Small Beauty tells the story of Mei. Coping with the death of her cousin, she abandons her life in the city to live in his now-empty house in a small town. There she connects with his history as well as her own, learns about her aunt's long-term secret relationship, and reflects on the trans women she has left behind. The novel explores the protagonist's transness, but it also tenderly yet bitterly unpacks her experiences as a mixed-race person of Chinese descent, cycles of death and loss, and queer and intergenerational community. Small Beauty wanders through isolation and then breaks it - a trajectory that will resonate with readers who are thirsty for their own stories on the page.