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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
5/5 stars.
I REALLY liked this book. I think what I liked most about it was how subversive it was. When the whole nanny situation was brought up, I was SO convinced that Rebecca's husband and the nanny were having an affair. That was what was expected. I mean, Lucy was staring at her husband while he was making drinks! When it turned out that she was actually Jasmine and that she was staring at him to learn how to make the drinks for her bartending aspirations, I was, for lack of a better phrase, shook! There were so many instances like this where Kwok flipped my expectations on their heads.
I also really loved the drama-feel to this book. I could picture what a movie about The Leftover Woman could look like because it was so descriptive (although it might be harder to pull off the Lucy-Jasmine switch on-screen). I'm always a sucker for a happy ending and this book had as happy an ending as it could have had, based on the storyline. I think that Rebecca's character arc was FANTASTIC. And I'm so so so happy that Jasmine and her childhood lover were finally together at the end. I'm so excited to purchase a physical version of this book for my library!
I REALLY liked this book. I think what I liked most about it was how subversive it was. When the whole nanny situation was brought up, I was SO convinced that Rebecca's husband and the nanny were having an affair. That was what was expected. I mean, Lucy was staring at her husband while he was making drinks! When it turned out that she was actually Jasmine and that she was staring at him to learn how to make the drinks for her bartending aspirations, I was, for lack of a better phrase, shook! There were so many instances like this where Kwok flipped my expectations on their heads.
I also really loved the drama-feel to this book. I could picture what a movie about The Leftover Woman could look like because it was so descriptive (although it might be harder to pull off the Lucy-Jasmine switch on-screen). I'm always a sucker for a happy ending and this book had as happy an ending as it could have had, based on the storyline. I think that Rebecca's character arc was FANTASTIC. And I'm so so so happy that Jasmine and her childhood lover were finally together at the end. I'm so excited to purchase a physical version of this book for my library!
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I probably would’ve given it 3 stars but I really liked the plot twist.
Really enjoyed this more thriller style Kwok. Good character depth and pacing
Very sad story. Didn’t anticipate the twist. Enjoyed how it ended but did find it slow at times. Overall I recommend this book just for the glimpse into the one child policy and the effects of it.
dark
emotional
slow-paced
3.5 ish stars - I enjoyed but prob wouldn't recommend. The pacing was weird, very slow for about 85% of the book, and I thought, there are not enough pages left to wrap this all up satisfactorily. I wasn't exactly wrong. Boy, did I not expect the last bit to be so action-packed. It was filled with melodramatic twists every few pages.
I got pretty sick of Jasmine going on and on, across much of the book, about how depraved the strip club and its patrons were. See, e.g., page 195, where she describes the club's Champagne Room as "the flesh-consuming demon's mountain lair [.]" Puh-leeze.
I got pretty sick of Jasmine going on and on, across much of the book, about how depraved the strip club and its patrons were. See, e.g., page 195, where she describes the club's Champagne Room as "the flesh-consuming demon's mountain lair [.]" Puh-leeze.
I truly enjoyed this book. At first the plot seemed obvious but then different things started to unravel. I ended up loving the characters and the stories being told.
This was one of those books where the payoff at the end makes up for what you had to endure to get there. I loved the way this story reconciles and the way the characters eventually come together - I just wish it didn’t take so long to get there.
All of the meaningful action takes place in the last third of the book and I feel like more of it could have been interspersed earlier to help with the pacing because the first two thirds felt like pure character study.
And because of that I actually found both of the main characters a bit insufferable for most of the book. For Rebecca I assume that was intentional - but even for Jasmine who we should be rooting for, the amount of paragraphs spent reminding us that she’s pretty, curvy, and yet ~not like the other girls~ was eye-roll inducing.
Once these two women actually had something meaningful to do towards the plot they became a lot more engaging to witness. I also appreciated that the ending subverted my expectations (I assumed the story would go closer to the way of Little Fires Everywhere).
All of the meaningful action takes place in the last third of the book and I feel like more of it could have been interspersed earlier to help with the pacing because the first two thirds felt like pure character study.
And because of that I actually found both of the main characters a bit insufferable for most of the book. For Rebecca I assume that was intentional - but even for Jasmine who we should be rooting for, the amount of paragraphs spent reminding us that she’s pretty, curvy, and yet ~not like the other girls~ was eye-roll inducing.
Once these two women actually had something meaningful to do towards the plot they became a lot more engaging to witness. I also appreciated that the ending subverted my expectations (I assumed the story would go closer to the way of Little Fires Everywhere).