The Vacation Shift coming June 23rd, 2026 from Quill Tree Books; 352 pages
Content Warning: Death of a parent, racism, mental health issues
About the Author: “Lily Chu loves ordering the second-cheapest wine, wearing perfume all the time, and staying up far too late with a good book. The Stand-In, The Comeback, and The Takedown are released in audio as Audible Originals, and are performed by Phillipa Soo. Lily’s critically acclaimed books have spent multiple weeks at number one in Audible Top Plus Listens in the All and the Romance categories, and have been named in Audible’s Best of the year lists. In print, The Stand-In was named Target’s Book Club Pick for May as well as an Amazon Book of the Month and Apple Best Books of May. Translation rights have been sold for seven languages” (Bio from author’s Goodreads profile).
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A trip to Japan should be fun, right? Well, Ivy Yu has some mixed feelings. Since her parents’ separation, Ivy has felt a weight on her chest. All she wanted was to spend the summer at camp trying to win over her crush, Connor—not waste time on a bus tour with strangers far away from home. When Ivy and her mom arrive in Japan, Ivy realizes that the added weight she feels isn’t going anywhere, because her mom starts hitting it off with another single dad on the trip, Keith. Ivy wants her parents to get back together, and Keith’s presence will ruin Ivy’s dreams. Keith’s son, Matteo, also isn’t thrilled by this budding relationship, so he and Ivy form a plan to keep their parents apart. In an attempt to keep them separated, Ivy and Matteo grow closer, and Ivy starts to wonder if her romance will survive past the trip.
This book is Chu’s debut young adult (YA) novel, and she did such an incredible job. I thoroughly adored this story and Japan as the setting was honestly magical. At the beginning of some chapters, there were introductions into what the excursions would be for the day, and I felt like I was on the journey with the characters. Ivy was an incredible character; her battle with depression was a proper depiction of mental health struggles, and the guilt that she felt because she thought she should be happier was realistic. By the end of the story, Ivy isn’t fully healed, but is growing stronger every day as she manages her depression, and I think this is a great message to give to teens who may be struggling themselves. I also liked how her relationship with Matteo didn’t solve all of her problems but, at the same time, helped her grow into a more confident person. Matteo provided a great outlet for Ivy, and I was glad she had someone to talk to because her relationship with her mom was tense. Both Matteo and Ivy pushed each other into thinking about what they really wanted, and I was glad to see that Matteo kept working on his graphic novel and Ivy picked back up her crochet amigurumi hobby. Ivy even inspired me to crochet again, which made this a truly immersive read. I hope that Chu writes more novels in this genre, because The Vacation Shift is one of the best YA books I’ve ever read!
The Vacation Shift releases on June 23rd, 2026.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank SparkPoint Studio and Quill Tree Books for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Emersen Cooper, Pine Reads Review Co-Assistant Director, Lead Editor, and Website Manager
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