This Is My Brain in Love

By: I. W. Gregorio

Narrated by: Diane Doen, Zeno Robinson

Told in dual narrative, This Is My Brain in Love is a stunning YA contemporary romance, exploring mental health, race, and, ultimately self-acceptance, for fans of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter and Emergency Contact.

Jocelyn Wu has just three wishes for her junior year: To make it through without dying of boredom, to direct a short film with her BFF Priya Venkatram, and to get at least two months into the year without being compared to or confused with Peggy Chang, the only other Chinese girl in her grade.

Will Domenici has two goals: to find a paying summer internship, and to prove he has what it takes to become an editor on his school paper.

Then Jocelyn's father tells her their family restaurant may be going under, and all wishes are off. Because her dad has the marketing skills of a dumpling, it's up to Jocelyn and her unlikely new employee, Will, to bring A-Plus Chinese Garden into the 21st century (or, at least, to Facebook).

What starts off as a rocky partnership soon grows into something more. But family prejudices and the uncertain future of A-Plus threaten to keep Will and Jocelyn apart. It will take everything they have and more, to save the family restaurant and their budding romance.

Critic reviews

"Anxiety and depression can turn your brain into a fake news factory. With THIS IS MY BRAIN IN LOVE, I.W. Gregorio delivers a warm, honest, and timely story about friendship, family, love and asking for help when you need it. The chemistry between Jocelyn and Will is so crackling and irresistible, you'll fall in love, too."—Mary McCoy, author of Printz Honor Book I, Claudia

"If there's only one book you read this year, please let it be This is Your Brain in Love! Everyone needs to read this beautiful and important book not only because it manages to be both laugh-out-loud funny and grab-a-tissue moving, but it's a novel that can open eyes, change minds, and hopefully change lives. Gregorio's writing made my heart hurt even as I was falling in love with Jocelyn and Will, two characters as complex and real as you'll ever meet on a page."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Ellen Oh, author of A Thousand Beginnings and Endings

"Sweet, funny and full of feeling, This is My Brain in Love is a heartfelt and earnest look at mental health in the Asian American community. Gregorio captures so many truths about living with anxiety and depression in a story full of humor, wisdom and generosity. This is a book I needed as a teenager."—Kelly Loy Gilbert, author of Lost Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist Picture Us in the Light

"This is My Brain in Love is a sweet, honest love story about navigating mental illness, cross-cultural relationships, and self-acceptance. Humor and heart, happy and sad combine into a complex, contemporary romance as perfectly-blended as amah's dumplings."
—Mackenzie Lee, NYT bestselling author of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue and Loki: Where Mischief Lies

"Line by zinging line, I.W. Gregorio's second novel delights your brain and steals your heart. A deliciously, delicately wrought tapestry of culture, families and the fragile parts of ourselves that we should all learn to embrace."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Georgia}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Abigail Hing Wen, author of Loveboat, Taipei

"Authentic and fresh, I.W. Gregorio serves up a first-rate romance between two teens whose differences may prove too hot to handle. This is my bookish heart in love."—Stacey Lee, award winning author of Outrun the Moon

"Amazing story of the struggle to balance love and brains, and instead finding joy. Absolute perfection."


—Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling author of Speak and Shout

Absolutely love!

What a wonderful YA novel - a romance, a friend story, a family story, and a deeply important look at depression, anxiety, and self-esteem for teens. I loved the main character’s family, the Mandarin, the narration in general. The author’s note was SO important, especially naming passive suicidality as a risk factor for suicide. Most of all, during these times of overwhelming grief and trauma all around us, I deeply appreciate the assurance going in that this book would have a happy ending...even though the characters say that it’s not yet their happy ending, we know that it is. Mental health treatment has no guarantees. But the honesty, courage, loyalty, and growth we see are the ingredients for a good outcome. I want to share this with all parents of teens!

A Wonderland of Mental Health

Mental health is such a tricky topic. So common yet also a taboo. This book dives in to not only mental health issues but also teenage anx that comes from all the pressure, new hormones and changes going on in the life of a teen. During the time I was listening to this story, I was asked what it's about. At first glance, it's a teenage love story. But then you see all of the mental health issues and can't help but say "most of the characters are a hot mess." I work at a school with a mental health unit and I also experience depression and PTSD. The underlying storyline of this book is more a norm than what we want to except. Everyone has felt something or know someone that had experiences explored within this book.

This truly is a most read.

OK

I was expecting this to a be hard hitting young adult contemporary. It was some in some ways and not in others. This does have triggers for forbidden love, mental health including stigmas around mental health, and racism. The first half of this story was pretty cute. Jocelyn is really trying to save her family restaurant and brings in Will to help. We get a lot around the restaurant the first half of the story. Honestly, not much really happened and I found myself skimming towards the end. We do not really hit anything around mental health until 2/3 into the story. I did not really like this. There was nothing leading up to introducing mental health into the story, and all of a sudden most of the characters were dealing with it. I wish we could see more into the struggles with Will and Jocelyn. It covers anxiety and depression, but you never really see them dealing with any of this until towards the very end of the story. Overall, this one was only ok for me.