Cynthia So

From the author of If You Still Recognise Me comes a delicious story of two people brought together by a shared love of food as they figure out themselves and each other. Auden is finding different ways to be themself. The first - using their new chosen name, which feels most authentically them. The second - starting a food blog where they can share their passion for food, through family recipes and the stories behind them. And when the blog brings them Valerie, they discover more than they'd ever expected. It's been over a year since Valerie lost her mum - her beautiful, vibrant mum who loved cooking. Since her mum's death, Valerie and her dad have drifted further and further apart, the kitchen left cold and empty, until Valerie finds Auden's blog. The blog (and its writer) spark something in Valerie. Could she have found a recipe for happiness? Praise for THIS FEAST OF A LIFE: "This Feast of a Life has everything - tender romance, delicious food, complicated but healing familial relationships, and the complex, truthful process of exploring one's identity... I have so much love for this book." Nadia Mikail, author of The Cats We Meet Along the Way "I devoured this delicious banquet of a novel. This is the non-binary coming of age story I needed as a teenager." Lauren James, author of Last Seen Online "A celebration of queer joy, friendship and culture ... A richly woven story that will leave both your heart and your palate craving for more." Anika Hussain, author of This is How You Fall in Love "This Feast of a Life is a heartfelt love letter to food, queerness and Asian identity. To put it simply, I ate it up." Ann Zhao, author of Dear Wendy "Nuanced, compassionate explorations of non-binary identity, life after bereavement and the complexities of love and attraction, all garnished with food descriptions to make your mouth water. Cynthia So is an essential voice in queer British writing." Sophie Cameron, author of Away with Words "Beautifully depicts the uncertainty and splendour of exploring identity, grief, and all the delicious joy life has to offer." Racquel Marie, author of Ophelia After All "A gorgeous, effortlessly queer story of grief, love, and a whole lot of food. This Feast of a Life was truly a delight." Anna Zoe Quirke, author of Something to be Proud Of "This is the kind of queer coming of age romance that teens deserve, in all its messy complexity, from the raw edges of grief to the giddy flushes of first kisses." Rowan Ellis, author of Here and Queer "If Cynthia So writes it, I will read it. This Feast of a Life is an intricate, intimate, and beautifully written story of queer love and self-discovery; I ate it up in a single sitting." Sarah Underwood, author of Lies We Sing to the Sea "Cynthia So's books are heart-healers, stories which grip and enthral but which also wrap the reader in warmth, acceptance and love. A feast, a celebration of life, and a book which leaves you filled with joy and celebration. It's perfect." SinéadO'Hart, author of The Time Tider

If you loved Heartstopper and need more feel-good LGBTQ+ romance - If You Still Recognise Me is the one for you! Elsie has a crush on Ada, the only person in the world who truly understands her. Unfortunately, they've never met in real life and Ada lives an ocean away. But Elsie has decided it's now or never to tell Ada how she feels. That is, until her long-lost best friend Joan walks back into her life. In a summer of repairing broken connections and building surprising new ones, Elsie realises that she isn't nearly as alone as she thought. But now she has a choice to make. A lyrical contemporary story about falling in love and finding yourself in the process, for fans of THE BLACK FLAMINGO, THE FALLING IN LOVE MONTAGE and Alice Oseman. "Cynthia So leans into the complex fluidity of relationships over time, across generations and communities, shaded by culture and circumstances. Elsie's story is romantic, warm, wise, and disarmingly sincere." - Becky Albertalli, author of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda "An epic fandom, a scavenger hunt for a lost love and an ode to cultural inheritance - this is a wonderfully heartfelt and joyously queer romance" - Lauren James, author of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe "If You Still Recognise Me?is a poignant, perfectly formed debut about queer love, fandom and family." - Lex Croucher, author of Reputation "A beautiful and intricately layered tale of friendship, fandom and finding yourself - I absolutely adored it." - Sophie Cameron, author of Out of the Blue "Exploring the bonds of friendship, family, fandom, culture and queer community, this is a story about finding who you really are at the heart of all the things you love." - Sera Milano, author of This Can Never Not Be Real "A celebration of fannish glee, queer joy and family in all senses of the word. If You Still Recognise Me asks what it means to find yourself, when we are all more than a single story. I adored it." - Kat Dunn, author of Dangerous Remedy "Beautifully written with moments of sheer lyricism. A must-read for humans of all ages and walks of life. I loved it so much!" - Wibke Brueggemann, author of Love is for Losers "If You Still Recognise Me?by Cynthia So is just so SO perfect. Refreshing, relatable and raw in its honesty, this is the book I wish I'd had as a queer teen discovering my identity." - Sarah Underwood, author of Lies We Sing to the Sea "If You Still Recognise Me is a moving and heart-warming story about queer love, family, culture and fandom and So's has a uniquely poetic style that sees beauty in the everyday and makes the familiar feel fresh and new" - Ciara Smyth, author of Not My Problem "This wonderful book is both a tender coming-of-age romance and?a tapestry of queer identity that spans oceans, generations, and stages of life ... Suffused with queer wistfulness and the ache to be known, So's debut is as intimate and revelatory as the first touch of a first crush's hand." - Riley Redgate, author of Seven Ways We Lie "A lyrical, complex tale of friendship, family, and all the stories we tell ourselves - true and not - about what it means to love" - Kelly Loy Gilbert, author of When We Were Infinite "Cynthia So deftly weaves a story that explores queerness, love, and relationships across distance, both geographical and time. An accomplished debut with shades of Nina LaCour, If You Still Recognise Me is the perfect summer-time read." - Lizzie Huxley-Jones, author and editor "A beautiful story of cultural identity, friendship, and the dizzying and exhilarating experience of young love. IF YOU STILL RECOGNIZE ME is a triumph." - Ashley Herring Blake, author of Girl Made of Stars