New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu’s coming-of-age memoir explores the power of friendship—including the many ways it impacts identity. Hsu, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, attended college in Berkeley, Calif., where he bought his clothes at thrift stores and spent his free time making zines. He unexpectedly became close friends with Abercrombie & Fitch-wearing Ken, a Japanese American student who appeared to be his opposite. Yet the two bonded over late-night conversations and long drives along the coast. After Ken was violently killed in a carjacking, Hsu began writing, and the result is this beautiful work, singed with grief. —Angela Haupt
Buy Now: Stay True on Bookshop | Amazon
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Bad Bunny's Next Move
- 'How Is This Still Happening?' A Survivor Questions America's Gun Violence Problem
- Nicole Chung: The Person I Became After My Father's Death
- Can Birth Control Help Solve the World's Rat Problem?
- About That Devastating Tom-Shiv Scene in Succession's Premiere
- Why Humza Yousaf's Win Is 'Historic' for Scotland
- If Donald Trump Is Indicted, Here's What Would Happen Next in the Process
- It's Time to Say a Loving Goodbye to John Wick
- Who Should Be on the 2023 TIME100? Vote Now
- Column: Ozempic Exposed the Cracks in the Body Positivity Movement
