Go
by Kazuki Kaneshiro
A love story, a rebellion, and a quiet gut-punch.
What It’s About
Sugihara is a teenage boy navigating the highs of first love and the lows of deeply rooted prejudice. On the surface, he’s your typical Japanese high schooler but legally, he’s Korean. Born into the Zainichi Korean community, Sugihara straddles two worlds that both reject him.
After switching from a Korean ethnic school to a Japanese one, he begins dating Sakurai, a girl who doesn’t know his background. As their relationship deepens, so does the weight of what he’s not saying. At the same time, Sugihara deals with school fights, family history, buried grief, and a growing awareness of how identity is constructed and weaponized.
The novel is based loosely on Kaneshiro’s own life and reads with the speed of a YA love story, but the impact runs much deeper.
My Take
Sharp. Fast. Furious in places , but also tender.
Go works on two levels. On one, it’s a high school romance with all the mess, drama, and heart that entails. But beneath that is a raw, clear-eyed confrontation with identity, racism, and invisibility.
What I appreciated most is that it doesn’t try to explain itself to outsiders. It doesn't translate pain for comfort. It just tells the story, and in doing so, it shows the emotional toll of living between systems that don’t fully see you.
There’s humor here, and honesty, and a kind of swagger that makes the book feel alive even when the subject matter is heavy.
Would I Recommend It?
Yes, especially for readers interested in diaspora stories, identity politics, or fast-paced literary fiction that punches above its weight.
This is the kind of book that could change how someone understands Korean-Japanese relations in a single afternoon.
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Read it if you liked:
Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong (for racial identity and in-betweenness)
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (for Zainichi history)
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki by Haruki Murakami (for alienation and growing up in Japan)
Smart, voice-driven YA-adjacent fiction with emotional weight
Where to Read It:
Buy on Amazon , currently available through Kindle Unlimited
First time on Bookshop.org? Click for discount code
Also available via WorldCat if you want to check your local library
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My Asian Era is where literature meets culture, thoughtful reviews, quiet voices, and stories worth slowing down for.
