Ann Liang’s “If You Could See The Sun”takes place in Beijing, mainly focusing on one
character, Alice Su. As a student at Airington Boarding School, one of the most prestigious
schools in the city, she is the only scholarship student among China's most rich and
influential teens. Her struggles throughout her final year of high school impacts the person
she becomes, monetizing her new unexpected invisibility power with the help of alliance with
her academic rival, Henry. The author explores the different challenges individuals
experience depending on their background and privileges, such as relationships, financial
issues and pressure. Unfairness and greed can lead to risky outcomes, but even when there
are challenges, fate can always bring better opportunities.
At the start of the book, Alice has always struggled with financial issues due to her
family’s background. Without enough money to put into Alice’s education, they consider a
public school in Maine or Local school in Beijing. However, both given options are not up to
Alice’s standards, with one having a simple curriculum, and the other with extremely
challenging final exams. Due to this, she finds other ways to earn money, even if it comes
with risks that can completely alter her life in future situations. Her desperation for the
American dream is perceived in an interesting way. The American Dream usually means
making something out of yourself from nothing, for instance, in this case, earning enough
money to get out of poverty, or following a passion and becoming well-known, but this
doesn’t necessarily have to happen in America. The desire Alice has to become successful,
to be something more, to help her family out, still applies to her even after leaving the United
States. While she has this dream to help her family out, reality hits her, knowing that she is
currently in a position where money is tight.
Furthermore, with challenges that come to play, there will always be benefits that come later
whether it is socially or academically. Alice has always been reserved around school about
her family’s financial issues. Whenever she starts to make friends, the connection dies out
due to the lack of communication, and hiding information. Take her roommate Chanel as an
example. “When we first moved into our dorms together at the start of Year Seven, part of
me had hoped we'd grow to become best friends. And for a while it seemed like we would.
But then she started asking me to go out shopping with her and her rich fuerdai friends at
places like Sanlitun Village and Guomao, where the designer bags sold probably cost more
than my parents flat. After I turned her down the third time with some vague excuse, she
simply stopped asking, and we grew apart.” Her insecurity about her family’s income took
over her chance to expand her friendship circle. However, as the book goes on, Alice starts
to open up, she starts to develop more long-lasting friendships, even with her lifelong
academic rival. Her hatred toward Henry started as he was making studying and exams look
so easy while she studied her life away, everyday non-stop. Additionally, after her discovery
of her invisibility powers, she creates an app called “Beijing ghost” which helps students of
their school community with problems they initially do not want to deal with. The app
eventually benefits her social life,
showing her that she is not always the only one
experiencing troubles.
Finally, the school and peer pressure to complete tasks had started to get to her. She was
always known to be the top of the class along with Henry. As time goes on, more and more
requests come from the app in exchange for large amounts of money, and this has made her
overthink and focus on her profits that she forgot her upcoming test in school. The thought of
being able to help out her family with their financial issues had completely taken over her
mind.
In conclusion,