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Early in the novel, Alexandra Chang sets the tone of her book by highlighting the main character's frustrations in her office at Silicon Valley. Being a tech reporter, Alexandra is one of few women in her profession. She narrates her frustrations as her superiors stick her with pointless stories and repeatedly ignore her ideas and helpful suggestions, even making comments suggesting she cannot handle heavier material simply because she is a woman. Even at meetings, she would be the only woman at the table and feel ignored by her male colleagues. Alexandra's thoughts here make her start questioning her role in the workplace.

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Alexandra's boyfriend, J, has applied to multiple biochemistry graduate programs across the country. After weeks of waiting, he gets accepted into Cornell. Even though she is excited for J, Alexandra feels conflicted by the choice of either staying at her low-paying job and near or family, or going to Ithaca, New York to start a new chapter of her life with J. A little tension grows between them as conversation spurs about their big decision.

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During an editorial meeting, Alexandra's editorial manager says the n-word. Because of the majority white makeup of the employees in Silicon Valley, on the inside, it is seen as no big deal. But, on the internet, word spreads fast and her office is immediately put in the spotlight. Alexandra is furious at her colleague's poor apologies and attempts to cover up the scandal. After lots of long and hard thought, she decides to move to Ithaca with J and work remotely.

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Study Examines Racial Inequality in Silicon Valley

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A new study out of San Jose State University seems to back up claims that there are two Silicon Valleys: one for whites and another for minorities. Marianne Favro reports.

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Alexandra and J decide to make their move to Ithaca into a fun road trip. Alexandra's thoughts are displayed throughout the entire trip as she contemplates stereotypes about Asian drivers, her childhood experiences, and her interracial relationship with J. On this topic, the couple even gets into an argument about interracial relationships when Alexandra explains her concerns as to why so many Asian women choose to marry white men. He dismisses her concern and they continue to bicker throughout their trip as they decide to stop and camp, visit Yellowstone, tour a museum, and more. Eventually, they learn to get along better in the cramped space of the car and made it to Ithaca to start a new chapter.

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Our Specialty Tours allow you to dive deeper and immerse yourself in a specific experience while still exploring the amazing national parks.

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Alexandra has a conversation with a Filipino-American guy she met at a coffee shop about their childhoods and experiences with having immigrant parents. She expresses how she is upset because, over time, she has lost her ability to speak Mandarin. She wishes her parents spoke it more at home, instead of just speaking English to Alexandra and her siblings after they taught it to them. Alexandra also feels disconnected from her heritage because she feels "Americanized" in a way and fears that she doesn't fully understand certain struggles Asians go through.

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News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

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As J becomes constantly occupied with his grad work, Alexandra starts to feel lonely, isolated, and dissatisfied in her relationship. He is never home, and seems to always be tired when she wants to go out with him. She also feels as if she does everything around the house, and that she is stuck in her home office in her dead end job. And still, J does not seem to understand her struggles as an Asian-American woman in an interracial relationship. Alexandra and J seem to never talk, and when they do it ends up in bickering.

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Resulting in her feelings of lost heritage and conflicts in her relationship, Alexandra decides to visit her father in China. When she tells J, he is upset but accepting, and tells her that he will miss her. Within a few weeks, she flies to China and plans to spend two weeks with her dad. He welcomes her with open arms, and they quickly reconnect. He shows her his town and surrounding cities, and emulsifies her into the Chinese culture. She still feels disconnected because she cannot speak in Mandarin, but her father acts as a good buffer and is able to translate for her. During her two week stay, her father gives her a lot of insight and reassurance about her childhood in America and advice about her relationship with J. By the end of her weeks in China, she feels more connected with her culture, is happy about getting to see her father again, and feels reassured about her relationship.

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Busy streets in China's Wuhan as global Covid-19 toll nears a million | AFP

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The novel ends with Alexandra's new reassurance of her life. After J picks her up from the airport in the middle of the night, Alexandra admires him in her thoughts and wonders why she ever let the fact that they were in an interracial relationship get between them. She compares her life to the snowflakes falling on the windshield, all different and unique parts of her life coming together at different times and impacts. Alexandra accepts that there are some things in her life that she simply cannot change. She realizes that she cannot change the way her parents raised her, nor can she change the microaggressions she experiences. But, she can change her attitude and how she goes about living the rest of her life.