1 BY NGOZI UKAZU: "Y'all... I might not be ready for this. I may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It's nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There's checking. And then, there is Jack... You see the problem.
EVERY BODY LOOKING BY CANDICE ILOH: "Ada" means first daughter, means oldest girl, means most pressure. When Ada leaves home for her freshman year at a historical Black college, it's the first time that she's been able to make her own choices. As she stumbles deeper into the world of dance and explores her sexuality, she also begins to wrestle with her past-- her mother's struggle with addiction, her Nigerian father's attempts to make a home for her. Will she find the courage to shape a life of her own?
GIANT DAYS: NOT ON THE TEST VOL 1 BY JOHN ALLISON, ILLUSTRATED BY LISSA TREIMAN AND MAX SARIN: Susan, Esther, and Daisy started at university three weeks ago and became fast friends. Now, away from home for the first time, all three want to reinvent themselves. But in the face of hand-wringing boys, "personal experimentation," influenza, mystery-mold, nu-chauvinism, and the willful, unwanted intrusion of "academia," they may be lucky just to make it to spring alive. Going off to university is always a time of change and growth, but for Esther, Susan, and Daisy, things are about to get a little weird.
VIRTUALLY YOURS BY SARVENAZ TASH: NYU freshman Mariam hasn't dated anyone the five months since Caleb broke up with her. When she decides to take advantage of an expiring coupon and try out a new virtual reality dating service, one of her three matches none other than Caleb himself! That has to be a sign, right? Except that her other match, Jeremy, just happens to be her new best friend IRL. With her heart telling her one thing and the app another, which should she trust?
This blog post reflects the opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Brooklyn Public Library.
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