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emilygrace99's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderfully written book about mental health, family, love, and more.
When I started this one I was immediately pulled into the story. Into Anna’s life. It was so interesting to read, but also so heart-breaking. Her mother’s mental health is not good. Not at all. At times she just lies in bed for months and months. Other times she cleans at night. She whispers and tells weird stories. She shouts and there are other things happening. We see how things slowly escalate, things slowly get worse until the moment a psychosis happens. It was quite shocking to read because things go so wrong in the end. It was also sad to see that while Anna knows that her mom has been ill for so long she still keeps protecting her mom. Whereas her little sister Lily is more than eager to tell the doctors what is going on with their mom. I could understand both sides though. And given what we read in the book I definitely could understand why Anna was so protective. We also see how things go on from that point with the family. We see that the father is trying harder to be there for his family. We see the bonds between sister/brother become closer. We see that they try their best. But this is mental health, and there are ups and downs. The ending… I was hoping for it to be different but on the other hand I am also OK with how it ended. OK in the way that it fitted with the story (as I said, mental health goes up/down), not OK with what happened. I hope that makes sense.
Anna was a fantastic character, though my heart broke how much she had to do for her family. Make amends with mom when she was around. Try to manage mom. Try to be there for her brother and sister who both needed someone to help them. Her younger brother is just 5/6 so he needs help with things. Do her best at school, but struggling with all the pressure. At times I wondered when things would be too much. I was happy that Anna had Rory around to help and also had an outlet (the restaurant) to make sure she didn’t implode. Anna is a strong character, at least that is what we see on the outside, but from the inside she is struggling and I really wanted to just give her a big big hug.
We also have the restaurant that Anna’s father runs (and where he hides most of the time because he just can’t handle it which had me both pissed and sad). We see that Anna is interested in the restaurant and helps out which I just loved. I mean, she knows she isn’t that good at school but she does know she can help with the restaurant. I loved seeing her get better, faster, and even help out with ideas and plans to make things run better. While her father wasn’t always open to things, especially in the beginning, I loved that later on he asked for her ideas, or gave her more room.
There is also romance. Anna meets Rory. He needs a job and Anna’s father needs a delivery boy. They connect. I really loved these two together. They made a good pair. We also read that Rory went through a lot of things, almost committed suicide. We see that he is still struggling at times, like on some days it isn’t the easiest. I loved how easily they talked, how they could talk about everything. How they were together. I was so so proud of Rory at the end! That is a big step and I love that he is taking it. Go Rory!
I love that the book was set up in months. From December/January to December/January again! It more clearly showed the time that went by and also made it clear how the mom needed help.
While we don’t see a lot of her, I have to mention Wei! Since the first time we met I was curious about her and wanted her to just talk to Anna for once. I like that, unlike her friends, she seems to be kind and sweet. Would have loved to see her break away from the pack.
The counsellor at school? LORD what a terrible person that one is. You would think she would be a bit more open instead of calling a trying week having a tantrum. WTF? Even teens can have trying weeks. Even they can have hard times. Tantrums are a totally different thing. I hated how she pushed and how she acted. I can see so many kids just give up or burn out because of this.
All in all, a book I just flew through. Heart-breaking, beautiful, and interesting to read with a great cast of characters.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
When I started this one I was immediately pulled into the story. Into Anna’s life. It was so interesting to read, but also so heart-breaking. Her mother’s mental health is not good. Not at all. At times she just lies in bed for months and months. Other times she cleans at night. She whispers and tells weird stories. She shouts and there are other things happening. We see how things slowly escalate, things slowly get worse until the moment a psychosis happens. It was quite shocking to read because things go so wrong in the end. It was also sad to see that while Anna knows that her mom has been ill for so long she still keeps protecting her mom. Whereas her little sister Lily is more than eager to tell the doctors what is going on with their mom. I could understand both sides though. And given what we read in the book I definitely could understand why Anna was so protective. We also see how things go on from that point with the family. We see that the father is trying harder to be there for his family. We see the bonds between sister/brother become closer. We see that they try their best. But this is mental health, and there are ups and downs. The ending… I was hoping for it to be different but on the other hand I am also OK with how it ended. OK in the way that it fitted with the story (as I said, mental health goes up/down), not OK with what happened. I hope that makes sense.
Anna was a fantastic character, though my heart broke how much she had to do for her family. Make amends with mom when she was around. Try to manage mom. Try to be there for her brother and sister who both needed someone to help them. Her younger brother is just 5/6 so he needs help with things. Do her best at school, but struggling with all the pressure. At times I wondered when things would be too much. I was happy that Anna had Rory around to help and also had an outlet (the restaurant) to make sure she didn’t implode. Anna is a strong character, at least that is what we see on the outside, but from the inside she is struggling and I really wanted to just give her a big big hug.
We also have the restaurant that Anna’s father runs (and where he hides most of the time because he just can’t handle it which had me both pissed and sad). We see that Anna is interested in the restaurant and helps out which I just loved. I mean, she knows she isn’t that good at school but she does know she can help with the restaurant. I loved seeing her get better, faster, and even help out with ideas and plans to make things run better. While her father wasn’t always open to things, especially in the beginning, I loved that later on he asked for her ideas, or gave her more room.
There is also romance. Anna meets Rory. He needs a job and Anna’s father needs a delivery boy. They connect. I really loved these two together. They made a good pair. We also read that Rory went through a lot of things, almost committed suicide. We see that he is still struggling at times, like on some days it isn’t the easiest. I loved how easily they talked, how they could talk about everything. How they were together. I was so so proud of Rory at the end! That is a big step and I love that he is taking it. Go Rory!
I love that the book was set up in months. From December/January to December/January again! It more clearly showed the time that went by and also made it clear how the mom needed help.
While we don’t see a lot of her, I have to mention Wei! Since the first time we met I was curious about her and wanted her to just talk to Anna for once. I like that, unlike her friends, she seems to be kind and sweet. Would have loved to see her break away from the pack.
The counsellor at school? LORD what a terrible person that one is. You would think she would be a bit more open instead of calling a trying week having a tantrum. WTF? Even teens can have trying weeks. Even they can have hard times. Tantrums are a totally different thing. I hated how she pushed and how she acted. I can see so many kids just give up or burn out because of this.
All in all, a book I just flew through. Heart-breaking, beautiful, and interesting to read with a great cast of characters.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
bibliobrandie's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good story about a family dealing with a mother's mental illness. Nothing about it blew me away though.
steel_city_peach's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Heart-rending
This book touched on some really heavy issues. Anna was running herself ragged trying to be the glue to hold her family together. She had no time to just be a teenager. Her mother’s mental illness was consuming. The entire family had to walk on eggshells. The depiction of her bouts with psychosis were heartbreaking, but accurate. The author also did a good job of capturing the dismal experience of visiting a psych ward. I thought it was interesting that Anna fell for a boy that battled with depression and suicidal ideations. There was a lot of focus on cultural expectations and prejudices. I appreciated all of the layers woven into the story. This book provided a realistic look into dealing with a loved one’s mental health battles.
chantelspeaks's review against another edition
5.0
For more reviews, head to my blog Chantel Speaks
“Disappointment tastes like chalk lotus bean.”
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling is a YA coming-of-age novel set in suburban Sydney. It follows Anna Chiu, a Cantonese-Australian teenager as she navigates family dynamics, mental health, cultural clashes, romance and planning one's future.
Anna is the dutiful eldest daughter. She balances study, while she takes care of her siblings when her mother is unwell, and works in her dad's Chinese restaurant on weekends and during school holidays. She finds some distraction in the new delivery boy at her Dad's restaurant. When her mum's condition begins to worsen it throws everything in Anna's life up in the air.
This book explores Chinese migration to Australia through Anna and her family, and the cultural clash it can bring. This aspect of the book really interested me as a Australian with an Italian migrant background - though they are two different cultures, I saw a lot of similarities between my experience and Anna's. Anna's world is viewed through the lens of her family's migrant culture and balanced with trying to follow Chinese cultural values while being a teenager in Australia. At points, I was reminded a lot of Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta, only in a different decade, setting and story.
“Love is like that sometimes, all-encompassing, nonsensical and beyond our control”
Mental health takes a central focus in this book. We explore the mental health journey to treatment through Anna's mother as well as through Rory. They are different mental illnesses, but they each serve a unique perspective that we discover through Anna. This is one of the strongest aspects of the book, as it also serves as a cultural intersection on mental illness and Chinese-Australian culture. The stigma associated with mental illness is presented to the reader in various angles in Anna's perception as she herself learns to navigate what it means to truly support someone who is being treated for a mental illness, or needs support to manage mental health.
This book does have an element of romance and first love. It wasn’t the central focus for me, but it was cute and it built up well as the story progressed. This book focuses more however, on different kinds of love. The love that exists between families, between partners, siblings and first love. Sometimes loving others can be clumsy, hard and not without making mistakes. But love, can also be genuine, authentic and helps us to win against all odds.
“It is my future. And I’m looking forward to it.”
Anna takes a journey throughout the book, starting as living for her parents and the expectations of others, but becoming sure of herself and the direction of her life by the end. Even if perceived as unconventional. I really loved this message and thought it would speak to many people trying to make sense of their own futures. Sometimes the future we plan for ourself isn't necessarily the one others think we want. Anna choices here help her stand up as a central heroine in this novel.
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling definitely has all the hallmarks of a strong YA standalone novel. There are many things that make this a good book and I can’t recommend it enough.
“Disappointment tastes like chalk lotus bean.”
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling is a YA coming-of-age novel set in suburban Sydney. It follows Anna Chiu, a Cantonese-Australian teenager as she navigates family dynamics, mental health, cultural clashes, romance and planning one's future.
Anna is the dutiful eldest daughter. She balances study, while she takes care of her siblings when her mother is unwell, and works in her dad's Chinese restaurant on weekends and during school holidays. She finds some distraction in the new delivery boy at her Dad's restaurant. When her mum's condition begins to worsen it throws everything in Anna's life up in the air.
This book explores Chinese migration to Australia through Anna and her family, and the cultural clash it can bring. This aspect of the book really interested me as a Australian with an Italian migrant background - though they are two different cultures, I saw a lot of similarities between my experience and Anna's. Anna's world is viewed through the lens of her family's migrant culture and balanced with trying to follow Chinese cultural values while being a teenager in Australia. At points, I was reminded a lot of Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta, only in a different decade, setting and story.
“Love is like that sometimes, all-encompassing, nonsensical and beyond our control”
Mental health takes a central focus in this book. We explore the mental health journey to treatment through Anna's mother as well as through Rory. They are different mental illnesses, but they each serve a unique perspective that we discover through Anna. This is one of the strongest aspects of the book, as it also serves as a cultural intersection on mental illness and Chinese-Australian culture. The stigma associated with mental illness is presented to the reader in various angles in Anna's perception as she herself learns to navigate what it means to truly support someone who is being treated for a mental illness, or needs support to manage mental health.
This book does have an element of romance and first love. It wasn’t the central focus for me, but it was cute and it built up well as the story progressed. This book focuses more however, on different kinds of love. The love that exists between families, between partners, siblings and first love. Sometimes loving others can be clumsy, hard and not without making mistakes. But love, can also be genuine, authentic and helps us to win against all odds.
“It is my future. And I’m looking forward to it.”
Anna takes a journey throughout the book, starting as living for her parents and the expectations of others, but becoming sure of herself and the direction of her life by the end. Even if perceived as unconventional. I really loved this message and thought it would speak to many people trying to make sense of their own futures. Sometimes the future we plan for ourself isn't necessarily the one others think we want. Anna choices here help her stand up as a central heroine in this novel.
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling definitely has all the hallmarks of a strong YA standalone novel. There are many things that make this a good book and I can’t recommend it enough.
melodys_library's review against another edition
4.0
A book for teens that approaches topics like mental health, family, and intercultural relationships with care. Except for the part where the white boy explains what microagressions are to the Chinese girl…*smh*
silver_linings72's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
jijibug's review against another edition
5.0
I love books that show a glimpse of a family’s life. This book was easy to read and I really enjoyed it.
zahraisdum's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
One of the best books I’ve ever read it was amazing written and was so emotional
yush's review against another edition
4.5
A really easy to read book about a minority family addressing mental health.