Beijing's Golden Child

Alice Sun, a scholarship student at the elite Airington International Boarding School in Beijing, is caught between two worlds: her working-class family's sacrifices and the dazzling privilege of her classmates. Her parents, struggling to pay her tuition, pressure her to consider leaving Airington. Alice's identity is shaped by her relentless drive to succeed, her outsider status, and the weight of her family's hopes. The school is a microcosm of global wealth and ambition, where reputation is everything and Alice's only currency is her academic excellence. But beneath her achievements, Alice feels invisible—overlooked by her peers, teachers, and even her own family, except when she's winning.

Rivalry and Resentment

Alice's academic life is defined by her rivalry with Henry Li, the school's golden boy: wealthy, brilliant, and seemingly untouchable. Their competition is fierce, stretching back years, and Alice's resentment is fueled by the sense that Henry's effortless success is a mirror of everything she lacks. The annual awards ceremony, where they tie for top honors, is both a triumph and a bitter reminder of her precarious place at Airington. Alice's drive to outdo Henry is as much about survival as pride—her achievements are her only ticket to staying in this world.

The Price of Prestige

Alice's family's financial struggles come to a head when her parents reveal they can no longer afford Airington's rising tuition, even with her partial scholarship. The threat of losing her place at the school—and her future—becomes real. Alice is forced to confront the reality that her family's sacrifices may have been in vain, and that her hard-won reputation could vanish overnight. The pressure to find a solution grows, and Alice's sense of desperation deepens.

Vanishing Act

In the midst of her anxiety, Alice experiences a supernatural event: she turns invisible. At first, it's terrifying and disorienting—she can't be seen, heard, or touched by anyone. The episodes are unpredictable, triggered by stress and a sense of powerlessness. Alice's invisibility is both a curse and a strange new power, amplifying her feelings of isolation but also offering a way to see the world—and her classmates' secrets—without being seen herself.

Unlikely Alliances

Desperate for answers, Alice turns to her rival, Henry, for help. Their partnership is uneasy, built on mutual need and grudging respect. Henry is intrigued by Alice's condition and, recognizing its potential, helps her devise a plan to monetize her invisibility. Together, they create an anonymous app—Beijing Ghost—where Alice offers her services to carry out secret tasks for her classmates, from spying to uncovering scandals. Their alliance blurs the lines between competition and connection, and Alice begins to see Henry in a new light.

Ghost for Hire

Beijing Ghost quickly becomes a sensation at Airington, as students clamor to pay for Alice's invisible services. She uncovers cheating, infidelity, and hidden pain among the school's elite. The money she earns brings her closer to her goal of staying at Airington, but each task raises new ethical questions. Alice is forced to confront the consequences of her actions, the temptation of power, and the ways in which privilege shields her classmates from accountability.

Secrets and Scandals

As Alice delves deeper into her classmates' lives, she uncovers a web of secrets: cheating scandals, blackmail, and the dark side of privilege. She helps Rainie, a popular influencer, avoid a nude photo leak, and exposes a cheating father, shattering her roommate Chanel's family. Each revelation brings Alice both money and guilt, as she realizes the cost of wielding her power—and the loneliness it brings.

Power, Privilege, and Pain

Alice's work as Beijing Ghost exposes the vast gulf between her life and those of her classmates. She sees how wealth insulates them from consequences, while she bears the brunt of every risk. The pressure mounts as she juggles schoolwork, family expectations, and the demands of her clients. Her health and grades begin to suffer, and she is forced to question whether the power she's gained is worth the pain it causes.

The Cost of Ambition

When a desperate classmate offers Alice a fortune to help kidnap a rival for a corporate promotion, Alice faces her greatest moral test. The promise of enough money to secure her future is almost irresistible, but the task is dangerous and crosses a line she never imagined. Alice's ambition and desperation collide, and she is forced to reckon with the person she is becoming.

Crossing the Line

Alice goes through with the kidnapping, but guilt overwhelms her. She ultimately helps the victim escape, exposing herself to suspicion and risking everything she's worked for. The fallout is immediate: the school is thrown into chaos, Alice is separated from her classmates, and her family is devastated. The consequences of her choices threaten to destroy her future and her sense of self.

Guilt and Consequence

Alice is forced to confront her parents, who are heartbroken and furious. She is suspended from school, her reputation in ruins, and her family's sacrifices seemingly wasted. The weight of guilt and shame is crushing, and Alice must find a way to forgive herself and seek forgiveness from those she's hurt. Her relationship with Henry deepens, as he stands by her and helps her fight for justice.

Family, Failure, Forgiveness

Back home, Alice reconnects with her family and her roots. She learns to accept their love and support, even in the face of failure. With Henry and her friends' help, she confronts the school board, exposes the truth about Beijing Ghost, and demands fair treatment. Alice's journey becomes one of self-acceptance, as she learns that her worth is not defined by her achievements or the approval of others.

The Reckoning

Alice, Henry, and Chanel confront the school's leadership, using the secrets and influence they've gained to demand justice. They force the school to acknowledge its role in perpetuating inequality and to offer real opportunities to students from all backgrounds. Alice's courage inspires others to speak out, and she reclaims her voice and her future.

Standing Up, Speaking Out

With the truth revealed, Alice is allowed to finish the semester at Airington, but must leave afterward. She uses her experience to launch a new, legitimate app that connects privileged students with those in need, offering tutoring and scholarships. Alice finds purpose in helping others, using her story to advocate for change and equity.

New Beginnings, New Light

As Alice prepares to leave Airington, she finds peace in her choices and hope for the future. Her relationship with Henry blossoms into love, and she learns to value herself beyond her achievements. Alice's journey ends not with triumph or defeat, but with the quiet strength of someone who has seen herself—truly seen—and chosen to step into the light.

Characters

Alice Sun

Alice is a fiercely intelligent, driven scholarship student at Airington, caught between her working-class family's sacrifices and the privilege of her classmates. Her identity is shaped by her outsider status, her relentless ambition, and her deep-seated fear of failure. Alice's psychological journey is one of self-worth: she believes she must earn her place through achievement, yet feels unseen and undervalued. Her rivalry with Henry Li is both a source of motivation and pain, and her supernatural invisibility becomes a metaphor for her social and emotional isolation. Over the course of the novel, Alice learns to accept her flaws, forgive herself, and claim her own agency, finding strength in vulnerability and connection.

Henry Li

Henry is the son of a tech billionaire, Airington's golden boy, and Alice's academic nemesis. Outwardly perfect, Henry is disciplined, charming, and seemingly untouchable, but beneath the surface he is lonely, pressured by family expectations, and drawn to Alice's authenticity. His relationship with Alice evolves from rivalry to partnership to romance, as he helps her navigate her invisibility and the moral dilemmas of Beijing Ghost. Henry's psychological complexity lies in his struggle to reconcile privilege with empathy, and his desire to be seen for who he truly is, not just what he represents.

Chanel Cao

Chanel is Alice's wealthy, glamorous roommate, initially distant but ultimately loyal. Her family's own secrets and pain—her father's infidelity, her mother's public persona—mirror the hidden struggles of Airington's elite. Chanel's friendship with Alice is a source of comfort and growth for both, as they learn to trust and support each other across class divides.

Rainie Lam

Rainie is a popular, charismatic student with a massive social media following and a famous mother. Outwardly confident, she is privately vulnerable, struggling with the pressures of image, relationships, and scandal. Rainie's interactions with Alice reveal the loneliness and insecurity that can hide behind privilege and perfection.

Peter Oh

Peter is a talented, gentle student caught in the crossfire of corporate rivalry and class politics. His kidnapping is the novel's moral turning point, forcing Alice to confront the consequences of her actions. Peter's innocence and decency highlight the human cost of ambition and the dangers of treating people as means to an end.

Andrew She

Andrew is the anxious, overlooked son of a corporate executive, whose desperation to please his family leads him to orchestrate Peter's kidnapping. His actions expose the toxic pressures of wealth and the ways in which privilege can breed both entitlement and fear.

Mr. Murphy

Mr. Murphy is Airington's history teacher, representing the school's values and its blind spots. He is supportive of Alice but ultimately constrained by the institution's priorities. His interactions with Alice reveal the limits of adult understanding and the need for systemic change.

Alice's Parents

Alice's mother and father are immigrants who have given up everything for her education. Their love is fierce but sometimes suffocating, and their pride in Alice is matched by their fear of failure. Their relationship with Alice is a source of both strength and pain, as they struggle to communicate across generational and cultural divides.

Xiaoyi (Aunt)

Xiaoyi is Alice's aunt, a source of comfort, humor, and perspective. She helps Alice navigate her invisibility—both literal and metaphorical—and offers wisdom rooted in Chinese culture and lived experience. Xiaoyi's presence reminds Alice of her roots and the importance of self-acceptance.

Madam Yao

Madam Yao is the formidable representative of Airington's leadership, embodying the institution's priorities and resistance to change. Her interactions with Alice, Henry, and Chanel become a battleground for justice, reputation, and the possibility of reform.

Plot Devices

Invisibility as Metaphor

The central supernatural device—Alice's unpredictable ability to turn invisible—serves as both a plot engine and a powerful metaphor. It externalizes her feelings of being unseen, marginalized, and powerless, while also granting her access to the hidden truths of her world. The device is used to explore themes of class, privilege, and the desire to be seen and valued for who one is, not just what one achieves.

Academic Rivalry and Class Tension

The rivalry between Alice and Henry, and the broader competition at Airington, drives the plot and exposes the psychological costs of ambition. The school's meritocracy is revealed to be an illusion, masking deep inequalities and the ways in which privilege shapes opportunity and outcome. The tension between survival and integrity is a constant source of conflict.

The Beijing Ghost App

The creation of the Beijing Ghost app is a classic "deal with the devil" plot device: it offers Alice a way to solve her problems, but at a moral cost. The app's anonymity allows for the exposure of secrets and the redistribution of power, but also raises questions about consent, privacy, and the consequences of wielding power without accountability. The app's evolution—from criminal enterprise to tool for social good—mirrors Alice's own journey.

Foreshadowing and Narrative Structure

The novel uses foreshadowing—Alice's anxiety, her family's financial precarity, the hints of scandal and unrest at Airington—to build tension and prepare the reader for the coming crisis. The narrative is structured around cycles of visibility and invisibility, success and failure, isolation and connection, culminating in Alice's transformation and the possibility of new beginnings.

Analysis

If You Could See the Sun is a contemporary YA novel that uses the lens of magical realism to interrogate the realities of privilege, ambition, and invisibility in a hyper-competitive, globalized world. Ann Liang's debut is both a love letter and a critique of elite education, immigrant aspiration, and the myth of meritocracy. Through Alice's journey—from invisible outsider to agent of change—the novel asks what it means to be truly seen, and what we owe to ourselves and each other in a world that values achievement over humanity. The story's greatest strength lies in its nuanced portrayal of class divides, the psychological toll of competition, and the messy, redemptive power of friendship and love. Ultimately, the novel suggests that real power comes not from being seen by others, but from seeing—and accepting—oneself.

Last updated: May 1, 2025