⚠️ Death by suicide, mental health, trauma bonding,

The lives of Helen Zhang and Grant Shepard are forever interlinked when Helens younger sister Michelle walks out in front of Grants car.

"Mind over matter"
Thirteen years later, both are reconnected when Grant is a screenwriter on Helens first screenplay. Grant seeks connection, whereas Helen wishes they never saw each other again, but as the stakes increase in the writers room, both consider what are they actually doing.

I like the gentle probing of mental health, first immigrant daughter and a more naunced look at adult peer pressure. So many story arcs portray adulthood as free of all the challenges from childhood, but I feel Yulin has done a great job of presenting these conondrums in the form of Helen.

As they spend more time together, they build on those initial slow burn feelings. There are many domestic scenes between Helen and Grant: planning a birthday party, buying household items, trying on outfits.

One of my favourite scenes is when Helen and Grant have lunch and she shares her views on love expressions, cultural norms and the role first daughters play within immigrant families.

This is a dual POV story, written in streams of consciousness between Helen and Grant. It's an easy to read rom com for cosy days. And a love story to honour all first daughters