Artifacts of an Ex

September 11, 2023
A teen uses her heartbreak to produce a public art exhibit in Chen’s jubilant debut. Sixteen-year-old Taiwanese American artist Chloe Chang isn’t thrilled when she’s forced to leave her boyfriend Jake behind in N.Y.C. after her family moves to Los Angeles. But her heartbreak gets worse when she receives a breakup package from him. On her way to trash the box of simple mementos, inspiration strikes, and Chloe determines to channel her grief into a new project. She puts out an ad offering to buy “breakup objects” from other heartbroken teens and books a gallery to showcase her exhibit, Heartifacts. She also sets into motion Operation Get Back Together, a five-step plan to win Jake back. When Chloe meets Korean American teen filmmaker Daniel Kwak, she develops an immediate and intense crush. But she’s dead set on reuniting with Jake, and Daniel has been a rebound too many times to want to pursue anything serious. Richly detailed prose makes for an amorous atmosphere, while Chloe’s artistic eye and determined, optimistic first-person POV renders a vivid world in this lighthearted romance. Ages 13–up.

October 1, 2023
An art lover turns her ex-boyfriend's breakup box into a collaborative exhibit about teen heartbreak. Soon after Type A 16-year-old Chloe Chang and her parents abruptly move from New York City to Los Angeles to live with her Taiwanese grandmother, who's struggling with dementia, Chloe's boyfriend, Jake, an up-and-coming Black artist, breaks up with her via a mailed shoebox full of mementos. Devastated, the teen paper-planner influencer and aspiring curator finds inspiration from a classmate and fellow artist to create Heartifacts, an exhibit of breakup memorabilia collected from teens who've experienced heartbreak. At the exhibit's opening night, Chloe meets a young Korean American filmmaker named Daniel, whose best friend's breakup is featured in the show. Daniel--who knows Chloe's grandmother via her family's cafe--encourages Chloe to utilize his filmmaking skills to strengthen the exhibit and familiarize herself with L.A.'s art scene. As the two grow closer, Daniel insists they remain friends, because Chloe's obviously not over her ex, and he doesn't want to end up being a rebound guy for the sixth time. Equal parts romance and tribute to Los Angeles, this charming debut combines a strong sense of place and community with well-developed supporting characters, a lovely intergenerational family, and a just-kiss-already love story. The diverse adolescent ensemble includes strong queer representation. An endearing exploration of loss, love, and the transformative nature of art. (Fiction. 13-18)

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October 15, 2023
Grades 9-12 Chloe Chang had to move from New York to Los Angeles when her grandmother--her amah--needed the family's help running her coffee shop. Chloe, an art curator and super-organized influencer (though not an artist herself), falls in love with a local art space. When her boyfriend in New York, Jake, breaks up with her through a box of relationship mementos, Chloe knows what she has to do: she plans a breakup boxes art show, buying other teenagers' "Heartifacts" for $20. At her first show, teen filmmaker Daniel Kwak recommends adding video to the ongoing exhibit. In working with Daniel, she starts to fall for him, but he's insistent on not being her rebound guy. While Chen participated in the First-Year Orientation collection earlier this year, this is her first solo novel, and it seems to have everything a reader could want: love, hate, family drama, art, and more. Readers will feel for Chloe and maybe go on to think about their own Heartifacts.

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