Ex Marks the Spot
Written by Gloria Chao
December 31, 2024
384 pp.
ISBN: 978-0593692714
Ex Marks the Spot is a young adult novel by Gloria Chao. This was my first time picking up her work, and it certainly won’t be my last. Ex Marks the Spot is the story of a Taiwanese American teenager who’s just graduated from high school and is trying to figure out how she’ll pay for college. In an unexpected turn of events Gemma finds out that her grandfather, who she believed had died during her childhood, has just passed and left a mysterious will. The will turns out to be a series of puzzles in a treasure hunt that just might help her pay for college. The catch? She has to work with her ex Xander to find the treasure.
Xander manages to find a spot for Gemma on a Taiwanese American Roots Pursuit trip. The program brings Taiwanese American high school students to Taiwan to experience the country first-hand and to have an opportunity to explore and connect with other Taiwanese American teens. Gemma’s shied away from joining in the past as she’s never felt “Taiwanese enough,” and because it’s run by her ex. As she explores the country and culture, Gemma connects with the other teens on the trip and realizes that there’s no right way to be Taiwanese American. Many of the other teens also struggle with their identities and growing up as the children or grandchildren of Taiwanese immigrants in the United States. They have vastly different experiences, language skills, and perspectives. This part resonated with me and was something I appreciated in reading Ex Marks the Spot.
The treasure hunt drives the story forward – Gemma and Xander work through the puzzles and visit key spots in her grandfather’s Taiwan. For speakers with some Mandarin skills the puzzles will provide some great “ah-hahs” and fun moments. I myself skimmed through them.
Although this is labeled as a young adult romance, this felt like more of a bildungsroman to me. Gemma grows and figures out what being Taiwanese American means to her. From Gemma’s experiences of Taiwan to my own relationship with Thailand, this story is familiar to children of immigrants growing into the Asian American diaspora. It is the type of story I wish I had had growing up in the mountain west, not knowing many other Thai Americans, never feeling “enough,” and not knowing how to explain it to those around me. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but it’s a fun read that provides some refreshing perspectives and delicious descriptions of food.
Review by Melissa Ernst, editing assistance by Amanda Cheung and Emily Espanol.
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