Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling

I didn’t think much of it when I picked this book up, thought it would be light hearted/a quick read, but it was so much more. The story has a bit of everything - family, friendship, culture, mental health representation, even a touch of romance. Anna is such a loveable character, you want nothing more, as a reader, to just reach out and give her a hug. In fact every character kind of makes their way into the soft spots of your heart, and it’s incredible how Wai Chim is able create such strong characters, each with such complex backstories all while simultaneously intermingling them into one story. This book, like it’s title, holds the power of a good dumpling:)

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camilleareads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

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livvie98's review

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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kindredbooks's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I received a copy of this book from Scholastic Canada in exchange for an honest review.

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling is a story about a young Chinese Australian teenage girl who struggles to live out a “normal” teenage life. Between her mother’s erratic moods and behaviour, and her busy-at-work father, Anna is busy trying to take care of her two younger siblings while maintaining a semblance of normality to the outside world.

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling is a story about many things - culture, family, love, mental health. It is a story about a Chinese immigrant family and their sense of normalcy as it is challenged when Anna's mom's mental health begins to worsen. While mental health still has a negative stigma (though I'm hopeful for the changes), mental health is still not quite as accepted in the Asian community. Add to that all the elements of Chinese culture, and you cannot help but empathize with Anna as she struggles to remain as a good Chinese daughter, following the elements of filial piety, while also having to come to terms with the fact that she may not be able to “fix” the problems with her mother. That perhaps in order to help her mother, she may need to stop being the perfect and good Chinese daughter. There were many parts of the story that resonated with me - particularly the Hong Kong culture and sayings/expressions that Anna’s parents and other Chinese adults in the story liked to say. Expressions I’ve heard of all my life. The utmost importance and priority of education above all else. Wanting to fit in while always seen as other through microaggressions. To say that there is a lot to reflect on in this story would be an understatement. I enjoyed reading it and I’m happy to see such important issues like mental health being talked about with a Chinese protagonist. I think that it will resonate with many readers who understand the complexity of mental health on top of being part of a minority culture.

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