This Place Is Still Beautiful

With five starred reviews, this is an acclaimed novel about sisterhood, family, and the pernicious legacy of racism. Perfect for fans of Tahereh Mafi, Jandy Nelson, and Emily X.R. Pan, with crossover appeal for readers of Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half.

The Flanagan sisters are as different as they come. Seventeen-year-old Annalie is bubbly, sweet, and self-conscious, whereas nineteen-year-old Margaret is sharp and assertive. Margaret looks just like their mother, while Annalie passes for white and looks like the father who abandoned them years ago, leaving their Chinese immigrant mama to raise the girls alone in their small, predominantly white Midwestern town.

When their house is vandalized with a shocking racial slur, Margaret rushes home from her summer internship in New York City. She expects outrage. Instead, her sister and mother would rather move on. Especially once Margaret’s own investigation begins to make members of their community uncomfortable.

For Annalie, this was meant to be a summer of new possibilities, and she resents her sister’s sudden presence and insistence on drawing negative attention to their family. Meanwhile Margaret is infuriated with Annalie’s passive acceptance of what happened. For Margaret, the summer couldn’t possibly get worse, until she crosses paths with someone she swore she’d never see again: her first love, Rajiv Agarwal.

As the sisters navigate this unexpected summer, an explosive secret threatens to break apart their relationship, once and for all.

This Place Is Still Beautiful is a luminous, captivating story about identity, sisterhood, and how our hometowns are inextricably a part of who we are, even when we outgrow them.

Two sisters. One summer. A crime that will force them to choose who they are—and what they are to each other.
A Powerful Sister Story: Annalie wants a quiet summer. Margaret wants a revolution. When a crime divides them, they’ll have to confront the painful rift that has been growing for years.Exploring Identity: One sister looks like their Chinese mother. The other passes for white. This summer will force them both to face what their identity truly means in their small Midwestern town.Second Chance Romance: As if fighting her family and town wasn’t enough, Margaret comes face-to-face with Rajiv Agarwal—the one that got away and the last person she expected to see.Themes of Social Justice: This moving story tackles the pernicious legacy of anti-Asian racism, the nuances of activism, and what it means to find your voice.