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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
A terrific book
A very moving book. Full of love, and difficulty. A nice portrait of some of the hardest things, but the best things too.
A very moving book. Full of love, and difficulty. A nice portrait of some of the hardest things, but the best things too.
I loved this book! I started the second in the series this morning. It's a wonderful book, but even better is knowing that it is based on the stories of real people! It is so heart warming to realize there are such wonderful people in this world! Thank you Kay Bratt for bringing us their story!!
I am normally a fan of books set in other parts of the world but this one was a disappointment. I didn't get any real sense of the atmosphere or culture of China and felt like with minor tweaks this story could have taken place anywhere. It is essentially the old poor-girl-meets-rich-boy plot line with its inherent themes of prejudice and class bias, and it is done neither well nor with any innovation. The writing is unsophisticated, the characters one-dimensional and the dialogue generic. This often felt very much like a young-adult novel, and not a good one at that. I have to give the author some credit for not using a couple of unrealistic, cheesy plot resolutions I was afraid she would but that's not saying much. I will not be reading the rest of the books in this series.
The Scavenger’s Daughters by Kay Bratt is the beginning of a beautiful series about family in China. It’s the story of a young man who survives the Cultural Revolution of the 1950’s, only to find himself a lowly trash scavenger in rustic China. The only value he has in life is to rescue baby girls discarded in his trash piles, and raise them as his own daughters. He and his wife do this for years, and their family grows in number & love. I can’t wait to keep reading about this great family.
Fabulous book! The courage, determination, and sacrifice of the main character, Ye Ye, are inspirational. Read it!
Interesting read!
Major culture shock, but what an education! These characters draw you in and keep you cheering for them. Very good story.
Major culture shock, but what an education! These characters draw you in and keep you cheering for them. Very good story.
This is one emotional read, especially for me as an orphaned child from China, how could this not have touched a little part of my heart? For that reason, I think the emotional connection outweighs my judgement slightly.
So to begin my more-objective thoughts: The characters were my favorite part because we got a distinct taste of each of them, full of little touches and conversations. I wish we could learn more about them, but I think that will be reserved for the rest of the series. Some of their actions seemed a little 'necessary for the plot', but overall you cannot help but become attached to them. While speaking about plot, it is richly based in Benfu's experience of the Cultural Revolution, much like The Palest Ink. I appreciated how it still haunts him and the perspectives from Benfu and Linnea continue this thread from the prequel. Even though there may have been some cheese and tidy plot resolutions, this is an all around feel good book and I am looking forward to reading the next ones! Good thing I already have them on my Kindle.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-scavengers-daughters-kay-bratt/
So to begin my more-objective thoughts: The characters were my favorite part because we got a distinct taste of each of them, full of little touches and conversations. I wish we could learn more about them, but I think that will be reserved for the rest of the series. Some of their actions seemed a little 'necessary for the plot', but overall you cannot help but become attached to them. While speaking about plot, it is richly based in Benfu's experience of the Cultural Revolution, much like The Palest Ink. I appreciated how it still haunts him and the perspectives from Benfu and Linnea continue this thread from the prequel. Even though there may have been some cheese and tidy plot resolutions, this is an all around feel good book and I am looking forward to reading the next ones! Good thing I already have them on my Kindle.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-scavengers-daughters-kay-bratt/
This is a good, but not great, novel set in modern day China. The main character, Benfu, is a middle-aged man who makes a living as a scavenger. Sometimes, though, he finds more than trash - abandoned girls that he and his wife take in and raise as their own. But when Benfu becomes ill, he can no longer provide for his already poor family. Instead, his wife and daughters must find a way to get Benfu the assistance he needs.
The author, Kay Bratt, lived in China for several years, and this shows in the novel. Indeed, the best part of "The Scavenger's Daughters" is its realistic portrayal of China. But Bratt isn't a great writer - her writing style is simplistic, the story is predictable, and there are some very cheesy lines of dialogue. Because of this, I'd be hard pressed to recommend it to most people. But, you know, at least it's an uplifting story.
The author, Kay Bratt, lived in China for several years, and this shows in the novel. Indeed, the best part of "The Scavenger's Daughters" is its realistic portrayal of China. But Bratt isn't a great writer - her writing style is simplistic, the story is predictable, and there are some very cheesy lines of dialogue. Because of this, I'd be hard pressed to recommend it to most people. But, you know, at least it's an uplifting story.
The Scavenger's Daughters is a beautiful book: the cover is simple yet relates to the story very well. This is the first book I read set in China and the theme is very important and something I didn't know happened so often. Basically the story is about a Chinese couple, Benfu and Calli, that take abandoned young girls to their own humble house and try to give them a proper life even though they are very poor. Each girl is given the name of a flower and they are all different and special. Knowing this is based on true stories made me think of how lucky I am but also gave me hope that this situation will change with all the kind people that take these abandoned children into their own houses.
I loved reading this story: it was impact-full and eye-opening but also sweet and filled with the love Ye Ye (grandpa) and Nai Nai (grandma) gave to these girls for more than half of their lives. This was a heartwarming story that I recommend to everyone.
I can't wait to read the next books in the series!
I loved reading this story: it was impact-full and eye-opening but also sweet and filled with the love Ye Ye (grandpa) and Nai Nai (grandma) gave to these girls for more than half of their lives. This was a heartwarming story that I recommend to everyone.
I can't wait to read the next books in the series!