November 18, 2025 at 5:30 PM

Shadows give rise to beauty, breathing life into unknown directions.

The Way of Mena is a captivating novel that takes readers on an emotional journey with Mena Sato, a Chinese-Japanese-American woman living in the heart of New York City. She embodies all the introspection of Confucius, the ancient philosopher, but little of his wisdom. When a bomb scare rocks the city, Mena's world is turned upside down as she confronts the harsh reality of the ongoing war in China.

Matters are further complicated when her family's Asian restaurant is broken into, leaving Mena to blame the war for dividing her family and increasing crimes against Asian Americans. As she struggles with the weight of her own inner turmoil, Mena is faced with a moral dilemma when her boss unexpectedly asks her to develop weapons software. With her family's well-being and her own conscience at stake, Mena must decide where she stands in the war.

This thought-provoking novel offers a compelling exploration of identity, belonging, and the consequences of war and discrimination in contemporary America.

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