Gloria Chao on “Ex Marks the Spot,” Diasporic Storytelling, and the Puzzles That Reveal Us to Each Other

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Gloria Chao is one of the most prolific writers of our generation, and I was thrilled to speak with her about her latest YA novel, Ex Marks the Spot. We've previously discussed her 2023 release, When You Wish Upon a Lantern, and I was delighted to find that her newest book revisits similar riveting themes—young love, intergenerational tenderness (and misunderstandings!), and family rivalries—while presenting them in an entirely fresh and unexpected way. I am always drawn to the depth and…

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Wish-Granting and Magic-Making in “When You Wish Upon a Lantern”

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In Gloria Chao’s “When You Wish Upon a Lantern,” wishes don’t magically come true. They are received with kindness, guided, and often painstakingly maneuvered “into the light.”  Born and raised in Chicago’s Chinatown, Liya Huang and Kai Jiang are childhood best friends whose families harbor a mutual dislike not unlike the Montagues and Capulets - if the Montagues and Capulets were passive-aggressive and dueled with their children instead of weapons. Still, Liya and Kai share…

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How writing novels helped me learn more about what it means to be Taiwanese American

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I’ve had a complicated relationship with my Taiwanese background for most of my life. My parents immigrated in their twenties, and I was born in the US but raised in a very traditional, Mandarin-speaking home. Growing up, I felt like I had two sides to me: an American skin I’d wear at school, which felt most like me, and a Taiwanese one I’d force on at home. My friends didn’t understand me—even my Taiwanese American friends, because my family was still keeping traditions from the 50s…

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