Parachutes

A story about two young women finding the courage to speak up

Claire Wang is a “parachute “—a teen sent by her wealthy Asian parents to attend a prestigious prep school in California while living with a host family. Claire’s host family are a hard-working single mother and her daughter, Dani, who is a scholarship student at the school Claire attends. These two young women could hardly be more different. Claire is privileged, extremely fashion-conscious, and spends her time outside of school shopping and partying with her parachute friends. Dani is laser-focused on excelling in school so she can go to an Ivy League university and eventually ease her mom’s financial burden. She spends her time outside of school cleaning houses. Dani and Claire avoid each other but as the story unfolds, they become connected in ways neither young woman could have imagined. The story is told by both characters in alternating chapters, so the reader comes to understand two points of view. Kelly Yang has taken the difficult, uncomfortable subjects of rape, sexual harassment, racism and inequality and crafted a riveting novel that will have you turning pages to the very end.