At the beginning of The Stand-In (2022) by Lily Chu, Gracie Reed’s life is a mess. She’s in desperate need of a new job so she can get her mother into a better nursing home. On top of that, she’s being followed by paparazzi who have mistaken her for Chinese movie star Wei Fangli, who’s currently in Canada to perform in a play. Things get weirder when Fangli herself approaches Gracie with an offer: she needs a break from the public eye, and wants to hire Gracie to impersonate her at events.
The money is enough to make Gracie accept, but there’s just one problem—posing as Fangli means spending a lot of time with Fangli’s handsome co-star, Sam Yao. While Sam is in on the deception, he thinks it’s a terrible idea, and clashes with Gracie immediately. But as they get to know each other better, sparks begin to fly.
In addition to the central romance, this book does a fantastic job portraying strong platonic friendships (between Sam and Fangli, and Fangli and Gracie). Though the overall tone is light and heartwarming, it also explores heavy topics like mental health, sexual harassment, and racism.