Canwen Xu Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Canwen Xu is a fresh new voice in fiction that readers do not want to miss out on!

At some point during the spring of 2022, the author recounts that she began working on a piece of fiction. It was about a senior at Columbia who is facing down a rejection so debilitating in nature that it ends up forcing her to look at and question some of the most fundamental things that she believes about herself to be true. Some of the story was based on things that had really happened to Canwen, but she also notes that most of it was not.

Canwen says that it was four years later along with twenty-five or more drafts and nearly an entire genre change that her novel was ready to be released. It is published under the title of ‘Boring Asian Female’ and is the author’s grand entry into the literary world! You can be the first to catch this talented author and grow with her as she brings ever new stories to the table. There are so many great writers entering on the scene these days– tag along with Xu and go for a ride.

Xu relays that writing the novel was ‘somehow the hardest and easiest thing’ she had ever done. She is also grateful to many others along the way who made it possible since she says that it would not have been able to have been accomplished without the assistance of an entire village. This means the editors, her agent, her friends and her family members.

Boring Asian Female is a 2026 novel from Canwen Xu. If you are looking for a light book that feels fun but also is full of drama (the best kind because it’s high stakes for the character but it’s low stakes for you), and you like something with a kick of suspense, this is likely the read for you. If you were a fan of movies such as Swimfan, What Lies Beneath, Legally Blonde, Single White Female, and more, you might really enjoy this book.

Main character Elizabeth Zhang is just like every student right before they graduate. They are considering all types of schools and are in a flurry of activity to try and get applications in and get accepted to all of the schools they want to get into with any luck.

She’s reading the letter, and it’s thanking her for having interest in the school. Good so far, until Elizabeth gets to the part where they say that they ‘regret to inform you that’ she has not been accepted. She’s not the type of special student that they require her to be in order to get in. She’s too average and boring. But reading this rejection letter means that she is going to have to end up showing them that she is interesting, and she does deserve to be there after all.

She’s always been aware of the place that she holds in the world. She is very likable, attractive, and smart, but she’s not going to be the most liked, the most achievement oriented, the most beautiful. However, Elizabeth knows that she has the ambition and the intelligence required in order to get her biggest dream: Harvard Law School. She just has to get in, no matter what.

But then things take a turn for the worse when Harvard decides that they don’t want her as a student. They turn her down for not standing out enough. There are so many other Asian females like her that she has failed to stand out, which she takes as meaning that she has been reduced to the stereotype of being just another boring Asian female. It means that all of her hopes and dreams of becoming exceptional and living this life are actually falling apart, after she had put so much effort into constructing it.

What’s even more shocking is that Laura Kim, her classmate at Columbia, was able to get in. She’s been thinking about it all the time but has not been able to understand how this happened. What was it about Laura that made her get accepted? What is so interesting about her that made her someone that they desired and wanted? Is there something about Laura that is more interesting than Elizabeth? She really wants to find out, and then all of a sudden is giving in to her curiosity and her need to know.

In the beginning, she ends up following her because she just wants to get some answers. She wants to know the details of Laura’s life and what makes her exceptional enough to be accepted. What she eats for lunch, where she shops, what hobbies she has, where she goes. In Elizabeth’s line of thinking, these things probably contribute to her package overall and makes her more appealing to Harvard. If she just observes them and knows them, maybe she can understand why she was picked.

Despite all of this, Elizabeth is really only able to see the fact that Laura has taken up a spot at the same school that they both go to. At the end of the day, Laura has in a way taken the spot that was meant for Elizabeth. And she deserves that spot because she has worked so hard, Elizabeth justifies to herself. So if the spot is gone because Laura has occupied it, she’ll just have to go out of her way to take it back.

Is Laura in danger from Elizabeth? Can Elizabeth move on from her fixation with this spot? Subversive and interesting, full of layers, this is a suspenseful story that shows how someone can become a darker version of themselves and go further than they normally would in order to get something that they really want and to live the type of life that they envision themselves living. Grab yourself a copy of Boring Asian Female by Canwen Xu in order to find out what happens and how this fascinating story ends!