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briannareadsbooks's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars.
I felt bad for not liking this book as I was reading it, but now that I see the other reviews, I can see I'm not the only one.
There are a few things I liked about this book! I actually love stories about teenagers going back to their home country or the country their parent(s) were born in and exploring their culture. This is why I loved Darius the Great Is Not Okay so much. I think there are so many unique and interesting stories that can come from that, so I was really excited about reading that in this book. I loved the description of life in Beijing, the food, the culture, the language. I also loved how Iris decided to stay in China at the end of the book. We always see stories of teenagers going to their home country, having an ~experience~ and then going back home. But Iris decided to stay and live there! I really liked that.
While I didn't like Iris (which I'll explain later) she did have some admirable traits. I love how she was a free-spirited, friendly, sex-positive, silly girl who unashamedly loves to drink and party and have fun. We don't get enough of girls like her in YA books.
Unfortunately, that's where it stopped. My experience with this book was the way it was because of Iris as a character. She is awful. And I generally try not to judge characters, even if I don't like them that much, because that's just the person I am. But Iris was terrible, and she wasn't redeemed at all in my opinion. She's spoiled and clueless and generally not a good person. She hurts people time and time again and apologizes and does it again. The way she treats the people around her is horrible!! But I thought her personality could be redeemed. After all, if your character starts at the lowest of the low, it really shouldn't be that hard to show some character development. Even Iris becoming a sort of decent person would have been amazing character development. I think the author tried to shove all her character development into the ending when Iris became interested in started that fundraiser, but nothing can make me believe that Iris understands the importance of migrant workers not having a hotel built in their neighbourhood after being explained the implications once.
What I really hated is the entire end scene when Iris has a whole moment with herself where she basically tells herself how she deserves better than Frank/Paul. She doesn't! I honestly did not understand why Iris thought Frank was an evil despicable person at the end. I felt so bad for him! He's actually very admirable! He and his university friends using fake identities to protest a capitalist from building a hotel in the neighbourhood in which he lives in poverty sounds pretty fucking rational to me. And Iris has the nerve to think she's better than him after forcing herself on him and then being mad at him for his "lie" (he was literally living in poverty I-)
Near the end of the book, I really wanted to finish it just to get it over with. This book had a lot of potential, maybe if Iris was just a different person entirely, I would have liked it more.
I felt bad for not liking this book as I was reading it, but now that I see the other reviews, I can see I'm not the only one.
There are a few things I liked about this book! I actually love stories about teenagers going back to their home country or the country their parent(s) were born in and exploring their culture. This is why I loved Darius the Great Is Not Okay so much. I think there are so many unique and interesting stories that can come from that, so I was really excited about reading that in this book. I loved the description of life in Beijing, the food, the culture, the language. I also loved how Iris decided to stay in China at the end of the book. We always see stories of teenagers going to their home country, having an ~experience~ and then going back home. But Iris decided to stay and live there! I really liked that.
While I didn't like Iris (which I'll explain later) she did have some admirable traits. I love how she was a free-spirited, friendly, sex-positive, silly girl who unashamedly loves to drink and party and have fun. We don't get enough of girls like her in YA books.
Unfortunately, that's where it stopped. My experience with this book was the way it was because of Iris as a character. She is awful. And I generally try not to judge characters, even if I don't like them that much, because that's just the person I am. But Iris was terrible, and she wasn't redeemed at all in my opinion. She's spoiled and clueless and generally not a good person. She hurts people time and time again and apologizes and does it again. The way she treats the people around her is horrible!! But I thought her personality could be redeemed. After all, if your character starts at the lowest of the low, it really shouldn't be that hard to show some character development. Even Iris becoming a sort of decent person would have been amazing character development. I think the author tried to shove all her character development into the ending when Iris became interested in started that fundraiser, but nothing can make me believe that Iris understands the importance of migrant workers not having a hotel built in their neighbourhood after being explained the implications once.
What I really hated is the entire end scene when Iris has a whole moment with herself where she basically tells herself how she deserves better than Frank/Paul. She doesn't! I honestly did not understand why Iris thought Frank was an evil despicable person at the end. I felt so bad for him! He's actually very admirable! He and his university friends using fake identities to protest a capitalist from building a hotel in the neighbourhood in which he lives in poverty sounds pretty fucking rational to me. And Iris has the nerve to think she's better than him after forcing herself on him and then being mad at him for his "lie" (he was literally living in poverty I-)
Near the end of the book, I really wanted to finish it just to get it over with. This book had a lot of potential, maybe if Iris was just a different person entirely, I would have liked it more.
samreads_alot's review against another edition
3.0
A teenaged version of Crazy Rich Asians with a main character reminiscent of London Tipton (in the early seasons)
Get ready to read about a not so smart chinese American girl who couldn’t even graduate high school let alone get into any colleges, whos a bit of shopaholic and very self absorbed, learn about the importance of family and that giving brings a happier life than getting money and material possessions.
That’s about the just of it! Got me out of my reading funk. On to the next book!
Get ready to read about a not so smart chinese American girl who couldn’t even graduate high school let alone get into any colleges, whos a bit of shopaholic and very self absorbed, learn about the importance of family and that giving brings a happier life than getting money and material possessions.
That’s about the just of it! Got me out of my reading funk. On to the next book!
bookishlychar's review against another edition
2.0
My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong is a debut fiction novel about Iris a Chinese-American who's parents send her to China to meet relatives she never knew she had. From the description, I knew that I wanted to try out this book and see what it was like. It sounded fun and interesting.
My problem was that I really struggled with Iris as a character. To me she was completely unlikeable, and maybe that was the point. She is not only irresponsible (drinking, drugs, failing out of school), but I found it unrealistic, how did it get so far that no one knew she wasn't going to graduate from high school? I struggle with really connecting with Iris throughout the book. She came off as selfish, self centered and self absorbed. I am usually all for a redemption arc, but for me this happened a little to late. Iris did redeem herself, but it took until I had read more than 75% of the book. In the end, I don't even know if Iris actually did redeem herself. Sure, she worked hard and did some things that were a little selfless, but I don't know that she actually changed. I found it really hard to believe that Iris went through all the things that she did in the book, and did not have an "eye opening" experience, or understand herself more.
There were parts of the book I did like. I really enjoyed how Wong introduced me to Chinese culture, which I have limited knowledge, and also explored some heavy issues, including migrant workers and poverty. I wish that there had been a bigger, more obvious change for Iris, and we could have seen her development.
I will give this book 2.5/5 stars. I do look forward to checking out more of Lindsay Wong's novels in the future. I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher for an open and honest review. All opinions are 100% mine.
My problem was that I really struggled with Iris as a character. To me she was completely unlikeable, and maybe that was the point. She is not only irresponsible (drinking, drugs, failing out of school), but I found it unrealistic, how did it get so far that no one knew she wasn't going to graduate from high school? I struggle with really connecting with Iris throughout the book. She came off as selfish, self centered and self absorbed. I am usually all for a redemption arc, but for me this happened a little to late. Iris did redeem herself, but it took until I had read more than 75% of the book. In the end, I don't even know if Iris actually did redeem herself. Sure, she worked hard and did some things that were a little selfless, but I don't know that she actually changed. I found it really hard to believe that Iris went through all the things that she did in the book, and did not have an "eye opening" experience, or understand herself more.
There were parts of the book I did like. I really enjoyed how Wong introduced me to Chinese culture, which I have limited knowledge, and also explored some heavy issues, including migrant workers and poverty. I wish that there had been a bigger, more obvious change for Iris, and we could have seen her development.
I will give this book 2.5/5 stars. I do look forward to checking out more of Lindsay Wong's novels in the future. I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher for an open and honest review. All opinions are 100% mine.
kaylareadsbooks's review against another edition
2.0
The word dude was used way too many times. I wish there was more growth, I would have loved to see Iris truly change. I felt like the growth came too late and it wasn’t so well written (the growth).
msvenner's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. I loved the author’s memoir and was excited to see she had a YA novel. Her writing was good, the plot was pretty good, the settings were great, even the Shopaholic meets Crazy Rich Asians concept had merit. The protagonist was the problem, the character was so vapid and self-involved there was no possibility of a believable redemption, and when the author tried it was too little too late. The book’s resolution was rushed and unsatisfying. I feel like this book needed a really good editor to catch the problems early on.
paige_readss's review against another edition
2.0
Okay firstly, I DNF’d this like 2 months ago because I could NOT stand the MC. Then I decided to just try & push through the rest of the book.
It was OKAY at best. I would have given it a 1 star but there was SLIGHT character development near the last 50¿ pages of the book. I just didn’t like the MC at all, she was snooty & selfish & I expected there to be more character development earlier in the book (almost 400 pages so you would assume).
Maybe if the MC started acting more mature & took action(AKA solved the issues she was having instead of just saying “why me?” And not doing stuff she KNEW would upset her family) I might have liked this book a little bit more.
Not really sure what else I can say about this book. If you want to read it I say go for it, but I personally won’t be recommending this book to anyone.
It was OKAY at best. I would have given it a 1 star but there was SLIGHT character development near the last 50¿ pages of the book. I just didn’t like the MC at all, she was snooty & selfish & I expected there to be more character development earlier in the book (almost 400 pages so you would assume).
Maybe if the MC started acting more mature & took action(AKA solved the issues she was having instead of just saying “why me?” And not doing stuff she KNEW would upset her family) I might have liked this book a little bit more.
Not really sure what else I can say about this book. If you want to read it I say go for it, but I personally won’t be recommending this book to anyone.
greergreer's review against another edition
4.0
Loved Iris, she is self centered and a spoiled rich brat. I loved that she was bratty and has an "all about me"attitude. It was nice to read a book where the main character wasn't "Oh so perfect". I did learn something, Beijing toilets are very different than in the states. Also it has made me want to read "The Art of War", very cool when books mention books.
delph's review against another edition
1.0
Full review on my blog.
An e-ARC was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.
When Iris Wang failed her senior year in top of destroying the garage door after backing up her dad’s car in it, she’s sent to Beijing by her parents in the hope that she’ll mature.
Honestly, I tried. I was so excited for this book because I’ve always loved books with teenagers sent to another countries to discover and reconnect with their culture. I loved Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay with a teenage boy going to the Philippines to learn more about his cousin’s death but also to learn more about the political context of this country. I loved I Love You so Mochi by Sarah Kuhn where a teenage girl goes to Japan to discover what she wants to do while discovering Japan. So when I read this synopsis, read that it was a girl who was sent to Beijing to « reconnect with her culture, » I was sold. I don’t know if I expected too much but I was disappointed because I got nothing of that. Well, nothing may be a bit harsh. She learnt something like ten sentences of Mandarin (in three months???) and visited one or two famous places. But then, Iris as a character deserves a whole section of this review for herself so I’ll talk about her later.
An e-ARC was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.
When Iris Wang failed her senior year in top of destroying the garage door after backing up her dad’s car in it, she’s sent to Beijing by her parents in the hope that she’ll mature.
Honestly, I tried. I was so excited for this book because I’ve always loved books with teenagers sent to another countries to discover and reconnect with their culture. I loved Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay with a teenage boy going to the Philippines to learn more about his cousin’s death but also to learn more about the political context of this country. I loved I Love You so Mochi by Sarah Kuhn where a teenage girl goes to Japan to discover what she wants to do while discovering Japan. So when I read this synopsis, read that it was a girl who was sent to Beijing to « reconnect with her culture, » I was sold. I don’t know if I expected too much but I was disappointed because I got nothing of that. Well, nothing may be a bit harsh. She learnt something like ten sentences of Mandarin (in three months???) and visited one or two famous places. But then, Iris as a character deserves a whole section of this review for herself so I’ll talk about her later.
Diversity tag: chinese-american mc, chinese-american side characters, chinese side-characters, #ownvoices, chinese-american author
Trigger warnings/content warnings: underage drinking, drugs, drunk driving, sex scenes (not explicit), cheating
theladydoor's review against another edition
5.0
I am fully convinced all the less than stellar reviews of this book came from people who misunderstood the central premise of this book. Iris Wang, the protagonist of this darkly funny coming of age story, is not likable. She's not meant to be! She's spoiled, lazy, thoughtless, and reckless, and most of all, so much fun to read about. She takes after a long line of literary heroines who are less than perfect; think Becky Bloomwood (Shopaholic), Scarlett O'Hara (Gone with the Wind), or Cher (Clueless). At least Iris's foibles stem from a bone deep insecurity and fear of not being liked, and they mostly only hurt herself.
As a self-identifying "bad Asian", I felt a kinship with Iris as she flubbed her SATs, failed to graduate high school, and ultimately didn't get accepted into a single college. Granted, I never did anything quite so drastic, but I was always less interested in school than I felt I should be, and always felt inadequate as a result. There were also so many other small things I identified with in this book. I saw bits and pieces of my own parents in Iris's loving and well-meaning, but ultimately ineffectual parents. I also felt the pressure of trying (and failing) to live up to the expectations and hopes of two people who loved me more than anything.
Earlier this year I put [b:White Ivy|50892388|White Ivy|Susie Yang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593355573l/50892388._SY75_.jpg|59249351] on hiatus because I felt like I couldn't see any of my experiences as an American raised Chinese girl in Ivy. I felt much more of a kinship with Iris. Whenever she lamented feeling like she didn't fully belong in America or China, I remembered going to China as a kid and immediately being singled out as an ABC. When she overanalyzed her zodiac sign and her designation as a flower-hearted Tiger, I thought about my grandmother and her lectures to me about my Dragon nature. When she gobbled up food without abandon, I found myself craving xiaolongbao and mapo tofu as made by my aunties.
If I haven't convinced you to give this book a try yet, I'll also mention the writing in this book. It's absolutely captivating, written in a style that echoes the cadence of Chinese speech in modern English. Lindsay Wong manages to put to paper the stream of consciousness chaos of a teenage girl's mind, and she does so with so while injecting Iris's narration with so much humor and self-deprecation.
I truly enjoyed this novel, and I hope there are readers who will give this book a chance. If you go into it with an open mind, I really think you'll enjoy it too.
As a self-identifying "bad Asian", I felt a kinship with Iris as she flubbed her SATs, failed to graduate high school, and ultimately didn't get accepted into a single college. Granted, I never did anything quite so drastic, but I was always less interested in school than I felt I should be, and always felt inadequate as a result. There were also so many other small things I identified with in this book. I saw bits and pieces of my own parents in Iris's loving and well-meaning, but ultimately ineffectual parents. I also felt the pressure of trying (and failing) to live up to the expectations and hopes of two people who loved me more than anything.
Earlier this year I put [b:White Ivy|50892388|White Ivy|Susie Yang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593355573l/50892388._SY75_.jpg|59249351] on hiatus because I felt like I couldn't see any of my experiences as an American raised Chinese girl in Ivy. I felt much more of a kinship with Iris. Whenever she lamented feeling like she didn't fully belong in America or China, I remembered going to China as a kid and immediately being singled out as an ABC. When she overanalyzed her zodiac sign and her designation as a flower-hearted Tiger, I thought about my grandmother and her lectures to me about my Dragon nature. When she gobbled up food without abandon, I found myself craving xiaolongbao and mapo tofu as made by my aunties.
If I haven't convinced you to give this book a try yet, I'll also mention the writing in this book. It's absolutely captivating, written in a style that echoes the cadence of Chinese speech in modern English. Lindsay Wong manages to put to paper the stream of consciousness chaos of a teenage girl's mind, and she does so with so while injecting Iris's narration with so much humor and self-deprecation.
I truly enjoyed this novel, and I hope there are readers who will give this book a chance. If you go into it with an open mind, I really think you'll enjoy it too.
avaflwr's review against another edition
2.0
literally the only thing that made me finish this book was the fact that i had nothing else to do after eocs…i kinda enjoyed the ending but tbh everything else before that was bad…like rlly bad