Reviews

Stay True by Hua Hsu

tevreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Memoir. Such a beautiful memoir of friendship and loss – a memoir of force that will touch the hearts of any readers. Hsu, in ‘Stay True’ is able to meaningfully connect identity as Asian-Americans to the awkwardness of male youth and the unspoken power of friendships with great poise. There is so much to offer in this short memoir, a reminder of the importance and impact such a form can take.

gwendolyn_kensinger's review against another edition

1.0

Maybe I’m not the intended audience for this particular memoir. I found it terribly dull and lacking any entertainment at all. It felt like a slice of life story of Hua Hsu’s college life including the death of a friend. I didn’t feel particularly empathic because I wasn’t invested in the people and it honestly didn’t feel like Hua Hsu was particularly close with Ken either. Maybe I don’t understand their connection, maybe it wasn’t made clear, maybe it’s a cultural thing. It definitely was not what I was expecting going into the book. I was hoping at the very least to get into the 90s of it all, but even that lacked. 

I couldn’t figure out what this memoir was trying to do. Was it an immigrant story? Is it about growing up in the 90’s? Is it about his connection and subsequent loss of his friend? Sadly, I do not understand the hype this memoir is receiving.

alirya's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

4.75

kelly_virginia's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

chloewrens's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

n_mai's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

gabbyhm's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

3.0

michellekmartin's review against another edition

4.0

4 stars | I loved this memoir. My favorite thing about it was the portrayal of male friendship. I read so many stories about female friendship, so it was refreshing to hear about male friendship in such a nuanced, thoughtful, and intimate way. Hsu captured what it means to be young, find yourself, discover art and music that opens up your world, and the naivety that comes with all that.

This was heartfelt and so well written. I did have to take the last third pretty slow because it got quite emotional once he started sharing about his friend's death. But that's okay; I just took little chunks here and there, and it was great to savor this memoir a bit more.

camcc115's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

5.0

I loved this - it made me feel nostalgic for college and I liked the reflections on the Bay Area as well.  Deserves all the awards it got.

abbeyeds's review against another edition

5.0

Cried at a noodle bar into my bowl of pho while reading this book :’)