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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
dark
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book takes place mostly during WWII in Malaysia (known as Malaya then). It follows the some of members of the Alcantara family with each chapter telling a different person's POV. There is the mother Cecily who is spy that is working for the Japanese. Her two daughters are Jujube and Jasmin, both at different points in their lives. Then her son Abel, who has been caught by the Japanese and is an a POW camp. I'm not a huge fan of WWII novels, but this one was unique in that I've never heard of one from this point of view before, which was at least something different. The story was easy to read and follow. I did get bored at times. I liked the relationship Cecily had with Leni (I hope that I got that name right!).
dark
sad
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought the first half of the book was engaging, but the second half was pretty frustrating. Not only was I getting tired of the constant description of smells, the plot felt like it wasn’t really going anywhere. And the boomerang narrative style (reminiscent of The Walking Dead) was getting on my nerves. I could have moved past this if the ending was good. It felt so rushed, and there wasn’t any real character development. They all basically annoyed me by the end of the book, and Abel’s survival was very unbelievable to me . I would have given this 2.5 stars if it wasn’t for Samantha Tan’s voice work. She did a really great job.
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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:
Complicated