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