From the acclaimed author of Number One Chinese Restaurant comes an affecting novel about an
unforgettable group of friends trying to make their way in the world without losing themselves
or one another. Diana Justin Errol and Vivian were always told that success is guaranteed
by following a simple checklist. They worked hard got A's and attended a good university-only
to graduate into the Great Recession of 2008. Now despite their newly minted degrees they're
unemployed and stuck again under their parents' roofs in a hypercompetitive Chinese American
community. So when Grace-once the neighborhood golden child now a Harvard Law School
dropout-asks to make a documentary about the crew they agree. It's not like her little movie
will ever see the light of day. But then the video Bad Asians goes viral on an
up-and-coming media platform (YouTube anyone?). Suddenly millions of people know them as
cruel caricatures each full of pent-up frustrations with the others. And after a desperate
attempt at spin control further derails their plans for the lives they'd always imagined the
friends must face harsh truths about themselves and coming of age in the new millennium.
Lillian Li's novel wryly captures a generation shaped by the rise of the internet and the end
of the American dream. An epic tale of friendship and family Bad Asians asks Can the same
people who made you who you are end up keeping you from who you're meant to be?
