You may recall a few months back, we revealed the (gorgeous) cover for Cynthia So’s If You Still Recognise Me. Well, today’s finally the day that you can read it! But if, for whatever (foolish) reason, you’re not convinced yet, let us help you out!
And don’t forget, you can follow Cynthia on twitter.
Elsie has a crush on Ada, the only person in the world who truly understands her. Unfortunately, they’ve never met in real life and Ada lives an ocean away. But Elsie has decided it’s now or never to tell Ada how she feels. That is, until her long-lost best friend Joan walks back into her life.
In a summer of repairing broken connections and building surprising new ones, Elsie realises that she isn’t nearly as alone as she thought. But now she has a choice to make…
If You Still Recognise Me
Cynthia So
Rep: British Chinese bi mc, British Chinese lesbian side character, British Indian sapphic side character, biracial Black sapphic side character, Vietnamese nonbinary bi side character, Chinese side characters, Chinese gay side character, gay & sapphic side characters
CWs: past toxic relationship, homophobia
Release: 9th June 2022
Five Reasons to Read This Book
One. Who doesn’t love that trope of best friends who fall out of friendship, then meet again years later and fall in love? The second chance of it all, the history they have, the feelings about how the friendship fell apart. God, it’s all of it just exquisite. And guess what this book has? Exactly that!
Two. This book had a great look at family, too, both biological and found family. In terms of the latter, it was lovely to see Elsie slowly collect one around herself, with internet friends and those she made in real life. They were all so supportive of her and her slightly misjudged plan to show Ada she loved her (like seriously, Elsie, maybe you should have thought that one through, haha), but they also were honest with her when they needed to be. Elsie’s relationship with her family, I think, complemented this well, and I think the discussions on the intersection of race and culture with attitudes towards being gay was done very well and with nuance too.
Three. We all love coming of gayge tales, I’m sure, and this one is a perfect entry into that canon. The growth that Elsie experiences across the novel is beautiful, and I especially loved how she recovered and grew from a past toxic relationship. I think this book gave her the time and space to do that.
Four. Elsie has a very distinctive voice to read—she jumps off the page, and you’ll find yourself reading the entire thing as if she’s really there with you. It’s a strong voice and one that you won’t find yourself forgetting. But Elsie doesn’t drown out the voices of the other characters, each of whom feel distinctive in their own right. These are characters that stay with you for a long while after you’ve finished the book.
Five. My final point is about the writing in this: it is—and this is not an exaggeration—gorgeous. It’s the kind of writing that feels simple, but will cause you to have to stop and catch your breath from time to time because a single line just hits you so hard. Which is, honestly, the best sort of writing.
So, have we convinced you that you want to read this book?
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