Next Time Will Be Our Turn
A grandmother tells her granddaughter about her twisty, often surprising, journey to who she is now in this sweeping love story by USA Today bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto.
Izzy Chen is dreading her family’s annual Chinese New Year celebration, where they all come together at a Michelin-starred restaurant to flaunt their status and successes in hopes to one up each other. So when her seventy-three-year-old glamorous and formidable grandmother walks in with a stunning woman on her arm and kisses her in front of everyone, it shakes Izzy to her core. She’d always considered herself the black sheep of the family for harboring similar feelings to the ones her Nainai just displayed.
Seeing herself in her teenage granddaughter's struggles with identity and acceptance, Magnolia Chen tells Izzy her own story, of how as a teen she was sent by her Indo-Chinese parents from Jakarta to Los Angeles for her education and fell in love with someone completely forbidden to her by both culture and gender norms—Ellery, an American college student who became Magnolia's best friend and the love of her life. Stretching across decades and continents, Magnolia's star-crossed love story reveals how life can take unexpected turns but ultimately lead you to exactly who you're meant to be.
Izzy Chen is dreading her family’s annual Chinese New Year celebration, where they all come together at a Michelin-starred restaurant to flaunt their status and successes in hopes to one up each other. So when her seventy-three-year-old glamorous and formidable grandmother walks in with a stunning woman on her arm and kisses her in front of everyone, it shakes Izzy to her core. She’d always considered herself the black sheep of the family for harboring similar feelings to the ones her Nainai just displayed.
Seeing herself in her teenage granddaughter's struggles with identity and acceptance, Magnolia Chen tells Izzy her own story, of how as a teen she was sent by her Indo-Chinese parents from Jakarta to Los Angeles for her education and fell in love with someone completely forbidden to her by both culture and gender norms—Ellery, an American college student who became Magnolia's best friend and the love of her life. Stretching across decades and continents, Magnolia's star-crossed love story reveals how life can take unexpected turns but ultimately lead you to exactly who you're meant to be.
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Community Reviews
I have no doubt this book will end up being a top favorite for many readers! It’s a story rooted in self-discovery, the pursuit of love, and choosing your own happiness.
We travel back in time as Magnolia arrives in LA from Jakarta. At just 16, she’s bright-eyed, innocent, and stepping into college life in a brand-new country. She’s expected to adjust quickly. And immediately, she finds herself navigating complicated relationships with two very different women: her older sister, Iris, who is brash and distant, and Ellery, the older white student she meets on campus and quietly falls in love with.
The heart of the novel centers on Magnolia’s entry into the U.S., her college years, her growing desires, and her early steps into womanhood. We see how the choices she made as a teen lingered in her mind for decades, shaping the decisions she made as an adult.
This was my first book by this author, and I enjoyed it. I loved exploring Indonesian culture through Magnolia’s lens. My favorite part was her resistance to the cultural and familial expectations placed on her—those complex family dynamics and her parents’ influence were some of the strongest elements for me. I also liked how Magnolia wanted to help prevent her granddaughter Izzy from making her same mistakes.
The romance, however, didn’t fully land. It felt more like a schoolgirl crush that stretched on far too long. Magnolia’s unwillingness to act made her overly critical of future partners—almost as if they were always second best.
I also struggled with the timeline. Magnolia is a 70-year-old recounting her youth in the 1990s… and I couldn’t quite tell if the story wanted to be historical, futuristic, or both.
Huge thanks to @prhaudio for my gifted ALC! The narration was magnetic—Emily and Louisa captured every emotion, every moment of internal conflict. Their performance truly brought the story to life.
This book definitely gave Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes, so if you loved that one, add this to your list!
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