The Stand-In by Lily Chu

The Stand-In is a romance novel about a young woman of Chinese descent named Gracie who is working in a terrible job with a predatory boss to up with her mother’s medical bills. After a mix-up at her local coffee shop, Gracie is picked up on the street by a mysterious black SUV, and swept into the world of famous Chinese actors Sam Yao and Wei Fangli. Gracie and Wei Fangli look remarkably alike, and Fangli has a proposal: she will pay Gracie an absurd amount of money to pretend to be her at public events for the next two months, so Fangli can have some down time and focus on her work. Gracie has been trying to get her mother into a better long-term care facility, and the money is too good to pass up, so Gracie is swept into Sam and Fangli’s luxe world of designer clothes and on-call service and the ever-present media. However, Gracie quickly finds herself falling for internationally ranked hottie Sam Yao, even if he is far out of her league and will be gone from her life in two months’ time.

The thing that stood out to me the most about The Stand-In was the characters’ incredible depth, especially for a light-hearted romance. Gracie initially reflects her mother’s wish to blend in with the crowd, and do just enough to get by, but before long demonstrates her own deep desire to do something meaningful and impactful. She often claims that she is a people-pleaser, but her actions demonstrate that she cares deeply about others, not just for the sake of people-pleasing, but as a genuine desire to help people that need it. Fangli shows an outward appearance of being kind but cool and untouchable, but as Gracie gets to know Fangli, she can see the woman’s vulnerability and longing for a little more power in her life. I loved the way Gracie and Fangli are juxtaposed with each other. Where Fangli has years of practice in public appearances, Gracie is unfamiliar with the media and a little clumsy. Where Gracie is highly skilled at providing for herself and her mother, Fangli is accustomed to following the instructions of the people hired to make decisions for her.

I really appreciated how The Stand-In closely examines mental health in many facets, and emphasizes the importance of getting medical help, rather than trying to ignore or dismiss them. From the very beginning, Gracie is clear that she has been working through depression and anxiety, especially after her mother is hospitalized for dementia. Despite the help that she has received and the medication that she takes, though, she still is shown to struggle with anxiety, and what looks to me like undiagnosed ADHD (she has trouble staying on task, and has tried a number of organization apps and systems, none of which have entirely worked for her, in addition to her toggle between distraction and hyperfocus). Fangli deepens the conversation. Fangli struggles with persistent depressive episodes that have never been treated, due to social stigma. Gracie recognizes Fangli’s struggles, and right away makes it a priority not just to relieve Fangli of some of her duties, but also to push her towards actual medical treatment for a long-term solution. I think it’s so important to show examples like this in media, because social stigma can be such a restricting force for many people.

In all, I’ll give The Stand-In a 9 out of 10. This is a sweet romance with believable characters, but it also dives a lot deeper into social issues, and addresses them with surprising levity. I think most readers will get something out of this one.