This was such an amazing book. It was easy to read, fast-paced and short, while also having a great interesting story and a main character who goes through a stage of personal growth.
In the beginning I loved all the pop references to Charli xcx and Troye Sivan. And also how contemporary it was, it felt like Pete could be my friend, who makes some horrible decisions, but who is very fun, relatable and cool. After the pleasantly chaotic start, a murder is discovered. And while it wasn't such a clever and complicated mystery, I enjoyed it immensely because it added a thrilling element to an otherwise more calm story. I was looking forward to reading this book every night. I can't recommend this enough, especially to young, queer, lost, music-loving people who just want to relax with a quick fun book with a slightly serious undertone. After all don't we all wish we could have a BRAT summer?

I found this book lighthearted & fun with a big dollop of chaos thrown in for good measure. I didn’t take it too seriously and enjoyed it. The Charli XCX obsession was well over my head but I liked the characters narrative with it.

This book is chaotic, queer, and wildly entertaining. Pete Chan hears Charli XCX’s BRAT and promptly blows up his life—quits his job, dumps his boyfriend, and becomes a viral sensation.

This book got me out of a massive reading slump,
I absolutely love Aaron wangs writing and found it so easy especially as I have adhd books can be hit and miss if Im not drawn in straight away.

I found this book fun and easy and loved it had some mystery added into it,



Lastly I want to mention Tove the proof reader who sadly passed before this book was published 🩵

This was an absolute miss for me, unfortunately.

I will preface the review by saying: if someone is reading a book that draws heavily from the BRAT album by Charli XCX, odds are … they know the album and don’t need it micro-explained to them the way the book did.

Rather than let themes and ideas speak for themselves, they are spelled out in detail in a poorly-written narrative voice.

The writing itself was questionable -- some of it even sounded like it could’ve been AI-generated.

The plot was far-fetched and not at all believable, realistic, or cohesive. I won't add specific plot points, as the book has not been released yet.

The book has a mystery element to it, but that mystery is easily solved by the halfway mark of the story.

The characters were shallow and paper-thin. I understand that our main character was supposed to be “a brat,” but he was genuinely unlikeable -- and because there was minimal character development, I finished the book disliking the narrator as much as I did when I started the book.

The queer lingo and pop culture references were clunky and overdone -- almost in an information-dumping way that didn't feel organic.

I am an enormous fan of Charli XCX and the BRAT album, which is why I was eager to give this book a go. I really wish I had more positive things to say about it, but it just didn’t hit the way I wish it had.

I really do hope it resonates with other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley for a an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you, NetGalley and Books in Colors for Earc exchange for honest review.
What happens when a BRAT is accused of murdering his ex-boyfriend. After instant fame for coffee being thrown. Trying to find out what you want to do with life. What else could go wrong or right for Pete Chan?
What I like the most was the opinions and facts about music. How Pete views the world and music. Also, Pete energy and personality was great. But it was also his biggest downfall at times. I like the fact that he learned a big life lesson with everything that happened to him. There was a few parts that I didn’t like. Because you could tell that Pete was ignorant. How he didn’t see a problem with what he was doing. But later he learned from his mistakes. Overall, the story was interesting. There’s the mystery of who the killer is. Them trying to find out clues who did it. Also get a little bit of love story happening for Pete. At the end I like the fact that he did grow up a little bit.

For the first 20% of this book, I wasn't that into it. It seemed like it was trying to be too quirky. But slowly as the book progressed I started liking it more and more! I ended up kind of enjoying the way pop culture was referenced in this book, eventho it felt like In the beginning it felt a bit over the top.
The last half of the book was definitely my favorite, I actually almost cried at some of the passages which I really wasn't expecting considering how unattached I felt from this book at the beginning. I'm really glad it ended the way it did and the main character got his happy ending, especially because it was with the person he was least expecting it from. Sounds cliche, but yeah I ended up liking the way they became a couple!

Surprisingly enough another thing I really liked about this book was the authors note, especially the part about his editor. It was so beautifully written and you could really hear that it was the author talking this time as himself and not as the main character in the book. I hope I explained that well, so you can understand what I'm trying to say?
Anyway will be looking forward to more books by this author and potentially buying a physical copy of this one once it comes out! Highly recommend it!

I really enjoyed seeing on social media the journey this book cover went on from it's first ideas to what we ended up with. And it really is eye catching.

I also really enjoy the number of books I've read lately that involve social media in some way. It was off-putting at first, and I know a lot of people still don't care for it but I like it. We've had these things for a minute now, so to see them popping up more in books is a fun way to see how things move along.

Anyway. Boy hears Charli XCX. Boy breaks up with boyfriend. Boy reinvents life. Boy gets into a situation that ends up making him internet famous. Boy takes road trip to confront his biggest online troll. Boy finds romance in strange places. Boy's ex boyfriend ends up dead and boy ends up blamed. Online troll may be the only one who can prove he didn't do it. Boy also has to figure out what really happened.

Coming of age, or rather coming into one's self mixed with a murder mystery mixed with the consequences of social media/internet fame mixed with romance. And it was pretty damn funny and all around good times.

I mean I went into this expecting to like it, didn't realize I would absolutely adore it. This one is headed straight to my shelf when I can snag a physical copy.


I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley.

Pete Chan is a young Chinese-American, gay, and a little lost in the middle of his own life. Tired of corporate routine and with a heart broken by an unfaithful boyfriend, he ends up working as a barista. Nothing unusual there. But one day, in a very well-deserved burst of anger, he throws an iced latte at an abusive customer. That moment, recorded and shared, turns him into the “BRATista”: a viral symbol of resistance against everyday mistreatment.

From that point on, Pete finds himself caught between digital glory and personal misfortune: his ex turns up dead, and suddenly he becomes the prime suspect. What follows is a spiral of laughter, paranoia, internet trolls (one in particular who will turn out to be crucial), and the eternal question: how can you be yourself when the whole world is watching?

Pete is not a perfect hero. He’s sarcastic, sometimes unbearable, but always human. He doesn’t just want to prove his innocence, but also to make it through to the end of this situation.

It’s a story that brings together many aspects of life, set in the present day with modern personalities, current characters, and everyday struggles that matter to all of us.

It shows how anything can happen at any moment and how life can change in the blink of an eye, but also that in the end, things can always get better—if you’re honest with yourself, give yourself the worth you deserve, and act in the name of maturity.

This novel is a journey between that immature age and the awareness of what it means to carry the title of “adult”: to sit down, think, and act.

I’m not sure how to describe this book other than it was a trip. We see out main character Pete Chan decide to embody the true meaning of BRAT. He becomes obsessed (I can relate) by Charli XCX’s album Brat and decides to quit his corporate job, break up with his boyfriend, and reinvent himself. After what feels like slight mania, Pete feels free in his decisions and decides to become a barista. This is where things take a turn. At his new job, Pete encounters a “male Karen“ and after throwing a drink in the man’s face for being rude, Pete catapults into viral/meme/TikTok infamy. He is then coined as the BRATista. This book is literally the embodiment of being chronically online, mixed with true crime? After his viral moment, Pete encounters an online hater decides to confront this person in the flesh. The journey Pete then takes on with his online troll (Frankie), take such an unexpected turn of events. Pete ends up being suspect number one in the case of his ex-boyfriend‘s murder. (Not a spoiler it’s in the first chapter). I mean, I seriously had no idea what I was getting into with this book.
Aaron Wang definitely has a way of sucking you in and not letting you go. The references to brat throughout made me appreciate the album so much more. We see how over exposing the media can be, cancel culture, how music can mean so many different things to so many different people, social (media) commentary, LGBTQIA+ relationships, and so much more. It was honestly such a quick read as I finish it in a couple days or so. This book had a lot of what I like to call “Gen–Z” talk. There were some points when I felt that what Pete was saying would only make sense to the timeframe that we are currently in and I was so grateful for my many nights doomscrolling because I was able to picture the pop refrences mentioned throughout. I felt that the book was a little crowded with different plot changes and I wish it had stuck to one of them and explored more on its themes instead of having so many different things happening and only slightly touching on them. Also, (now this is just me being nit-picky) I was super thrown off by the way that the police handled the investigation with the ex-boyfriend‘s murder. This is a personal annoyance, but it kind of stuck with me for the rest of the ride.
It was a silly read, and it’s something that I definitely can relate to as I felt such a severe obsession with Brat as well, and this is like all of those intrusive thoughts manifested into a book. I’d really suggest it if you were also impacted by this album or just need someone quick to take your mind off of life for a second!
(Also if you get the chance to read this book, please read the authors note. It is a beautiful dedication to the editor whose life was lost before the book was finished).

Thank you to NetGalley and Books in Color for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me. While the premise is intriguing, the execution felt scattered and unfocused. The plot tried to do too much at once, and as a result, the pacing felt uneven and the character motivations often made little sense.

Pete’s personality and decisions shifted dramatically from scene to scene, sometimes contradicting himself within pages. For example, his attitude toward his roommate’s gun, his feelings about his ex, and his financial situation were inconsistent in ways that made it hard to follow or connect with his journey. The romance development was awkward and insta-love, and the resolution to the central conflict stretched believability.

On top of that, parts of this read like pop culture MadLibs with heavy reliance on TikTok-speak to make Pete believable as an influencer, which I think will age the story very quickly. Tangents about coffee orders and online dating apps slowed the momentum even more, while side characters appeared and disappeared conveniently to serve the plot.

I appreciate that the author was aiming for a darkly funny look at viral fame, queerness, and internet culture, but the results just didn’t land. Readers who enjoy chaotic, satirical takes on online life might still find this entertaining. Ultimately, it wasn’t for me.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I opened this book. When I was reading the synopsis, I assumed it would be a silly read, which it is, but it's also a great exploration about social media and how it affects people. Aaron Wang does a great job of balancing the chaos and the seriousness of this book. Yes, wild things happen in this book, but you never have to sit and wonder, "Hm... is that too wild?" because it's also grounded enough to feel real.

"I didn't want to be real. I wanted to be Interesting. Artistic. Unique."

Aaron Wang also handles the topic of social media well. Pete as a main character is a very vulnerable narrator, but in his online life it's the opposite. He works incredibly hard on his image and is somewhat addicted to the attention you can gain online. Wang also explores para-social relationships quite well.

The comments on queerness and queer culture were also interesting. I'm queer, but not a gay man, so I won't speak too much on this, but in my opinion Aaron Wang makes some great commentary about the unrealistic beauty standards and the toxicity that can be present in the gay community.

Overall, this book was a great read. There are quite a bit of pop culture references which I feel could age the book quickly, however, in this circumstance I don't think it's an issue. I loved this book and I flew through it because I really wanted to know what was going to happen to everyone! The character development was good and the romance was cute.

If you like books that has a mixture of mystery and romance, are a quick read, and are a bit silly, but still makes some commentary on serious topics (all handled well, in my opinion), then this is the book for you.

Wang is a new favorite of mine! Romance, mystery and very good writing in the same book. Pacing is perfect so the pages just roll away. I enjoyed it very much!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Memoir of an Innocent Brat is a wild, witty ride that blends queer rom-com chaos with a murder mystery twist. Pete Chan’s transformation from disillusioned corporate worker to viral “BRATista” is laugh-out-loud funny, but the novel also digs into the messy fallout of internet fame, public perception, and self-reinvention.

This was a perfect summer read. Silly, frothy, and fun. At times I thought it started leaning into seriousness that it didn't entirely have the bandwidth to handle, but by and large it was quick and engaging with a fun main character, a wild premise, and really exciting follow through.

Memoir of an Innocent Brat was a fun read, and the pop culture woven into the murder mystery made for a refreshing and unexpected twist.

Memoir of an Innocent Brat delivers a distinctive, confident narrative voice with moments of humor and vulnerability that stand out. Aaron Wang captures the nuances of youth and self-discovery effectively, and several quieter scenes resonate well. At times, the pacing felt uneven, with certain sections moving briskly while others lingered on less essential details. Overall, an engaging concept with strong individual moments, though it didn’t consistently maintain my full attention from beginning to end.

This book was a blast! The characters, especially Pete and Frankie, are amazing. They're funny, complex, and genuinely vulnerable. The story never slows down and is so engaging that I couldn't put it down. Aaron Wang is a fantastic storyteller, and I'm really hoping to see these characters again soon.

My Rating: 4 Stars
Pete listens to BRAT and it changes his life. Suddenly he's throwing coffees as patrons, going viral, getting cancelled and then ends up in lockup on the suspicion of murder.

This book is really fast paced and had me reeling sometimes. As Pete says – "The thing about the gays is they work fast—no time to waste." But I really enjoyed this no-nonsense murder mystery to bits! I would recommend this for a short plane ride.

4.5 stars

Interesting and gripping. Memoir of an Innocent Brat is the first book I have read from Aaron Wang and it won't be the last. The prose is well done and helps build the intrigue of the overarching murder mystery plot. The character development is strong, and each character is unique. The story itself has the vibe of a dark comedy. There are moments that feel a little ridiculous and over-the-top (complimentary) alongside the seriousness of murder and other bits of real-world commentary in the story. Wang also includes great commentary on race and body image in the gay community, as well as on the workings of social media and some of the toxicity that comes with that. The characters are unique and flawed, so they're very recognizably human and somewhat relatable. Pete isn't exactly likable, but he's very real, and I kind of loved that. Overall, I found this to be a super interesting read that really held my attention. I powered through this over the span of 24 hours after all. This is definitely worth checking out.