Real Americans by Rachel Khong

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🧬 Real Americans by Rachel Khong – Genetic Secrets, Ghosts of the Past, and an Overcrowded Plot Lab

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 out of 5 stars | Fiction | Family Drama | Multigenerational | Genetic Ethics

🪴 First Impressions

You know when you walk into a trendy, new fusion restaurant and the appetizer is amazing—you’re thinking, “Yes, THIS is going to be my new favorite place.” But then your entrée arrives cold, your waiter disappears, and somehow there’s cilantro in your dessert? That’s kind of how Real Americans felt.

Rachel Khong opens the novel with breathtakingly gorgeous prose. It’s lyrical, atmospheric, so visual you can smell the dumplings and feel the cold hospital tiles. But somewhere in the middle, the storyline wanders off like a toddler in Costco. So many brilliant ideas—gene editing! Communism! Racism! Wealth gaps! Mother-daughter trauma!—all crammed in with no time to breathe.

Still, let’s dig into the plot, because wow, it really tries to cover it all.

🧬 What’s It About?

Part One: Lily’s Story – Rich Guys, DNA, and Unpaid Internships

We begin with Lily Chen, a broke, artsy Chinese-American woman interning (unpaid, naturally) at a tech company. At a holiday party, she meets Matthew Maier, a tall, handsome rich guy who casually invites her to Paris on their first date. Romantic or red flag? Jury’s still out.

She ghosts him (as one does when intimidated by generational wealth), but fate throws them back together two years later. This time, they fall hard. He convinces her to quit her job. They move in. He proposes. Then the IVF rollercoaster begins, ending with the early birth of baby Nico…in China, of all places. Bonus twist: Nico is blond and blue-eyed. Lily’s not sure he’s even hers.

While in China, she visits her mother’s old friend Ping and receives a cryptic letter. This rabbit hole introduces the first layer of family mystery.

Part Two: Nico’s POV – Identity Crises, Ivy League, and Dad Drama

Fast forward to Nico’s high school years. He’s living with Lily on a foggy Washington island, struggling with his identity because, well, he looks zero percent Asian. He swabs his cheek for a DNA test (this book is brought to you by 23andMe, apparently) and discovers the father he never knew: Matthew.

Secretly reaching out, he bonds with Matthew, who basically says, “Hey kid, use my last name and enjoy some Ivy League nepotism.” Nico applies to Yale. Gets in. Cue dramatic irony.

But then Nico starts digging... and discovers Matthew’s ultra-wealthy parents were involved in experimental gene editing with Lily’s parents, Mei and Charles (formerly Wen), back in the day. Turns out Lily was literally genetically engineered. And that’s why she couldn’t have kids naturally.

Part Three: Mei’s POV – Cultural Revolution, Escaping China, and Playing God

Mei takes us back to 1980s China. Poor farm girl turned academic prodigy. She studies at Peking University during Mao’s regime, dreams of escaping, and ditches her friend Ping for a safer plan. Mei and Wen flee to Hong Kong and then the U.S., where they rebrand themselves as Charles and Mei Cooper.

In the land of opportunity, they join forces with Otto Maier (Matthew’s father) and do some very ethically questionable genetic engineering. They’re trying to “weed out” inherited diseases by skewing DNA in favor of one parent. It works—but messes with fertility. Enter: Lily.

Back to Present Day – The DNA Hits the Fan

Nico works at a biotech startup with a guy named Levi. When Matthew buys and shuts down the company (out of guilt or justice, hard to say), Nico is rattled. Meanwhile, Mei is dying of pneumonia. She refuses a sketchy immortality serum (thanks, Levi) and asks to see Lily before she dies.

Lily comes. It’s tender. It’s complicated. Then the book ends. Just... ends. No resolution, no explosion, no emotional climax—just a long exhale.

🧪 Final Thoughts

Real Americans is a bold attempt to braid together the threads of identity, science, generational trauma, and cultural history. But in trying to do everything, it ends up doing a lot of things almost. Think literary buffet, with some dishes undercooked.

Still, it raises compelling questions:

  • If you’re genetically edited, are you even you?

  • How much do we owe to our roots—and how much can we rewrite?

  • And why do rich people in books always propose after two dates?

📚 If You Liked Real Americans, Try These:

Book Why You'll Like It
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng Explores identity, cultural expectations, and family secrets. Also beautifully written.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Deep themes about legacy, ambition, and flawed relationships—with literary flair.
The Measure by Nikki Erlick Tackles questions of destiny and mortality with a sci-fi twist.
The Farm by Joanne Ramos A sharp take on race, class, and reproductive ethics.

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