UptownOracle in Book Reviews

Uptown Oracle Reads… Heiress Apparently | A Sweet and Fast-Paced Contemporary based in Beijing

Heiress ApparentlyDiana Ma

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Gemma Huang is a recent transplant to Los Angeles from Illinois, having abandoned plans for college to pursue a career in acting, much to the dismay of her parents. Now she’s living with three roommates in a two-bedroom hovel, auditioning for bit roles that hardly cover rent. Gemma’s big break comes when she’s asked to play a lead role in an update of M. Butterfly filming for the summer in Beijing. When she arrives, she’s stopped by paparazzi at the airport. She quickly realizes she may as well be the twin of one of the most notorious young socialites in Beijing. Thus kicks off a summer of revelations, in which Gemma uncovers a legacy her parents have spent their lives protecting her from—one her mother would conceal from her daughter at any cost.

Heiress Apparently at its core is a story about family. From Gemma’s small 3-person family, to the wider family she chooses throughout the book, there’s always relationships being built upon throughout the book. The family dynamics felt real and were recognisable for how parents and adult children would act towards one another.

I loved Gemma as a character because she did not play into stereotypical Asian character traits, and the book even highlighted the problems with those stereotypes when it came to representation. Plus, Gemma as a character was a great protagonist to follow as she has flaws and makes bad decisions but learns from them and understands when she has done wrong.

The stereotype and representation topic is something that is explored throughout the book. From how Asian stereotypes are contributed to by media such as film by how they’re represented by those in charge of the production who aren’t Asian, to more nuanced “who am I” discussions of Gemma who is Chinese but also “not Chinese enough” when she’s in China, and American but “not American enough” when at home. It also touches on the dichotomy of “traditional” Chinese values that are assumed by western audiences and how Chinese people actually react to sexual identity, unisex dressing etc is very different and more relaxed than the assumption.

There are two stories that are being told in this book, one is Gemma trying to make it as an actress and improve Asian representation in film. Then there’s Gemma finding out why her parents forbid her from travelling to China, and the backstory of her family. Each of these stories could quite easily be in their own book, but the actress storyline is what forces Gemma to travel to China and for the second story to really start. Whilst both stories do wrap up by the end of the book, I did find it disappointing when a middle section of the book made Gemma lose a lot of focus on becoming an actress and being great at her job.

The romance of the book was cute but also predictable. The romance isn’t the central focus of the book, which I was expecting and so there’s not much attention relying on it. The romance is more of a need for someone to help Gemma navigate China, and to find a chosen family, I think. But overall, it wasn’t too much, and I was routing for the couple to be together because he was supportive and encouraged her to be herself rather than change.

Whilst I don’t often read contemporaries for the world building as they are set in the real world, I adored how the author wrote about China. As our main character was both Chinese and a tourist, we got to see/read about the tourist places as well as in depth knowledge of the food she’s always wanted to try. I enjoyed how we got to explore the city whilst it not being assumed that we have knowledge already like some American based books do.

Overall, Heiress Apparently was a sweet and fast read for me that I devoured in only a couple of days. I’d recommend it for anyone who loves romcoms, and I’m excited to see what happens in the next book as the ending wrapped most things up.