Boring Asian Female

Ambition loosens a second-generation Chinese American’s grip on reality in Xu’s gleefully unhinged debut. High school outcast Elizabeth Zhang longs to escape South Dakota, move somewhere that matters, and lead a life that proves she’s better than everyone she grew up with. After graduating high school as valedictorian, Elizabeth matriculates at Columbia University (just like the characters in her peers’ favorite TV show) and spends the next three-and-a-half years becoming the ideal Harvard Law School candidate. She aces her LSAT, maintains a 3.94 GPA, and submits glowing recommendation letters, only for Harvard to reject her but accept her Korean American classmate Laura Kim. Distraught, outraged, and in complete denial, Elizabeth stalks, catfishes, and impersonates Laura to figure out why she won what Elizabeth sees as her spot—and how to steal it back. Xu’s twisted tale nimbly toes the line between noir and satire, with Elizabeth’s neurotic narration growing increasingly claustrophobic as her desperation mounts and her delusions multiply. This darkly funny descent into madness is certain to make a splash. Agent: Rachel Yeoh, Madeleine Milburn Literary. (Apr.)