The Popstar & Me

A summer in Shanghai. A fallen popstar. A secret that threatens to destroy them both.
Seventeen-year-old Sara Wang thinks she has her summer perfectly planned: shadow an Eastern Medicine doctor in Shanghai, pad her Harvard application, and maybe get closer to the cute swimmer she had been crushing on. But the moment she steps off the plane, nothing goes according to plan.
Instead, Sara stumbles into the secret world of Fang Yao, China’s most beloved pop idol, now missing from the spotlight after a strange accident he’s desperate to keep hidden. Under a fake name and behind oversized sunglasses, Fang is a shell of the superstar plastered across billboards… and he needs her help.
When Sara is pulled into his orbit as the only assistant “acupuncturist” he trusts, she discovers the truth: Fang can’t sing anymore. His career is crumbling. His girlfriend betrayed him. Most important of all — someone may have sabotaged him on purpose.
As Sara navigates hospital corridors, luxury boutiques, high-society galas, jealous ex-girlfriends, and fangirls who might actually kill her, she forms an unexpected bond with the boy beneath the fame. But the deeper she gets, the more dangerous the secrets become.
And when the wrong person realizes Sara knows too much, the summer spirals into a race to protect Fang—and herself.
Funny, heartfelt, and brimming with culture, chaos, and bubble tea, Popstar & Me is an Own Voices coming-of-age romance about identity, belonging, first crushes, and the power of discovering who you are far from home.
Perfect for fans of YA contemporary romance, celebrity-and-normal-girl love stories, and novels set abroad with rich cultural detail.