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Back Parachutes Save as PDF
Chapters (93)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. One
  4. Two
  5. Three
  6. Four
  7. Five
  8. Six
  9. Seven
  10. Eight
  11. Nine
  12. Ten
  13. Eleven
  14. Twelve
  15. Thirteen
  16. Fourteen
  17. Fifteen
  18. Sixteen
  19. Seventeen
  20. Eighteen
  21. Nineteen
  22. Twenty
  23. Twenty-One
  24. Twenty-Two
  25. Twenty-Three
  26. Twenty-Four
  27. Twenty-Five
  28. Twenty-Six
  29. Twenty-Seven
  30. Twenty-Eight
  31. Twenty-Nine
  32. Thirty
  33. Thirty-One
  34. Thirty-Two
  35. Thirty-Three
  36. Thirty-Four
  37. Thirty-Five
  38. Thirty-Six
  39. Thirty-Seven
  40. Thirty-Eight
  41. Thirty-Nine
  42. Forty
  43. Forty-One
  44. Forty-Two
  45. Forty-Three
  46. Forty-Four
  47. Forty-Five
  48. Forty-Six
  49. Forty-Seven
  50. Forty-Eight
  51. Forty-Nine
  52. Fifty
  53. Fifty-One
  54. Fifty-Two
  55. Fifty-Three
  56. Fifty-Four
  57. Fifty-Five
  58. Fifty-Six
  59. Fifty-Seven
  60. Fifty-Eight
  61. Fifty-Nine
  62. Sixty
  63. Sixty-One
  64. Sixty-Two
  65. Sixty-Three
  66. Sixty-Four
  67. Sixty-Five
  68. Sixty-Six
  69. Sixty-Seven
  70. Sixty-Eight
  71. Sixty-Nine
  72. Seventy
  73. Seventy-One
  74. Seventy-Two
  75. Seventy-Three
  76. Seventy-Four
  77. Seventy-Five
  78. Seventy-Six
  79. Seventy-Seven
  80. Seventy-Eight
  81. Seventy-Nine
  82. Eighty
  83. Eighty-One
  84. Eighty-Two
  85. Eighty-Three
  86. Eighty-Four
  87. Eighty-Five
  88. Author’s Note
  89. Acknowledgments
  90. About the Author
  91. Books by Kelly Yang
  92. Back Ad
  93. About the Publisher

She takes a sip of her soda and shakes her head. “The other host families, they’re all too expensive,” she says. She’s afraid of upsetting the school if she asks for more money.

I can relate. I’ve thought many times of asking Mrs. Mandalay, our headmistress, if the school will cover my debate travel, but I’ve never been able to do it. Every time I’ve opened my mouth, I’ve promptly closed it and ran over to Rosa instead to ask for more addresses.

“It’s not like my parents can help.” Ming sighs. She doesn’t talk much about her parents. I know they’re not like the parents of the other Chinese kids at our school who drive around in Porsches and Teslas armed with their parents’ American Express black cards.

“You want me to talk to your host dad?” I ask. I’d love to straighten him out!

But Ming shakes her head. “It’s okay. It is his house, and I guess he has the right to wear—”

A noise from upstairs cuts her off. What the . . . ? Is someone home? Ming and I walk quickly up the marble staircase to the bedrooms. We follow the sound to the master, where we push open the door and walk in on two people having sex. The guy, not much older than us, peers at me and Ming as a topless girl sits on top of him. An amused look crosses his face as he looks at us.

“Wanna join in?” he asks.

Three

Claire

My mother and I wait outside my Chinese teacher’s office. The Shanghai traffic hums from the window. My mother shakes her head as she stares at my pitiful Chinese essay exam in her hand. I can feel her disappointment—her anxiety—with every labored breath she takes.

“I can’t believe you did this,” she says. She points to the big forty-two out of one hundred on the top of my paper. That’s what I got for writing my own words instead of memorizing my tutor’s. It probably didn’t help that I wrote on the importance of incorporating student voices in school decision-making. I should have just picked a safer topic, like the dangers of internet addiction.

“You can’t believe I tried to write my own paper?” I ask sarcastically.

“Don’t get sassy with me. This isn’t about you writing your own paper. This is about you never listening,” she says. “Always wanting to do things your way.” The paper shakes as she scolds me. A few teachers walk by and give us dirty looks. My mom hushes but struggles to maintain her composure.

“This is China,” she hisses. “You go to a local school. You told me yourself your Chinese teacher encouraged you guys to work with your tutors.”

“So?”