"Captivating and sharp. . . Lescure provides immersive depictions of Shanghai and Qingdao along with delicate character work. This is a remarkable story of a family caught between cultures." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"River East, River West is a searing and intimate exploration of both China and the American Dream. Poignant and propulsive, thoughtful, and moving. I loved this book." -- Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee

"In Aube Rey Lescure's beautiful debut novel, familiar narratives of adolescence are scrambled across lines of class, race, and national difference. As her characters deepen with each chapter, she makes us feel the inexhaustible mystery of other lives. A moving portrait of the love between a mother and daughter, River East, River West portrays, too, our powerlessness against the riptides of history." -- Garth Greenwell, author of Cleanness

"River East, River West is a beautifully expansive tale of new beginnings--and the pasts we can't extricate ourselves from. From Qingdao to Shanghai, readers are invited into a richly layered world teeming with secrets, desires, and unexpected tenderness. Bright human insights shine through unforgettable characters fighting for their autonomy, often straining against familial bonds for a glimpse of freedom. In this exciting literary debut, Aube Rey Lescure deftly illuminates the difficult choices we make to save ourselves and each other." -- Thao Thai, author of Banyan Moon

"River East, River West is a keen exploration of love, heritage, and the search for home, told through alternating points of view--rebellious Alva and her stepfather Lu Fang with secrets of his own. Aube Rey Lescure's portrayal of the glitter and grit of China's tumultuous economic rise is by turns luminous and searing. A haunting debut." -- Vanessa Hua, author of Forbidden City

"At once tender and unflinching, River East, River West is a staggering, immersive coming-of-age set irresistibly amid the glamour and grime of a changing Shanghai. Aube Rey Lescure has crafted a vast, yet intimate, novel about performance and belonging, power and identity, that never loses focus on the fierce and broken hearts at its center--the magnetic repulsion and attraction of family splitting and reshaping. An extraordinary, riveting debut--I loved every word." -- Katie Gutierrez, author of More Than You'll Ever Know

"A compelling and thought-provoking coming-of-age story about identity and the narratives we create about ourselves. It's a vivid portrait of China and the uneasy relationships of class and family history." -- Catherine Cho, author of Inferno: A Memoir of Motherhood and Madness

'"River east, river west" comes from a famous Chinese saying, which suggests that the world or people's destiny are always in constant change, and there is no fixed path of rise, fall, honour, or disgrace. Aube Rey Lescure has represented this idea brilliantly in her novel." -- Xinran, author of The Good Women of China and Sky Burial