我家女儿的第二本书上架了

恳请亲们支持我家女儿Jennifer 新作《Imagine Us Happy》：

在你下单的那一刻，你对一个亚裔年轻作家的扶持和爱护会被深深的感激和珍惜…

https://www.amazon.com/Imagine-Us-Happy-Jennifer-Yu/dp/1335015361?

小女的第二本作品《Imagine Us Happy》今天正式上架，在全美所有书店和网站有售。这本书是Jennifer 一年前的《Four weeks, Five people》的延续，主要讲述了五人中的亚裔姑娘Stella 在高中时期如何面对自己的心理疾病，与同龄之间的相处和第一次感受爱情的过程……

我的好朋友孙兰老师是这样介绍《Imagine Us Happy》的：

“华裔少女作家俞佳（Jenniffer Yu）时隔一年，又携第二部新书出现在读者面前。《imagine us happy》可以算是上一部《four weeks, five people 》的续篇，但作者的写作手法更趋成熟，情感剖析愈发深入，情节设计也更具跌宕起伏，因而使得第二部比第一部有更强的可读性和故事感，当然，从某种意义上说，也更戳痛人心。

延用了同一个主人公被抑郁情绪困扰的高中女生Stella，但《Imagine us Happy 》更集中笔力，将Stella“只身”放入各种情感漩涡中令人窒息的亲情，渐行渐远的友情，无法自拔的懵懂爱情……种种情感，互为救赎，也互为毁灭，它们一层层交织在一起，结成了Stella挣不脱的厚茧。

虽然《Imagine us Happy》被归于young adult novel，但作为父母，从这本小说开启的视窗去认识自己的孩子也不失为一种捷径。在我们自己以为很了解的听话儿、乖乖女身上，有多少“茧”是我们看不到、被蒙蔽的？又有多少“茧”是我们亲手织就却又意识不到的？是放任孩子在“茧”中挣扎，还是试着做一个抽丝剥茧人？

如果你的内心也被这些问题所困扰，请读一读这本书吧。它一定会对你有帮助的。”

 

一年前Jennifer 的第一本书《Four weeks Five people》引起社会广泛关注，美国NBC news 以

“Debut Novelist Takes on Mental Health Stigma in 'Four Weeks, Five People'” 为标题对作者和书做了介绍。

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna748346

Jennifer Yu spent months trying to avoid focusing on fiction in college. “I tried my hardest not to be a creative writing major. Thats not on the short list of acceptable majors for Asian Americans,” Yu, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania last year, told NBC News. “I was pre-med when I started school and then I did economics for a bit and then pre-law. I tried everything.” “For some Asian Americans, writing was never one of those things that was considered a career. But dont let people tell you that you cant do it.” Her creative nature, however, eventually won out and she decided to major in English with a concentration in creative writing. It was during a class on writing for children and young adults that she completed what would become her first book "Five Weeks, Four People."

……

今天晚上Jen 和著名青年作家Jason Reynolds , the New York Times best- selling author 会在费城共同举办和读者的见面会，同时揭开了她为期一周的新书宣传活动。

Jen and Jason Reynolds 读者见面会的照片：

女儿晚上短信：“Great opportunity for me to do an event with him”

下面是全美新书读者网站的两篇读后感片段：

I have not emotionally connected to a book this much in… so long. I hate this and love this. Some of you might know that I am really, really into books about 1) depression, and 2) toxic parental relationships, and 3) toxic romantic relationships. This… hit me hard in all three categories. Thank god for how good this was. So before I get into why I loved this so much, Ill just mention objective quality and all that? Imagine Us Happy is told out of chronological level, a choice that worked quite well for the story being told; we know from the beginning that this will not end well, but we see the good parts along with the bad. It also works fantastically for conveying Stella as a character; she is so difficult not to connect with and relate to.

……

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2488036611

https://www.google.com/amp/s/howlinglibraries.com/2018/10/18/imagine-us-happy/amp/ “I know that the tenderness is as temporary as the flash of anger that preceded it, but I cant help but let myself soak in it, cling on to it like a drowning man to a rope. I feel like theres more I could say, but honestly, just read it. This is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it. I genuinely hope to see this book promoted heavily, especially in school libraries, because I think the sometimes brutal honesty depicted here could help so many readers.”

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2488246897

In the very beginning of this book, we are told that she doesn't "want to disappoint anyone in search of a happy ending," and she wasn't kidding. This was a toxic love story, and a subtle caveat of how quickly something seemingly beautiful can unravel. Pro: What stood out for me was how well Yu conveyed the depth of the characters emotions. I really felt the joy and happiness one associates with first love, and how all consuming it can be, as well as the pain and anguish Stella was experiencing as her relationship turned toxic. Pro: I saw teenaged me in Stella. I was in a relationship that eerily mirrored Stella and Kevin's. I wish I had seen it depicted in a book, when I was teen, and maybe I would have recognized how damaging it was for me back then. Pro: Considering that this book featured two protagonists struggling with mental illness, parents constantly fighting, and a toxic romance, Yu did a good job balancing that out with some lighter parts, some tender parts, and some happy parts. There were a few characters, who did an admirable job lightening the mood, and I appreciated the balance. Pro: When Stella described her depression, I nodded, and felt like she really understood my struggle. I am always a fan of books, which show there is no shame in seeking out help for mental health issues. Pro: I know this makes other people nuts, but I liked the non-linear format. The pieces were set out in a way, which allowed the story of Stella and Kevin's relationship to emerge, and I am a fan of watching the full picture slowly develop. Pro: I didn't realize how much I needed Yu to explicitly state it, but I am grateful that she included an open statement, that just because Kevin and Stella were bad together does NOT mean they were bad people. Kevin wasn't a villain. Stella wasn't bad. They just didn't work together. Overall: A toxic love story, which took me on an emotional roller coaster ride, which was funny, sad, messy, and honest.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

That aside, Imagine Us Happy is a fantastic portrayal of a scenario that so many people find themselves in, in relationships of all types. The unusual thing about emotional and mental abuse is that so many of us have no idea how to recognize its happening to us. Were shown from a young age what physical and sexual abuse look like (though those lines can be hard for victims to recognize until theyve already been crossed, too!), but many of us have no idea how to differentiate between an “argument” or “joke” and abuse, until were in the thick of it (if ever).

……

Finally, theres the storytelling style. Imagine Us Happy is told in a nonlinear fashion, starting at the end before jumping back to the beginning, and occasionally giving us glimpses of the build-up to the ending (so, if youre reading it and wondering why the chapter numbers dont go in perfect order, its not a misprint). It is such a unique and cool formatting idea, and I felt like it really got the message across so much more clearly than a standard beginning-to-end reading style. I know that the tenderness is as temporary as the flash of anger that preceded it, but I cant help but let myself soak in it, cling on to it like a drowning man to a rope. I feel like theres more I could say, but honestly, just read it. This is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it. I genuinely hope to see this book promoted heavily, especially in school libraries, because I think the sometimes brutal honesty depicted here could help so many readers.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2468299914