In 1998, Mimi is waiting at Philadelphia Airport to board a flight home to Vietnam when her baby, Ngan, disappears. Unable to make herself fully understood, Mimi is sedated and sent home alone. Now she is finally able to travel back to America to search for the child she has never stopped thinking about and missing. Sabrina is the child of a single, Chinese mother for whom life is a constant struggle, but who aspires to a better life for her daughter and will make whatever sacrifices are necessary. Kit is Sabrina’s best friend (when she feels like it), but everything falls into her lap as the adopted, possibly Japanese, child of wealthy, indulgent white parents. What unites them is their feeling of not really knowing where they belong, not quite fitting in, and wanting to connect with their roots. This summer, things are about to change. The ideas about cultural heritage and the difficulties facing immigrants, both legal and otherwise, in a different country are interesting and often moving. The contrasts between those with money and resources and those without is well portrayed. However, I felt the different narratives in different countries didn’t hang together very well, with the Japanese section feeling a bit tacked on, while I wanted to know more about the mothers and their perspectives. I found Kit really annoying, so spoiled and entitled and careless to her parents and Sabrina, and the teenage romances left me a bit bored. What I liked most was the insight into the challenges facing people trying to make a better life in the States, while needing to keep under the radar as undocumented immigrants, and that was what kept me reading to the end.

Sadly, a DNF for me. The story gets off to an interesting start but I wish there was more of Mimi’s POV in the beginning! I realise that Kit and Sabrina are teenagers but their passages really read as such and I found myself becoming bored.

My Other Heart by Emma Nanami Strenner is a novel about identity and the desire to know where you come from. The story is told mainly from the point of views of Sabrina and Kit who are best friends living in America. Kit who is of unknown Asian heritage was adopted by a rich white couple while Sabrina, who is poor, lives with her strict mother who has set ideas on who Sabrina should be.

A big focus of the novel is the differences in the 2 friends lives and the challenges this causes in their relationship.

This is.a.very well written book and you start to care about some of the characters and what happens to them.

Thank you, Random House, for granting me access to this book. I find it quite remarkable that this is the author's debut work, as it challenges my perception and makes it hard to believe that this is their first foray into writingThe storytelling was nothing short of mesmerizing, weaving a tapestry of emotions that flowed seamlessly between the characters. Each interaction was charged with depth and nuance, creating an enchanting rhythm that captured the essence of their journey. The narrative unfolded like a beautifully orchestrated symphony, its harmonious blend of dialogue and description drawing me deeper into their world. It was truly a perfect convergence of artistry and imagination. The bond between a mum and a son hit me deeper as the mum of a boy. Brilliant read

Emma Nanami Strenner’s My Other Heart is a deeply moving novel about identity, family, and the search for belonging. Spanning continents and generations, the story weaves together the lives of three women—Mimi, Kit, and Sabrina—who are each on a journey to uncover their pasts and understand their roots.

In 1998, Mimi Traung and her baby daughter Ngan wait at Philadelphia airport for their flight back to Vietnam—until the unthinkable happens. Seventeen years later, best friends Kit and Sabrina are preparing for summer trips to Japan and China, each hoping to connect with their heritage. But as their families watch anxiously from suburban Philadelphia, long-buried secrets begin to surface. Meanwhile, Mimi returns to the city, searching for the child she lost all those years ago. As their paths converge, the novel unravels assumptions about identity, belonging, and the meaning of family.

Strenner’s lyrical prose and deeply felt character work make My Other Heart an emotionally resonant read. The novel moves fluidly between past and present, allowing the reader to uncover the truth alongside its characters. Though the pacing is measured, the rich storytelling and emotional weight make it a compelling exploration of self-discovery.

A heartfelt and beautifully written novel, My Other Heart is perfect for readers who enjoy literary fiction that explores family, heritage, and the bonds that define us.

I really enjoyed this story of love and loss

The friendships were believable in their complexities
I think it is a good coming of age story to show you how friendships change and you grow up!

Also the love a mother has for a stolen daughter is so sad and the thought of your child growing up not with you!

A lovely read

This was a good story but very long winded at points weaving through different stories. For me this made it hard to want to stick with it. The story was worth sticking with but just hard to remain focused.

After Mimi Traung's baby daughter goes missing while she's waiting for a flight at Philadelphia airport, her life is changed forever, a never ending sense of loss dogging her at every step.

Years later, two young women - Sabrina and Kit - prepare to travel back to Asia, to what they believe to be their countries of origin, while their families wait to see how things go. Because at least in one case, that is far from the truth...

When three lives intersect at a central point, unexpected discoveries are made and unwelcome truths must be confronted. Can anyone emerge unscathed from the fallout?

This is an emotional multicultural tale about loss, identity and the lengths we humans go to, to get what we want and to find out who we are. Worth checking out - especially for those interested in issues of family secrets, the challenges of parenthood, and the yearning for a true sense of self. It gets 3.5 stars.

Deep thought provoking story with incredible characters. Sabrina, being brought up to respect her elders , study hard and work harder smashing the obstacles laid out for non - white Americans. Kit, living in a privileged world and enjoying her exotic looks and Mimi with her very tragic loss.

I would have given this 4.5 stars as I loved the story , however the book was strewn with errors and hanging sentences that went nowhere. Would benefit from further editing. I would still look out for more works by Emma Nanami Strenner as this story was very engaging and enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers, Random House, for this ARC.

Loved this book, I was totally caught up in Kit and Sabrina’a last summer before college.
The drama of what boots they liked and in the background the adoption story, waiting to unravel.

Threads well woven, characters well written. A great debut from Emma Nanami Strenner. No pressure, but I can’t wait for the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the review copy.

The unimaginable loss of a baby in an airport, to a woman who barely speaks English is where this starts, and then we switch to the lives of two teenagers who we know could be that child. They have uncertain origins of an Eastern look, maybe Chinese or Japanese, as strangers enquire “where are you from”, it irks that they don’t feel they belong anywhere. They are friends, but from different social and economic backgrounds, and they are going through all the same teenage uncertainties. The time line jumps and changing character focus keeps us on our toes, coupled with locations leaps, which are something to grapple with. However, there is a lot about friendship and shared disappointments as well as hope for the future. A rights of passage tale with a twist.

I've never read anything quite like Emma Nanami Strenner's My Other Heart: gorgeous, devastating, equally joyous and heartbreaking. Weaving three disparate lives across years and thousands of miles, it recounts the ripple effect expanding from a single, fateful day in the past, spinning an ecosystem of pain and memory around it. Reaching the end of Sabrina, Kit, and Mimi's story was like taking in a gasp of air after spending a minute underwater

A story that takes place between America, Tokyo and Vietnam. Sabrina and Kit who both seem to be lacking a sense of identity - one through adoption and one due to always feel lesser or invisible to those around her. We watch these two girls blossom into their true selves and watch the friendship drift apart. Interwoven into this story is one of a Vietnamese woman (Mimi) who loses her baby at the airport and the loss she feels - never stopping searching for that baby. What happens when Mimi finally makes it back to America and finds her lost daughter. This story is beautifully told, and touches on racism, classism, friendship, first loves amongst many other things. It spans continents and decades. A beautifully told debut novel, which was an emotional whirlwind. A true joy to read.

My other heart is a magnificent novel to be published in the coming months. So, a big thank you to Netgalley as well as to Random House UK, Cornerstone for allowing me to read it in advance.

From the first pages, the reader is captivated by Mimi, a young Vietnamese woman who loses her baby at the Philadelphia airport. Then we take a leap into the future where we meet two teenagers who will soon be going to university and for one summer, their lives will change. Sabrina, grew up with a Chinese mother and has always been the obedient little girl, with good academic results, not going out. Today she wants to go to China to discover her origins. Her best friend, Katherine or Kit for short, was adopted as a baby by a wealthy American family. She knows nothing about her biological parents and wants to go to Japan for several weeks to discover Asia. This is the starting point of a novel that will take us into an emotional whirlwind. We actually go through all the possible feelings when reading this novel: happiness, joy, sadness and even anger sometimes.

All the characters are incredibly endearing, all these women are courageous, looking for answers and with the goal of building a better life (by emigrating, by going in search of their origins). I was extremely touched by all these stories, where everyone is waiting for this famous green card, to see the contempt or racism that people who came from the other side of the planet in the hope of a better life can experience. Being a foreigner myself living in another country, I think we often forget how lucky we are to be European and to be able to live and travel freely between different countries. I am still happy to see that there are people like Eva's character who are there, with a big heart to help all these people.

I really enjoyed seeing Sabrina and Kit blossom and suddenly grow up. It is a magnificent coming-of-age novel that is really very well constructed. In the first half, I found Sabrina to be self-effacing and thought she didn't bring much to the story, I later realized that I was wrong. Indeed, the author deliberately misleads us for a good part of the novel and the end of the novel was the most incredible part for me.

Finally, the novel really makes you want to travel, to (re)discover Japan and especially Vietnam, a country that makes me dream. Asia is an incredibly rich continent in cultures and so fascinating, which I enjoyed glimpsing in this novel.

An involving read that describes the differing experiences of two mixed race Asian/ American girls who become friends despite their very different backgrounds. The author paints very vivid pictures of the girls lives. Kit who is adopted into a wealthy family while Sabrina is raised by a very poor hard working single mother. Interwoven is the story of Vietnamese Mimi who lost her baby at the airport on her way home to Vietnam. The book has a very moving ending.

This is an intriguing story with many important messages. A mother is sitting in an airport in Philadelphia waiting to return to Vietnam, her native country. She thinks her toddler daughter is playing underneath her seat but then discovers she has gone. She has to get on the plane alone. The question for the reader is which of the other characters whose growing up in the United States is the central story is the stolen child. There are two main girls in the story, Kit is also adopted and of mixed race living in a prosperous family. Her school friend Sabrina is also of mixed race but lives with a single mother in poverty. The story tracks normal teenage growing up, boy friends, fall outs and ambitions. Both are bright and headed for prestigious universities. One summer, Kit goes to Tokyo to stay with the US ambassador, married to a Japanese woman and a friend of her father. That gives the book another good experience. She falls in love with the son of the family who is also headed for an American university. Quite apart from the basic story of who stole the child, the author explores very sensitively the way in which people of mixed race are treated and also the social issues of class attitudes. The mother who never found her child cannot return to the US until an employer brings her with them. She then sets out to find her daughter and turns up on her doorstep. The reader has to decide that will be! This is a book that raises important issues and its main story is very readable. I recommend it.

Bloody brilliant. I am so impressed by My Other Heart, Strenner's immersive debut novel. This astounding piece of work is an unflinching exploration of Asian-American identity, discrimination, adoption, and classism. At the same time, the novel makes sharp observations about friendship, family, and the pangs of first love.

First of all, My Other Heart seamlessly integrates a complex web of characters, settings, and viewpoints into a coherent, impactful narrative. While the novel takes place in diverse locations such as Pennsylvania, Tokyo, and Vietnam, Strenner never loses touch with her over-arching story and ensures the reader never feels lost.

Sabrina Chen and Kit Herzog are the protagonists we spend the most time with throughout the novel. Sabrina is intelligent, hard-working, and struggling to find her place in a very white, privileged suburb. She is a remarkably resilient, lovable character and I cherished watching her find her voice and make meaningful connections. While Kit is much more privileged than Sabrina and a tad unlikable at times, she is also an interesting and sympathetic character that grapples with finding her identity as a child of a closed-adoption.

The bonds between mother and child are depicted with care and nuance. Mimi Truong’s relentless search for her long-lost daughter, even from across an ocean, is deeply moving. Lee Lee, though somewhat stern, admirably works to impart Chinese values to Sabrina while navigating the challenges of being a single, low-income parent. Meanwhile, Sally wrestles with the emotional complexities of raising an adopted daughter and allowing her to explore her roots by visiting Japan for the summer.

The ending of this book is fantastic, at times heartbreaking and other times joyfully life-affirming. Moreover, the plot twists and dramatic revelations are masterfully executed. Every single aspect of the novel, from the teenage romances to the struggles faced by undocumented immigrants, is written with remarkable sensitivity, depth, and heart.

I cannot praise My Other Heart enough. This is a novel that spans decades and continents, yet remains deeply intimate and moving. Do yourself a favour and read it as soon as it's released — you'll thank me later.

*I received an e-ARC for free in exchange for an honest review*

Moving heart breaking and just the type of book you can't put down. Told in a tender voice over person's of time this book was unique in plot and strong in character. 4 Stars