Been meaning to write about this for a while... I was recently on a long flight and finally had to chance to crack open Crossing
, the debut novel from Andrew Xia Fukuda. It's a stunning, thrilling book, and I basically tore through it in one sitting. Days after I turned the last page, the book was still kind of haunting me. Here's a trailer for the book: Crossing is the story of Xing Xu, a Chinese teenager who is used to feeling invisible and like a loner in his mostly-white upstate New York town. But then the disappearances start happen. Here's the synopsis on the back of the book:
For freshman Xing Xu, life at Slackenkill High School is a daily exercise in futility. As one of only two Asian students at the otherwise all-white school. he exists on the fringes of adolescent society, counting the days until he's free. Only his best friend, fellow Chinese immigrant Naomi Lee, can comprehend Xing's loneliness and frustration. When a series of mysterious addictions rattles his adopted hometown, Xing's position on the outskirts of the community puts him at an advantage. Local police are baffled by the crimes, but Xing, so easily ignored by those around him, sees and hears the things others do not. As he moves closer to unveiling the identity of the kidnapper, a surprise revelation from his past presents an opportunity to prove his worth to his classmates - and to the lovely Naomi — once and for all. Ultimately, xing must choose between living his life in the shadows and revealing his true self to the world, leading to a chilling climax that will resonate long after the final page is turned.At the heart of the story, it's a murder mystery. But it's also a haunting, complex look inside the mind and heart of an immigrant teen who has long felt lonely and isolated -- who hasn't at some point? -- but with an added element intertwining ethnicity with suspicion. You can't help but feel shades of Seung-hui Cho and the Virginia Tech shooting massacre.
Crossing is an AmazonEncore book, a new program that identifies exceptional, overlooked books and authors with more potential than their sales may indicate. I'm glad they picked up this book, because it's a hell of a breakthrough. For more information about the book, go to the author Andrew Xia Fukuda's website here, and buy the book at Amazonn here
.