Thank you to Edelweiss for the copy of Ann Liang’s If You Could See the Sun in exchange for an honest review!

Alice Sun has always felt invisible as the only scholarship student at her elite Beijing boarding school. Her classmates are China’s most rich and influential teens, while all she has going for her are her grades. But one day, Alice uncontrollably turns invisible — literally invisible.

When her school raises tuition so that her scholarship no longer covers it, Alice monetizes her new power. With the help of her academic rival Henry Li, Alice tracks down secrets and scandals for her classmates, charging them for information only she can discover. But as the tasks shift from photographing cheating partners to actual crimes, Alice has to decide just how far she will go to stay at her school.

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If You Could See the Sun is Ann Liang’s debut novel. While it starts a little slow, it takes off in a direction I didn’t expect. It’s a fun boarding school drama and a sweet enemies-to-lovers romance with a dash of magical realism.

That said, don’t go into If You Could See the Sun looking for an explanation for Alice’s invisibility. I love magical realism and don’t think every little thing needs to be spelled out. In this case, however, we don’t get any resolution. There’s a scene with Alice’s aunt that implies she knows something, but the book never returns to it. Alice never actually gets a handle on her powers. Her invisibility is unreliable, conveniently getting Alice in and out of situations as a device to move the plot along more than anything else.

I appreciated that the setting was a private school in Beijing rather than the American and British schools we see in many YA romances and mysteries. This allowed for a different and nuanced look at East Asian identity and socioeconomic status in China, especially highlighting the differences between students born and raised in East Asia or abroad.

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Alice started life with less than her peers, and she has to work much harder than them to keep up. She comes across as prickly and blunt to her classmates, and her furious drive for success earns her the nickname “Study Machine.” However, when she allows herself to take a breath and make time for friends, she realizes everyone isn’t out to get her. The relationship that develops as Alice and Henry work together is a realistic slow-burn, one that I think will stand out among YA romances.

If you’re looking for a sweet academic rivals romance with a hint of magical realism, you should read If You Could See the Sun! It’s an entirely unique story and a welcome debut from an author I hope to read more from soon.

If You Could See the Sun comes out on October 11, 2022, and is available from your local independent bookstore or Bookshop.org. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

TW: ableism, anxiety/panic attacks, classism, kidnapping, mild violence, off-page parental abuse, racial microaggressions, racially-motivated crime

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