If You Could See the Sun features Alice Sun, the only student at her prestigious school on scholarship while the others are the heirs of wealthy businesses or the children of famous models. Alice has only one plan: graduate and get rich enough to support herself and her parents, a task that can only be done through her elite school. However, a problem occurs when her parents reveal to her that they can no longer afford her tuition and that Alice must choose a different school that is public. Alice has always felt invisible, but the feeling later becomes more real when she discovers that she has the uncontrollable power to turn invisible at certain times. After questioning this phenomenon, Alice calls on help from her academic rival and turns her ability in a way to gain money to pay for her school; an app that allows students at their school to spy on others and answer their own questions. As Alice helps students discover cheating parents, delete explicit photos, and cheat on exams, she later begins to participate in activities that are known as illegal, such as an attempt at kidnapping. But Alice needs money to pay for her school, and she can’t stop the feelings that begin to form after working with her partner. Will Alice turn to the dark side in hopes of paying for her school? Or will she stick close to her morals and lose her only way to get rich later in life by leaving her elite school?
This book was insane, and I loved every minute of it. The setting was amazing, and the characters all felt real and had their own problems like real characters should. I loved the dynamic between Alice and her academic rival, Henry Li, as they slowly begin to develop feelings for each other. The plot moved at a perfect pace and the financial issues that Alice had were effectively solved without there being too much of a rush. I also liked Alice’s development in realizing that “rich kids” also had their own problems too, such as neglectful parents. This book was a great read, and I am very glad the cover caught my attention. Another thing, the cover is just BEAUTIFUL. I am a little ashamed to say this but, yes, I do judge books by their cover and I’m glad I judged right with this one. I am excited to read more books by Ann Liang and am glad that this was one of the first ones that I got to read by her. Can’t wait to read more!