By Frankie Martinez
Abigail Hing Wen’s new young adult novel, Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies, is a slick, metropolitan coming-of-age story with a twist of exciting romance and intrigue. The novel’s protagonist, Tan Lee, is just starting his junior year of high school, unsure of a possible future in the family business of cybersecurity, and just happens to be pining for his charming, quick-witted best friend, Winter Woo, whose family is renting a room at his house. And to add to his problems, his parents decide to take Winter’s mother on a Hawaiian vacation, leaving Winter and him to look after his five-year-old sister, Sana. But then, Tan’s wealthy, glamorous ex-girlfriend, Rebecca, suddenly comes back to town having run away from home with strange coins embedded with cryptocurrency. When she unwittingly brings an international heist to Tan’s doorstep, a thrilling adventure through the Bay Area ensues, in which Tan must put everything on the line to unlock Rebecca’s coins and protect his loved ones.
Many of Wen’s readers will recognize that Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies has some similar elements to the first installment of her Loveboat series, Loveboat, Taipei. Having read both books myself now, it was delightful to note some of Wen’s more signature elements being featured in her first novel outside of the Loveboat universe, including the titular love triangle, a main character with doubts about the future, and a bit of extra, East Asian glamor. However, where Loveboat, Taipei feels like a bold and bubbly whirlwind of romance and spontaneity, Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies is centered around grand schemes and family drama, giving it a slightly more grounded vibe.
That said, one of my favorite parts of the novel is the depth of the character dynamics. Tan is easy enough to understand as a young man who isn’t too sure of his place in the world, but I thought it was fun to see how the novel’s seemingly opposite leading ladies brought out different sides of him. Winter, a down-to-earth aspiring actress who is still mourning her late father, is able to call Tan out when he isn’t thinking straight, especially when they’re on the brink of a romantic relationship in the beginning of the novel. Tan, in turn, is made more conscious and empathetic of others as Winter pushes him to consider the world around him. Rebecca, a headstrong, sometimes self-absorbed, very lonely heir to a Chinese empire, comes from a world where results are everything, and her previous break-up with Tan fills him with the desire to prove his worth, not only to others, but as the novel goes on, to himself.
While these are some of the more prominent character dynamics within the novel, I also really enjoyed Tan’s relationship with Sana. While I was fearful for the kids throughout the novel, I was especially worried that something would happen to the sassy, whip-smart Sana, but it was reassuring and heartwarming to see how Tan cares for her physical and mental well-being while they go on the run. Additionally, Tan, Sana, Winter, and Rebecca’s time at The Cove, a shelter located at the church of St. Mary Magdalene, and those residing there, including the perceptive Sister Ava and the street smart orphan Lucia, added even more dimension, especially to Rebecca, who seems to blossom without her parents’ influence.
I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention Wen’s choice of setting in Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies. She portrays her hometown of San Francisco with vibrant prose, highlighting real-life locations seamlessly into the story. I loved the descriptions of the maze that is UC Berkeley and the picturesque Palace of Fine Arts, along with the through-line of a certain Barnes and Noble throughout the novel, being both the location Sana wants to visit for a cookie at the beginning, as well as the location of the culminating action in the final few chapters.
A new adventure filled with complex character dynamics, vibrant scene-setting, and exciting action sequences, Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies is an electrifying ride of a novel.
Frankie Martinez is a writer, reader, and editor from Southern California. Her prose has appeared in 3 Moon Magazine, Poetically Magazine, and The Winnow. She is currently a fiction editor at Miniskirt Magazine and has a slice of life column at The Daily Drunk Mag. Find out more at frankiemilktea.carrd.co.