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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

“Ugh, I don’t even want to think about that,” my mom groans, closing her eyes and massaging them with her fingers. “Your mother’s going to kill me.”

I want to say to them I won’t not do well! I swear I won’t! But then again, I did just get a forty-two. My mom sits sullen on the couch, head buried in her hands, contemplating her future . . . because if you’re a Chinese mom whose sole measure of success is how well your offspring does, when your offspring screws up, you screw up.

“If you go to America now, you won’t need to do the gaokao,” my dad says. He’s offering us an out, and judging from the depressed look on my mom’s face, I don’t know who needs it more, me or her. “You can graduate and go to a college in the US. One of the UCs.”

“You can’t just get into one of the UCs,” I say. He says it like they’re M&M’s.

“Yes, you can,” he insists. “There are so many of them!” He takes out his hands and starts listing UCs. “And besides, even if you don’t, at least you’ll still be foreign-educated.”

My mom mouths the words. The gears are turning in her head. Foreign-educated. I can work with that.

“I’m not going,” I say to the two of them, nipping this crazy talk in the bud. I am not about to run off to another country just because I failed one exam. “Sorry. I refuse to go to boarding school.”

“Who said anything about boarding school?” my dad asks. “Wash your own clothes? Eat cafeteria food? Live with roommates?” He shudders at the thought. “Besides, you don’t have time to take the SSAT.”

OMG, he’s actually serious. I thought this was all angry talk, which is why I indulged him, but now, looking into his manic eyes, I wonder how long he’s been thinking about this. Maybe I should have just memorized my tutor’s stupid words.

My mom chews her fingernail. “It would make things a lot easier,” she says. “And when you come back, think of how much you’ll stand out.”

“I don’t want to stand out,” I say.

“Well, you should!” she retorts. “There are 1.3 billion people here! Why do you think people are always shopping, trying to grab whatever label and slap it on their asses? To stand out!”

I roll my eyes. Please, with the shopping psychology.

“Your mother’s right,” my dad says. “We have to be smart. This is the right move for your future.”

“And what about my friends? What about my boyfriend?” I ask. My eyes water under my contacts at the thought that I might not be able to see Teddy again, that we’ll have to Skype . . .