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chrstelg's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
bookber's review against another edition
4.0
This book was beautifully written. I loved the omniscient/omnipresent narrative style in this book, I feel like it was the perfect writing style for this kind of story. It reminded me a lot of the writing style of The Lovely Bones which is one of my all time favourite books.
I loved how Celeste Ng portrayed loss and grief in a very real way, and depicted family life in one of the most relatable ways I’ve ever read about. There’s a lot of discussion about parental pressures, sibling arguments, and how comments and attitudes from other family members can really shape you as a person. I also really appreciated how even when certain characters did or thought something I disagreed with, I felt like all the characters were so fully realised that you could always understand where they were coming from or why they acted in those ways.
There’s also a great portrayal of the issues that come with being mixed-race, such as racism and fitting in, being seen as an “other” and fighting against cultural differences both outside and inside the family. As a white person, I don’t know a lot about the experience of being mixed-race but I think this book did an excellent job at exploring these issues.
This book has so many great themes and discussions all packed into a relatively short book, so I would definitely recommend this if you want a book that is very thought-provoking and has a lot of substance.
I loved how Celeste Ng portrayed loss and grief in a very real way, and depicted family life in one of the most relatable ways I’ve ever read about. There’s a lot of discussion about parental pressures, sibling arguments, and how comments and attitudes from other family members can really shape you as a person. I also really appreciated how even when certain characters did or thought something I disagreed with, I felt like all the characters were so fully realised that you could always understand where they were coming from or why they acted in those ways.
There’s also a great portrayal of the issues that come with being mixed-race, such as racism and fitting in, being seen as an “other” and fighting against cultural differences both outside and inside the family. As a white person, I don’t know a lot about the experience of being mixed-race but I think this book did an excellent job at exploring these issues.
This book has so many great themes and discussions all packed into a relatively short book, so I would definitely recommend this if you want a book that is very thought-provoking and has a lot of substance.
alicebme's review against another edition
3.0
Vacation/plane read. Will read any future books this author writes. Solid. Satisfying.
savmarie22's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Such an amazing book
anawalt's review against another edition
3.0
A good read and a complex issue. There are secrets everywhere, and no one can see anyone else beyond their own projections.
Maybe make sure you’re in a resilient place with empathy to give, otherwise the grief and anguish may wring you out dry.
Maybe make sure you’re in a resilient place with empathy to give, otherwise the grief and anguish may wring you out dry.
bevinmkelly's review against another edition
3.75
this book was very well written and rly made me think like it was so intricate and everything related and made sense by the end like it all tied together. it was a beautifully written piece of work to show how our society can truly break a family. deeply generation racism tears the love of this family apart and it is so fucking sad
catweeena's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bigbadmyrr007's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced