Chloe and the Kaishao Boys by Mae Coyiuto
Chloe Liang is turning 18 soon and has never dated anyone. In the Philippines, it is marked with a debutante’s ball, prompting her Filipino-Chinese family to set her up with Kaishao Boys. And this is all when she’s about to move to America for college to follow her dreams as an animator. Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher.
After reading non-stop Japanese light novels it took a while to get reacquainted with young adult reading hat mode. But before you know it, you can’t put it down and you’ll start enjoying the weird metaphors and their cringey families. It has a slice-of-life-ish feel and a cute romance that is not contrived. The writing captures the innocence of youth. The drama. The angst. Chloe’s dilemmas are anything but chill but you’ll get mellow vibes. Chloe and the Kaishao Boys take me back to my roots of Sweet Dreams ‘pocketbooks’ of my high school.
Being a Filipina I get all the jargon, the pop culture references…everything. Even then, it was hard to empathize with anyone at first but by end of the book you’ll love them all and it is like they’re all someone you know in your clan reunion. And of course, love Chloe. She seems so unassuming and low-key but she has a competitive streak and a one-track mind that needed a bit of nudging.
Pinoys (Filipinos) have these cliche assumptions of the Fil-Chi community so it’s enlightening to get to know more of the family dynamics on a more personal level. There were also a ton of cheesy comical situations thanks to her family but the fun moments were the subtle ones. Like Chloe’s memorable line: Shit. Was I on a date?
Kaishao is Hokkien for “to introduce.” It’s when friends or family introduce you to single potential partners. The first kaishao is hilarious. Her family’s idea of meet-cute is one for the books. The second kaishao is equally hilarious. I was dying. Well, the last candidate is predictable but it’s okay just to balance it out. Japanese light novels have illustration inserts, especially from the most critical moments which would have been perfect for the meetings with the boys. The cute cover art of the book is totally asking for it. Let’s normalize more illustrations pretty please!
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