Scan barcode
kirstym25's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Grief
hennie's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Xenophobia and Racism
Moderate: Suicide attempt
katndrsn's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Death of parent
Moderate: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Violence, War, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Kidnapping
tenderbench's review
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Cancer, Colonisation, Racism, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, and Kidnapping
thecriticalreader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, Mental illness, Car accident, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Kidnapping, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault
Minor: Colonisation, Alcohol, War, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Classism, Death of parent, Abortion, Fatphobia, Deportation, and Violence
Additional Content Warning: Gamblingbookslovereaders's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Ok let’s get ready for me to gush! What an absolute STUNNER of a debut novel by Wiz Wharton. It had everything I love in a book. Amazing characters who you fall in love with and want to pull right out of the book and give a hug to. The characters that you honestly want to reach into said book and slap. And honestly the storyline - ugh what can I say buy it honestly gave me all the feels.
Ghost Girl, Banana is a complex yet brilliantly written book about race, love, family and belonging. It’s about two women their strengths and their weaknesses and how they overcome this.
The book is duel point of view and spans over 30 years. We hear the voice of Sook-Yin who is sent to London by her family in the 1960s and her daughter Li-Li Chen or Lily who is in her late 20s in 1997.
It shows the strength of the women and what they have to go through, especially Sook-Yin. She has been sent to a brand new country where she isn’t fluent in the language and has so much pressure to do well and send home money to her family. There is so much that she goes through in such a short space of time but how Wiz Wharton did this was so well done. I felt such strong emotions for Sook-Yin and her life was not an easy one.
Lily - or Li-Li Chen has never fitted in. She was bullied as a child as she was different - from the way she looked to how she acted. She herself went through a trauma and is only now starting to get her bearings again.
The book from Sook-Yin’s point of view show is from the point she left her home to when she passes away. Lily we see going on a journey of self discovery and finding out more about her mother. There are secrets that are uncovered but also a sense of closure.
I honestly really enjoyed this book. I flew through it, not only was I gripped by the story needing to find out what happened to Sook-Yin but also by the way it was written.
Such a brilliant debut novel by Wiz Wharton and I hope to see more like it.
Graphic: Death of parent and Suicide attempt