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3kidsrnumber1's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
samraetom's review against another edition
informative
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? No
5.0
caaleros's review
4.0
I couldn't put the book down! It really drew me in and I was so interested in these characters' lives. However, the ending made me feel a little dissatisfied.
jcaballero0725's review
4.0
I am a fan of Lisa See and really enjoy her style of writing. She really knows how to steer your emotions in whichever direction she wants to take you. I love reading about this time in history and would recommend it to others who do as well.
redvelveting's review
3.75
This book was a wonderful glimpse into Chinese American life during World War II and even more interestingly, the history of Asian American performers and clubs. Such a fascinating part of American history that I would never have known about. It’s clear that a lot of research went into creating this book and capturing the Chinese American experience at the time.
The book is told from three different perspectives and the author did a fantastic job of distinguishing them. I think the climax was dissatisfying (resolved quite quickly), but overall, I enjoyed the book.
The book is told from three different perspectives and the author did a fantastic job of distinguishing them. I think the climax was dissatisfying (resolved quite quickly), but overall, I enjoyed the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, War, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Moderate: Murder, Misogyny, Death of parent, Classism, Bullying, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Infidelity, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Child death, and Homophobia
Minor: Slavery, Terminal illness, Confinement, and Abortion
darr76's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
3.5
chrissypink80's review
3.0
I’d give this book 3 1/2 stars. The relationships between the main characters were interesting but the plot and scenes within the book were quite repetitive. I would have liked to have read more about what was going on with the war and the men characters’ experience and perspective on it.
book_concierge's review
4.0
Digital audiobook narrated by Jodi Long
This work of historical fiction begins in 1938. Three young women – Helen Fong, Grace Lee and Ruby Tom – meet just as the World’s Fair is set to begin on Treasure Island. They’re from different backgrounds but all are drawn to the glamorous Forbidden City nightclub by their dreams of success. World War II will soon interrupt their career paths, and their friendship will suffer, but they will endure. See follows the young women through the war years and includes an epilogue set in 1988.
I really enjoyed this book. I was in vested in these young women and their aspirations. While my background is different from theirs, we share the push/pull of traditional culture (and the expectations that result) vs the desire to see our dreams fulfilled. I loved, also, the detail See included from costumes to scenery to social issues – these elements really took me back to this era and culture.
See invented her heroines and the majority of characters, but includes a number of actual performers / entertainers of the time period. She did extensive research, including many in-person interviews with now elderly past performers on the “Chop Suey Circuit.”
Jodi Long does a marvelous job of narrating the audiobook. I admit, however, that I sometimes didn’t pay close enough attention to which character was narrating which chapter. (See does state the character at the beginning of each chapter.) Until I got used to the constant changing of point of view, I found myself occasionally confused. That was my fault, not Long’s narration.
This work of historical fiction begins in 1938. Three young women – Helen Fong, Grace Lee and Ruby Tom – meet just as the World’s Fair is set to begin on Treasure Island. They’re from different backgrounds but all are drawn to the glamorous Forbidden City nightclub by their dreams of success. World War II will soon interrupt their career paths, and their friendship will suffer, but they will endure. See follows the young women through the war years and includes an epilogue set in 1988.
I really enjoyed this book. I was in vested in these young women and their aspirations. While my background is different from theirs, we share the push/pull of traditional culture (and the expectations that result) vs the desire to see our dreams fulfilled. I loved, also, the detail See included from costumes to scenery to social issues – these elements really took me back to this era and culture.
See invented her heroines and the majority of characters, but includes a number of actual performers / entertainers of the time period. She did extensive research, including many in-person interviews with now elderly past performers on the “Chop Suey Circuit.”
Jodi Long does a marvelous job of narrating the audiobook. I admit, however, that I sometimes didn’t pay close enough attention to which character was narrating which chapter. (See does state the character at the beginning of each chapter.) Until I got used to the constant changing of point of view, I found myself occasionally confused. That was my fault, not Long’s narration.
summerluvn78's review
3.0
This was an easy vacation read. I am not sure if I could have enjoyed it till the end had I not been on vacation with nothing but time to stay engaged :)
China Dolls tells the story of the rise of Asian entertainers on the nightclub circuit during the late 1930s through the mid 1940s, through the lives of Grace, Helen, and Ruby, three separate women who were Asian entertainers during that time. It is in the way that the lives of these three women alternately intersect and diverge that the story of what it was like to be an entertainer on the "Chop Suey Circuit" was like.
China Dolls tells the story of the rise of Asian entertainers on the nightclub circuit during the late 1930s through the mid 1940s, through the lives of Grace, Helen, and Ruby, three separate women who were Asian entertainers during that time. It is in the way that the lives of these three women alternately intersect and diverge that the story of what it was like to be an entertainer on the "Chop Suey Circuit" was like.
bippityboppityboop's review
4.0
The audiobook was fantastic! Maybe a bit too long but the melodrama was so much fun.