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hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a cute book, lighthearted though it did try to be heavy and have serious topics, but mainly had a light/fluff vibe.
I listened to this as an audio book. The narration was pretty good, it was easy to distinguish between every character. My only small issue was with the way her roommate and other girls at the college were voiced. They all sounded like spoiled valley girls.
Which I found odd considering this was MIT and we were reminded often that this is a "nerdy school for super smart kids".
No shade to our main character Mei, but my favorite person in the book was her mother. Her daily voice-mails reminded me a little of my own mother.
This book I feel suffers from a bit of personality disorder. It can't decide if it's a serious critique on rigid traditions, family drama, romance/first love, or a funny coming of age college romp.
The romance aspect didn't really do it for me, I found Darren too perfect. No matter what happened he was always cool and calm and accommodating. Even when Mei suddenly breaks up with him for no good reason he just goes along with it and stays in the background until she just as suddenly hooks back up with him.
The narrative was also disjointed. It would jump from scene to scene often with no pause in between. I had to re-listen a few times to figure out what was happening. One minute we are reminiscencing about childhood trips to Taiwan the next minute she's doing a dance routine at an outdoor festival at college with no pause between.
Now there were many parts of this book I liked. I laughed out loud a few times and felt for all the characters in the book, each struggling with their own issues.
*side note: the author seems to have a bit of an obsession with STDs, they are mentioned A LOT in this book.
I learned a little about Taiwanese and Chinese culture as it pertains to traditional family values.
I did read some of the other reviews and quite a few Chinese American reviewers pointed out that they found parts of the book bordering on parody and stereotyping of Chinese culture. That this is not typical behavior of most Asian American families.
All in all I found the book entertaining and quick to get through. Not my normal type of book at all, I tend to not read romance or young adult books.
I read this as part of the banned books challenge I'm doing on Storygraph.
I listened to this as an audio book. The narration was pretty good, it was easy to distinguish between every character. My only small issue was with the way her roommate and other girls at the college were voiced. They all sounded like spoiled valley girls.
Which I found odd considering this was MIT and we were reminded often that this is a "nerdy school for super smart kids".
No shade to our main character Mei, but my favorite person in the book was her mother. Her daily voice-mails reminded me a little of my own mother.
This book I feel suffers from a bit of personality disorder. It can't decide if it's a serious critique on rigid traditions, family drama, romance/first love, or a funny coming of age college romp.
The romance aspect didn't really do it for me, I found Darren too perfect. No matter what happened he was always cool and calm and accommodating. Even when Mei suddenly breaks up with him for no good reason he just goes along with it and stays in the background until she just as suddenly hooks back up with him.
The narrative was also disjointed. It would jump from scene to scene often with no pause in between. I had to re-listen a few times to figure out what was happening. One minute we are reminiscencing about childhood trips to Taiwan the next minute she's doing a dance routine at an outdoor festival at college with no pause between.
Now there were many parts of this book I liked. I laughed out loud a few times and felt for all the characters in the book, each struggling with their own issues.
*side note: the author seems to have a bit of an obsession with STDs, they are mentioned A LOT in this book.
I learned a little about Taiwanese and Chinese culture as it pertains to traditional family values.
I did read some of the other reviews and quite a few Chinese American reviewers pointed out that they found parts of the book bordering on parody and stereotyping of Chinese culture. That this is not typical behavior of most Asian American families.
All in all I found the book entertaining and quick to get through. Not my normal type of book at all, I tend to not read romance or young adult books.
I read this as part of the banned books challenge I'm doing on Storygraph.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexism, Medical content
Moderate: Dementia
Minor: Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Suicide
Child disowning
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infertility, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Racism, Suicide, Dementia, Pregnancy
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
One of the most interesting portrayals of immigrant child guilt, filial piety, and intergenerational trauma. This book is one that really needed to be written, and I'm surprised it hasn't been done before. Don't let the cover fool you, the book is filled with nuanced conversations and the protagonist is one you can really root for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content
Moderate: Cursing, Death
Minor: Fatphobia, Infertility