You Had Me at Hello World

Rona Wang

ISBN 10: 1534488510 / ISBN 13: 9781534488519

Published by Simon and Schuster, US, 2026

About this Item

Jenny Han meets Silicon Valley in this drama-packed debut young adult novel about a Chinese American teen who navigates a high-stakes coding competition, sabotage, and first love when she's invited to a summer hackathon at MIT.Sixteen-year-old Charise "Char" Tang is desperate to ditch her dead-end small town. So when she's invited to a highly selective hackathon at MIT, she seizes the opportunity to jet across the country, spend the summer building an app, and maybe even snag the top prize-a golden ticket to a new life. When she arrives, she teams up with Khoi Astor, coding wunderkind and creator of last year's biggest mobile game. Khoi, who has soft eyes and a gentle smile. Khoi, who can make anyone laugh. Khoi, who is easy to fall for.and already dating her camp roommate. If only Char could reprogram her heart to forget about him. As the competition heats up, so do things between Char and her teammate. But sabotage lurks around every corner, and she soon discovers that the glitzy tech world has a dark, dangerous underbelly.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781534488519

Bibliographic Details

• Title: You Had Me at Hello World
• Publisher: Simon and Schuster, US
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1534488510
• ISBN 13: 9781534488519
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 390 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Jenny Han meets Silicon Valley in this drama-packed debut young adult novel about a Chinese American teen who navigates a high-stakes coding competition, sabotage, and first love when she’s invited to a summer hackathon at MIT.

Sixteen-year-old Charise “Char” Tang is desperate to ditch her dead-end small town. So when she’s invited to a highly selective hackathon at MIT, she seizes the opportunity to jet across the country, spend the summer building an app, and maybe even snag the top prize—a golden ticket to a new life.

When she arrives, she teams up with Khoi Astor, coding wunderkind and creator of last year’s biggest mobile game. Khoi, who has soft eyes and a gentle smile. Khoi, who can make anyone laugh. Khoi, who is easy to fall for…and already dating her camp roommate. If only Char could reprogram her heart to forget about him.

As the competition heats up, so do things between Char and her teammate. But sabotage lurks around every corner, and she soon discovers that the glitzy tech world has a dark, dangerous underbelly.

About the Author

Rona Wang graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2023 with degrees in mathematics and computer science. She grew up in Oregon and currently bounces between San Francisco and New York City. You Had Me at Hello World is her debut novel.