If You, Then Me

2.75/5

Xia Chan has been given the opportunity of a lifetime. Only twenty students a year are chosen to enroll in The Foundry, an elite high school program designed to support the world’s next tech founders and CEOs. Xia doesn’t know anyone at the Silicon Valley school except for maybe one person, ObjectPermanence. She isn’t certain, but she is pretty confident the boy she’s been instant messaging and falling in love with is also at The Foundry. Xia is thrust into the start-up world hoping to find her mystery guy and win a million dollar grant in the process. 

I had a love-hate relationship with this book. It was certainly a creative plot and what better way to give our main character a coming-of-age arc than by making her leave home for the first time and live as an adult. I enjoyed the little glimpses into Silicon Valley as well as the conversations surrounding not only being a woman in a male-dominated career, but being a woman of color in today’s society. The scenes in which Xia experienced micro-aggressions and racism were relevant and representative of many Asian-American experiences. 

My main frustration with the book was with Xia and the pacing of her development. The story began to feel pretty redundant with her going back-and-forth on who is ObjectPermanence while also being drawn into the glamorous world of Foundry alumna, Mitzy. The back-and-forth went on for most of the book, with Xia continuing her negative character arc. The resolution was somewhat redeeming, but it felt rushed. Side characters that had disappeared earlier on, returned. Characters and relationships suddenly progressed quickly without much development beforehand. It didn’t feel very realistic. I needed more growth from Xia to really connect. 

If You, Then Me is a unique coming-of-age story that might be for you if you are interested in start-ups, tech, and Silicon Valley. It was entertaining and intriguing. I just couldn’t get past Xia’s choices to really love it.