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eastofthesol's review
4.0
This is an interesting book that explores an array of subjects, from expat life, to communism, to Taoism, and everything in-between.
Ghosts of Shanghai blends history and urban-fantasy together to tell a unique story about Shanghai in the 1920s, told from the perspective of a young girl named Ruby. Ruby is a British expat, having lived in Shanghai for much of her life. She's practically fluent in Chinese, doesn't consider herself one of the "foreign devils", and even calls her braver personality "Shanghai Ruby". Ruby considers Shanghai her home and is fiercely protective of her life there, along with the friendships she's formed along the way.
And it's Ruby's love for Shanghai and its people that catalyzes much of the narrative.
The premise of the novel revolves around the tense relationship between the Chinese Nationalists and the Communists, as a revolution is coming to a head. There are gangsters siding with the Nationalists, stirring trouble and inciting fear among the people of Shanghai. Ruby finds herself stuck in the middle of it all. Her friends are in trouble, her family-life is not what it seems, and she keeps having bizarre spectral encounters. All of these things culminate in an intriguing story as the reader travels through Shanghai with Ruby, trying to make sense of her strange life.
Overall, this is a good read for all ages, especially for anyone interested in 1920s China.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ghosts of Shanghai blends history and urban-fantasy together to tell a unique story about Shanghai in the 1920s, told from the perspective of a young girl named Ruby. Ruby is a British expat, having lived in Shanghai for much of her life. She's practically fluent in Chinese, doesn't consider herself one of the "foreign devils", and even calls her braver personality "Shanghai Ruby". Ruby considers Shanghai her home and is fiercely protective of her life there, along with the friendships she's formed along the way.
And it's Ruby's love for Shanghai and its people that catalyzes much of the narrative.
The premise of the novel revolves around the tense relationship between the Chinese Nationalists and the Communists, as a revolution is coming to a head. There are gangsters siding with the Nationalists, stirring trouble and inciting fear among the people of Shanghai. Ruby finds herself stuck in the middle of it all. Her friends are in trouble, her family-life is not what it seems, and she keeps having bizarre spectral encounters. All of these things culminate in an intriguing story as the reader travels through Shanghai with Ruby, trying to make sense of her strange life.
Overall, this is a good read for all ages, especially for anyone interested in 1920s China.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
backonthealex's review
3.0
The setting for this book is 1920s Shanghai, China and I was sure that such a romantic time and place would make for a wonderful book, but sadly I was very disappointed. Shanghai was such an busy international hub back then, with sections of Russian, American, British and French society, yet, Ruby and her fellow Ghost Society gang find another part - the supernatural.
The novel is fraught with ghosts, danger crime, disease and the tensions between the ruling Chinese Nationalists, who side with Shanghai’s gangs, and the new Chinese Communists, who keep making trouble. In fact, it was just too many things going on at one and Ruby, an expat, is caught in the middle.
The beginning of this novel was slow and I think I just never got really into it.
The novel is fraught with ghosts, danger crime, disease and the tensions between the ruling Chinese Nationalists, who side with Shanghai’s gangs, and the new Chinese Communists, who keep making trouble. In fact, it was just too many things going on at one and Ruby, an expat, is caught in the middle.
The beginning of this novel was slow and I think I just never got really into it.
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