Books of Wonder

Alma Presses Play

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Alma’s life is a series of halfways: She’s half-Chinese, half-Jewish; her parents spend half the time fighting, and the other half silent; and she’s halfway through becoming a woman. But as long as she can listen to her Walkman, hang out with her friends on the stoops of the Village, and ride her bike around the streets of New York, it feels like everything will be all right. Then comes the year when everything changes, and her life is overtaken by constant endings: friends move away, romances bloom and wither, her parents divorce and—just like that—her life as she knew it is over. In this world of confusing beginnings, middles, and endings, is Alma ready to press play on the soundtrack of her life?

Customer Reviews (5.0 / 5 · 5 reviews)

Nicholas ★★★★★

The way Alma’s identity is woven through her family’s silences and half-spoken tensions felt so real it was almost uncomfortable to read, in the best way. I finished it in two sittings and kept thinking about her long after the last page.

Benjamin ★★★★★

Alma’s inner voice is so sharply drawn I kept forgetting I was reading fiction, not someone’s diary. The way she navigates her split identity hit close to home, and I finished it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down.

Ryan R. ★★★★★

I picked this up for a book club and finished it in two sittings — the way Alma’s identity is caught between her Chinese and Jewish sides felt so raw and real. The half-finished sentences and silences between her parents hit uncomfortably close to home. Definitely one of those stories that lingers a

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