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eves_reads_'s review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
georgina_bawden's review
3.0
This was pretty good. Enjoyable in parts but slightly lacking as a whole I felt - not a great deal of depth and the ending was a bit flat. The depiction of an awkward and slightly hateful relationship between two sixteen year old girls was very well done. I really liked the character of Circe, who was a sort of former spoiled brat turned listless divorcee and I am sad we didn't get more time with her as an adult because she really sparked off the page. Szu was listless as a depressed teen in a way that felt very sad and true but also made her hard to read. Amisa's sections in the third person were less compelling. I wish it had been longer - I wanted to see some of adult Szu and Circe interacting and it feels half finished that we didn't.
kabizinha's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ingridostby's review against another edition
4.0
The last page made me cry, which made this all seem worth it. The beginning was incredibly strong, I laughed out loud. I read here that the first portion was what won her an award, and then she expanded it as part of a book deal, which led to second portion of the book feeling like a different tone. I thought much of this was a beautiful reflection on how we grow up and away from our families and friends and how we want to get it back but often don't, how we harden as we age, how we often aren't what we set out to be when we're younger and how everything can get lost especially among a quickly changing landscape like Singapore during the time the book is set. I thought Teo's world-building was beautiful. I felt for these characters, and that pulled me through to the end despite the parts of the book that slowed, or the parts in the story I couldn't quite justify. I don't think every novel needs to be everything and mean everything, and I think from the start this book set out to be a story of friends who grew close and apart and a mother who could never find her way, generational issues that bleed through everything no matter how much you try to get away from them — and it never departed from that. I found that all reassuring. I resonated with modern-day Circe and her recent separation from her now-ex and her nostalgia of and resentment toward her past, I resonated with teenage Szu and her bad home life and embarrassment/love for
and hurt from her mother, and frustrations with friends when they're just being them and it drives you nuts, but you think you love them anyway, but maybe you don't. I thought this book put into words what many don't, or can't.
and hurt from her mother, and frustrations with friends when they're just being them and it drives you nuts, but you think you love them anyway, but maybe you don't. I thought this book put into words what many don't, or can't.
tamzy6's review
3.0
Finally got round to finishing this after a few months of hiatus (school I blame you). Honestly felt this wasn't as provocative or alluring as it was made up to be. I wasn't entirely convinced by Amisa's plot, which felt a bit cliché. One thing I liked was how Teo understood female relationships/friendships and how she turned a simple concept into something ~complex~ and nebulous.
scarlettjude's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75