Reviews with content warning for Racism - Black Water Sister

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

40 reviews

lilifane's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was in the mood to read a light-hearted YA Fantasy between two very intense books and thought this would actually be perfect. LOL! Nope.
First of all, this is definitely not YA. I don't even know why I thought it was? And then after a lighthearted and funny beginning, the story gets pretty dark and intense and violent. But also in a good way. I really liked the characters, the protagonist was very relatable, the dynamics between her and the ghost hilarious. The writing style, especially the dialogues, might need some time to get used when you're not the child of immigrants. But since I am, it felt familiar (even if the languages are totally different in my case).
Loved the atmosphere and how ghosts, spirits and gods played such a big part in the plot and every day life of the characters. Also, loved the themes that were explored in a raw and brutal way. Like having an identity crisis, being torn between your family and your own life, coming out to a traditional Chinese family, violence against women, sexism, generational trauma, unresolved hate and revenge. But there are some hard scenes towards the end, so I recommend checking trigger warnings.

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robiok's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.25

I was surprised by how intense was the emotional response this book elicited in me
Theres a lot i could relate to, when it comes to my life and Jess…im white but everything else fits almost too well
Her struggle therefore felt cery visceral to me, i emphatized with her and felt very protective
Even when i knew she was running away i could not help but understand and to a point justify her decisions
Jess is a great protagonist, she loves is both the driving force and the victim of the events around her, she is and insider and yet at the same time an outcast in her own family and culture
Ah Ma was an amazing character and the interaction with Jess amazing
The bittersweet ending, wide open but also resolved worked for me
I dont think this is the best thing ever written but i am impressed by Zen Cho’s work (this is the second of her project i read) and ill probably come back to the author

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leannanecdote's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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kurumipanda's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

Jess is already dealing with the stress of meeting her family’s expectations, hiding her secret girlfriend, and job hunting, when she realizes she’s also being haunted by her dead grandmother. Solid story with grounded characters and relationships, a tense supernatural plot, and a good balance of humorous and heartfelt moments. Some dialog felt slow, some themes felt thinly incorporated, and a couple plot points seemed to trail off, but these seem to fit with the realism of the setting and resolution.

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greymalkin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I loved the premise and sparring between the main character and her grandmother. And it was an all too rare delight to immerse in a culturally different linguistic rhythm of speech. But Jess was not fun to spend time with. The secret-keeping drove me crazy. It didn't seem like there was much point other than to stretch out plot points.

I wish that there had been more about the rest of the life in Malaysia, something to contrast all the stuff that Jess is going through. And she's such a terrible girlfriend, I didn't see the chemistry, nor why the other girl stuck around as long as she did. I would have loved more about Ah Ma, or the guy, or Ah Ku, or the girlfriend, or her parents, or basically almost any one else, they were all so much more interesting to me. The ending was pretty good on the ghosts stuff, but I wish that we'd actually been able to see more of a pay off for Jess' coming out. Not because we are owed that, but because I wanted to see Jess's parents surprise Jess.

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