Rent a Boyfriend

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know when you see it. I don’t know how to describe it to you. He’s mixed, American and Chinese. I think Rent a Boyfriend中，所有的父母都不適任，此外還有糟糕透頂、被寵壞了的富家子弟Hongbo。我覺得他這個角色代表所有勢力、自大的有錢人，恰好與父母們挑女婿時所求的「乖」呈現強烈對比。本故事也稍微提及亞洲社群裡的恐同現象，像是有些人會因為還沒打算出櫃而租男友度過家庭聚會。 Forgive me for the main character syndrome, but if I were to have a curse, I always presumed it’d be more of a fun one.

But I also loved how there was a nuanced exploration of classism (in terms of rich vs poor families and attitudes towards college), sexism, and stigmas in Asian communities. Some of the lighthearted parts of this book were laugh-out-loud funny and SO relatable. The rest was... clichéd and saccharine as hell and waaaay too sappy for my tastes. I was trolling YouTube the other day when I came across an interview with Constance Wu, where she says something that really hit me hard. She talks about how she didn’t tell her parents about a traumatic event that had happened to her at school, and when the (white) host asks her why, she explains, simply, that she wanted to protect her parents. That it’s a dynamic that forms between immigrants and their children: we want to protect them as much as they do us. Some of the painful bits were moving and poignant and SO relatable. The rest was... over-the-top and cringey and a smidge heavy-handed. It’s a daunting task to try and represent this sort of relational complexity, and Rent a Boyfriend does an admirable job of capturing a piece that really resonated with me. In fact, I think it will resonate with anyone who’s had to straddle two worlds that aren't always in alignment: the one dictated by people you love, and the one you wish to someday carve out for yourself and yourself only.Maybe I'll write a full review someday. But for now, I have to say that I'm personally miffed that teenage pregnancy was portrayed as something repulsive and shameful in this book, and I'm deeply appalled that this notion was never challenged. Not even by the supposedly "progressive" main character.

I did not like American Panda, this author’s other book, due to the fact that I thought it was Snooze City, the capital of Snooze Country, but this one was immediately fun to me. That voice! The dialogue! The jokes and puns and cultural allusions! I loved the heart of this book. Chloe wants nothing more than to shed the toxicity of her Taiwanese roots and show her parents that she is not a prize to be won, nor does she need a man to make a future for herself. The easy dip into romance had me smiling. Andrew and Chloe fit together so seamlessly that I wondered why it took them so long to notice. Rent a Boyfriend was truly a breath of fresh air. It was seemingly a cute contemporary with the fake dating trope; but a closer look revealed the heroine's ingrained emotional and psychological issues due to the societal norms she conforms to when growing up. Featuring an Asian heroine who grapples with her dual identities, it explores the complexities and nuances of being an American-born Chinese (ABC). Mandarin is my mother tongue, so I understood every native word in the book perfectly, and I especially loved that the author weaved Mandarin seamlessly into the story because the prose was exactly how I think in my head – a mixture of English interspersed with Chinese words. Drew, the other main character, is the fake boyfriend. He was disowned by his family after choosing to drop out of college to pursue a career in art and became a Rent for Your ’Rents employee to earn money. So what will happen when Drew and Chloe start to fall for each other?

Renting a fake boyfriend is as easy as reserving a time slot

Omg now you're gonna make me cry ;_; Okay sorry in advance, but....I'm about to leave another wall of text because I have to speak my mind! It's REALLY long so be prepared >.< Which means that tying herself in knots trying to appease them is like participating in your own enslavement. Yeah, defying them outright would have financial consequences, but she's a big girl and has brains and essential knowledge of the world. She may have to be at a less prestigious school or work for a while before getting what she wants, but simply kowtowing to them is stupid. If you’ve ever looked at one of those Rent-a-Boyfriend services that offer sexless, pay-by-the-hour companions to women in China and Japan and thought, Hey, I wonder how much that’d cost? Is it cheaper than an actual relationship? I’d do it if it were less expensive than, say, a rental car or a weekend trip to the beach, then this financial breakdown of a standard Rent-a-Boyfriend date will help you out. I have enjoyed this author's previous books. And I really like experiencing different cultures. The idea of Asian people having to rent boyfriends to please their critical parents is a crazy but fascinating idea.

I adored Rent a Boyfriend so much! We often hear about traditional Chinese parents being super strict and being "tiger moms" and in this case, that's what Chloe is experiencing here. Her relationship with her father is strained, especially since he never really communicates with her, and her mother's critical and judgmental words are enough to give anyone a headache. It's no wonder that Chloe hired Drew to impress her parents after all of the pressure she is under. Hasta aquí todo bien, y en una comedia romántica, sabemos más o menos por dónde irían los tiros. Pero en Rent a boyfriend, en vez de reírme con los enredos, me he enfadado mucho. Sobre todo con los padres de Chloe. Entiendo el concepto de que los padres asiáticos pueden ser diferentes o darle más importancia a otras cosas, pero para mí ha sido demasiado. Hay escenas en las que no es que sean exigentes, es que directamente me parecen malas personas, tanto con su hija como con el chico con que creen que está su hija. Sé que hay muchos factores en juego, y no quiero hacer spoilers a nadie, pero de verdad que su actitud y sus actos no me parecen excusables. Y para mí, eso me ha estropeado bastante el disfrute del libro. Chloe and Drew's romance was so gorgeous and wonderful - fake-dating trope at its finest, where the two characters were initially guarded but eventually let each other in to the messiness and intricacies of their lives. As we have said, rental boyfriends started as a way to deal with parents and family members when they urge you to get married or to show off to your friends to show that you're not a lonely office lady with no love to receive. Bottom line: Rent a Boyfriend is essentially an amalgam of subtle asian traits memes and it really made me feel seen.chloe's perspective was genuinely interesting to read about though, and i did enjoy seeing her character development. Genuinely, I could not stand how boring and sweet his whole character was PLUS the relationship was wayyyy too healthy for my liking. I know that sounds really toxic and stupid but ... When every conversation goes along the lines of "I'm so sorry I'm here for you take whatever you need from me I care about you so much uwu🤪🤪🤪" then what do you WANT me to say?? Most of all, Chloe/Jing-Jing's struggle to make her typical Asian parents understand her made my heart ache, because it felt like the author had painted a poignant glimpse of my life on a daily basis. In the traditional Asian family, parents often scold, belittle or even demean their children, all because they believe it encourages them to be better versions of themselves. It may sound bizarre, but they do it out of love. However, the crucial flaw is this: children never feel good enough for their parents. After all, their parents' way of showing love is to act in a completely contradictory manner, so they gradually withdraw, and almost never confide in their parents as they grow older. Yet, one thing will always remain: the constant desire for their parents' approval, the never-ending need to keep them happy and be who they want. The disconnect, however, is often painfully obvious. This was an interesting fake dating romance that is based on the real practice of renting boyfriends. While it wasn't my favorite contemporary, Chao did explore some really interesting topics. 3.5 Stars Is there someone at work annoying you? Have your “rented” boyfriend show up to visit you at work to let all the guys in the office know you are in a relationship.