Reviews

Cô Gái Dưới Tầng Hầm by Stacey Lee

Only show reviews with written explanations

vonderbash's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

mznayluv's review against another edition

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challenging emotional

3.0

ravenslanding's review against another edition

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5.0

I picked this up in a kindle sale, and put off reading it because I was busy and frankly afraid for the Chinese American protagonist growing up at the start of Jim Crow, just after reconstruction ended (it is set in 1890 Atlanta). Jo is intensely likable, the story is straight forward but also a little twisty, there are good people and bad people, and lots of reprehensible middle ground people. I learned stuff I had never thought about before. I don't think I knew the South brought in Chinese after the Civil War to work as cheap labor--and then the Chinese left, too, because it turns out that when you treat people like animals, they leave.

It's a short and enjoyable read, with a lot of likable characters and secrets and plot, and everything works out in the end.

sameeha_r05's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Content Warnings

spunkylib's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-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

4.0

phoenix2's review against another edition

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3.0

The Downstairs Girl is a historical YA drama with some hints of mystery and a lovely build-up of a story.

The plot was well handled, with all the aspects and small twists working out beautifully to create a lovely story. The Author did a great job leaving small hints here and there as to how the story would progress and for the mystery case to be resolved. Though I must admit that I could pretty much see what everything was going from the start, but still, the main character was delightful to read.

However, the ending was a letdown. Everything was too conveniently resolved and not everything was smoothly wrapped up, as I at least would have loved for more explanation when it came to the story of the main character's past and her family. Also, the romance was too hasty, but cute nevertheless.