Perfect for fans of Pachinko and Last Night at the Telegraph Club, this propulsive, tender novel follows an immigrant family across generations as they navigate love, belonging, and the great fictions we must weave to preserve a legacy.
For centuries, the Chin family has kept its secrets.
In 1878, Duanfang knows he’s destined for greatness. He’ll do anything to uphold and protect the legacy of his Manchu family'''even if it means hiding his past.
In 1965, Zheng Yi flies from Taiwan to New York City to have a shot at attending an American college. Thrown into a world of parties, prejudice, and a tumultuous romance, Yi worries that New York may be more than she can handle. But just as she is beginning to adjust, she must make a shocking decision that will irrevocably change her life and her future forever.
Today, Dawn Chin’s family is opaque at best, with heavy expectations and heavier silences. But an assignment to interview her grandmother is about to crack open her real family history: a legacy hundreds of years old, and a lie decades in the making . . .
For centuries, the Chin family has kept its secrets.
In 1878, Duanfang knows he’s destined for greatness. He’ll do anything to uphold and protect the legacy of his Manchu family'''even if it means hiding his past.
In 1965, Zheng Yi flies from Taiwan to New York City to have a shot at attending an American college. Thrown into a world of parties, prejudice, and a tumultuous romance, Yi worries that New York may be more than she can handle. But just as she is beginning to adjust, she must make a shocking decision that will irrevocably change her life and her future forever.
Today, Dawn Chin’s family is opaque at best, with heavy expectations and heavier silences. But an assignment to interview her grandmother is about to crack open her real family history: a legacy hundreds of years old, and a lie decades in the making . . .
- An ambitious, literary gem
A multi-POV story following one family across generations
A thrilling historical romance with a shocking, unforgettable twist
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Praise for this book
"I was utterly swept away by this novel - at once an intricate family saga, a romance, and a fraught immigration tale. E.L. Shen has crafted a truly unforgettable story for generations of readers to come." - Patricia Park
"A moving story as much about a family secret slowly unraveling across generations as it is about the desperate longing for connection when survival demands disconnection." - Randy Ribay
"E.L. Shen's elegant and deeply personal novel proves there is no such thing as a 'small' secret, given its power and potential to tear a family apart. Inspired by the author's own family history, Foreigners is an epic yet also intimate exploration of the price paid when family secrets are passed down through the generations, from Qing Dynasty ancestor Duanfang's political intrigue to immigrant teen Zheng Yi Chin's 1965 tragic romance in New York's Chinatown to her granddaughter Dawn Chin's deeply repressed trauma that is getting harder and harder to contain. A seemingly simple history class interview assignment between Dawn and her grandmother quickly unravels as Dawn realizes her immigrant family were never foreigners in America... but to each other. Filled with romance and intrigue, E.L. Shen's book will have readers rooting for Dawn to bring her family closer together, no matter how painful the truth." - Paula Yoo
"A moving story as much about a family secret slowly unraveling across generations as it is about the desperate longing for connection when survival demands disconnection." - Randy Ribay
"E.L. Shen's elegant and deeply personal novel proves there is no such thing as a 'small' secret, given its power and potential to tear a family apart. Inspired by the author's own family history, Foreigners is an epic yet also intimate exploration of the price paid when family secrets are passed down through the generations, from Qing Dynasty ancestor Duanfang's political intrigue to immigrant teen Zheng Yi Chin's 1965 tragic romance in New York's Chinatown to her granddaughter Dawn Chin's deeply repressed trauma that is getting harder and harder to contain. A seemingly simple history class interview assignment between Dawn and her grandmother quickly unravels as Dawn realizes her immigrant family were never foreigners in America... but to each other. Filled with romance and intrigue, E.L. Shen's book will have readers rooting for Dawn to bring her family closer together, no matter how painful the truth." - Paula Yoo
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