All I Ever Wanted, Jane Lo

Norah, a vivacious ESL teacher in Hong Kong, deftly straddles two worlds: she is Chinese, but sees life through a western lens because of her upbringing. These two worlds collide when she meets sweet, chivalrous Ben and marries him against her parents’ wishes. Suddenly a wife and daughter-in-law in a traditional Chinese household, Norah is torn between speaking Chinese and English, between being Ben’s wife and her own person, and between giving in to her mother-in-law’s senseless demands and standing up for herself and the way she wants to raise their baby, Joey. Ben, meanwhile, finds himself running in circles in an attempt to keep the peace, but to no avail: Despite his best efforts, his mother continues to be critical and disapproving, and his wife quietly discontented. But when Ben’s mother unwittingly puts baby Joey’s life in danger, Norah and Ben realize they cannot go on like this. How much are they willing to give up for their happily ever after—or is a happy ending firmly out of reach for a couple like them?