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[4.25/5] If you're in the mood for a uniquely strange - yet mostly grounded - story, complete with a messy protagonist and a hefty dose of humor, consider picking this one up! The premise is odd and endearing: a young Taiwanese-American woman, heartbroken and adrift, finds a blob-like creature (sort of like a large chunk of silly putty - but with eyes) in the alleyway behind a bar. She decides to take it home with her. Over time, she realizes the blob is sentient, and decides to mold it into her ideal man.

Vi is a flawed yet deeply human character, and her struggles with identity, race, love, family, and adulthood felt so very real. Some of the choices she made frustrated me, but that was part of the point. The story was fresh and beautifully-written. A lightly speculative take on what it's like being a person in a world where you feel like you don't belong.

**Thanks to Harper Books for the gifted review copy!