Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan is a novel set in a land of luxury with all the drama of the crazy rich and the exorbitant spending that accompanies it. Far away from all this in New York, Rachel is an economics professor who’s dating a fellow teacher named Nick. Other than his British accent and nice manners, Nick doesn’t seem that fancy. But when Nick goes to his cousin’s wedding in Singapore and brings Rachel along to meet his family, Rachel is transported into a land of class and wealth beyond her imagination. In this society where people spend 40 million on a wedding, Rachel is seen as a gold digger who’s taking away their richest bachelor and immediately gets a target on her back. As Rachel tries to make it through the wedding, her relationship with Nick is tested along with her personal resilience to being the object of hatred among the people around her.
I really liked this book. With its constant name-dropping and high fashion, I felt like I was part of this crazy rich world. The way that the novel changed perspective every chapter helped me understand the full scope of the events in the book and helped me get to know all the characters really well. My favorite character was Astrid, the modest yet extremely fashionable cousin of Nick who’s dealing with a failing marriage. Astrid’s character helps the reader see how hard it is to deal with the press and family pressures in this society and how it makes it almost impossible to do what you really want. While this novel is filled with drama and fluff, it also has some deeper meanings as characters discover how much their money is really worth to them and try to escape the requirements that their families have presented. I would give this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars because of how page-turning and encompassing the story is. For fans of books about romance and wealth or wannabe billionaires, I highly recommend you read Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan.
Review Written by Ada, 9th Grade