If Buckeye by left you craving more unflinching dissections of the American Dream, reach for Real Americans by .
Curated by NextBookAfter Editors. This read-alike match weighs tone, themes, pacing, character dynamics, and emotional payoff rather than genre alone. See how recommendations are chosen.
Buy on AmazonWhy It's Your Next Read
- Multigenerational secrets unravel w/ brutal honesty
- Wry humor cuts through immigrant desperation
- Identity politics dissected—zero coastal romanticism
- Inherited trauma across cultures & class
Ryan's blue-collar Ohio stripped bare the American Dream's corroded metal; Khong does the same for immigrant ambition, tracking three generations as they stumble through biotech labs, Chinatown kitchens, and elite university quads. The prose stays lean and unsentimental, refusing to prettify poverty or fetishize struggle. You'll recognize that same dark humor threading through catastrophe—the kind that makes you laugh because the alternative is too bleak.
Khong hands you inherited failure wrapped in DNA and family mythology, then watches characters try to outrun what's already coded into their blood. No coastal fairy tales here—just the grinding mathematics of who gets to reinvent themselves.
This is what happens when the Dream eats its dreamers and spits out their children.
What Readers Are Saying
"I loved everything about this novel. Engrossing, well-structured, with compelling characters..." — Roxane, Goodreads
"It’s superbly written and imaginatively created. I loved it and was really sad to finally finish this slow-moving but hugely thought-provoking tale." — Andrew Smith, Goodreads
"5 ⭐️ Truly incredible. Wow this blew me away..." — The Lit Homebody, Goodreads
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