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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Yes
I think I really like these quiet Australian novels (The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling). One moment Ai and her teenage friends are being harassed for their Asian heritage, and you're thinking, "okay, this is not so bad" and the next minute you're sobbing, and it's the body heaving variety.
This may be marketed as a YA novel -- and there are definitely scenes and behaviors that will put you right back in high school -- but it also deals with a lot of mature themes and trauma. The novel is split into two parts - with about 70% recounting senior year circa 1997 and the remainder Ai's early college years. I preferred Part 1, but it may just be that it had more space to develop.
Great for fans who love strong female friendships -- and seeing them tested -- while managing all the feelings of first love.
This may be marketed as a YA novel -- and there are definitely scenes and behaviors that will put you right back in high school -- but it also deals with a lot of mature themes and trauma. The novel is split into two parts - with about 70% recounting senior year circa 1997 and the remainder Ai's early college years. I preferred Part 1, but it may just be that it had more space to develop.
Great for fans who love strong female friendships -- and seeing them tested -- while managing all the feelings of first love.
I treasured each new epiphany like a jewel in my palm, something shiny and filtering to be admired and examined from every angle and then stored away with the others. Some jewels were more like polished stones. Some were semiprecious. Others were emeralds. At times I felt as though I was unearthing something that was better left buried. But I couldn’t help myself.
Sourced: unknown
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book wasn’t for me. I wanted to like it but the writing style felt juvenile. I tried to read it as YA, even though it’s marketed as adult. That helped a bit but mostly it still felt forced. Normally I love novels by poets, if only for the language, but that lyricism wasn’t here. I value that it resonated with some other readers though! I love that people respond to different things. I won’t be seeking out more novels by the author but I am curious to read her poetry to see if that hits different.
Thank you to bibliolifestyle & Harper Perennial for the gifted copy
Al grew up in the small Australian town of Whitlam, populated by Asian refugees and immigrants. Despite her parents escaping the Khmar Genocide, Al and her tight-knit group of friends are determined to chart a new path for themselves as anti-Asian sentiments rise in the late 90s.
EMERALDS is poet Leav's first foray into adult novel, and it shows. I adore the lyrical writing that at times reads like a fever dream. It is no secret that I love poets writing non-poetry because of how "playful" they are with words, and EMERALDS is no different.
I am especially mesmerized by how Leav weaves a compelling tale between various Asian-Australian students, portraying their internal conflicts that surpass the common tropes between white people vs. POC, but rather within the Asian community itself. Leav asks the readers to consider our complicity in assimilation & perpetrating the model minority myth while ensuring our safety in the face of racism.
While this story is labeled as adult, I find the first half to be more YA, with school dramas surrounding friendships & relationships, reminiscent of KING OF THE ARMADILLOS (Wendy Chin-Tanner). At times, the conversations between the teenagers seem too philosophical to be realistic, but it could just be me being an unaware nerd in high school
Al grew up in the small Australian town of Whitlam, populated by Asian refugees and immigrants. Despite her parents escaping the Khmar Genocide, Al and her tight-knit group of friends are determined to chart a new path for themselves as anti-Asian sentiments rise in the late 90s.
EMERALDS is poet Leav's first foray into adult novel, and it shows. I adore the lyrical writing that at times reads like a fever dream. It is no secret that I love poets writing non-poetry because of how "playful" they are with words, and EMERALDS is no different.
I am especially mesmerized by how Leav weaves a compelling tale between various Asian-Australian students, portraying their internal conflicts that surpass the common tropes between white people vs. POC, but rather within the Asian community itself. Leav asks the readers to consider our complicity in assimilation & perpetrating the model minority myth while ensuring our safety in the face of racism.
While this story is labeled as adult, I find the first half to be more YA, with school dramas surrounding friendships & relationships, reminiscent of KING OF THE ARMADILLOS (Wendy Chin-Tanner). At times, the conversations between the teenagers seem too philosophical to be realistic, but it could just be me being an unaware nerd in high school
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The writing was flawless!! I got hooked by page one. Such a beautiful coming of age story that highlights the racism, generational trauma, and relationships built from growing up in a small immigrant town. The first three quarters had me reeling in emotion and love for these characters. The last part of the book fell off a bit. I feel like the storyline lost its way, and the characters I spent so much time feeling connected to were lost. I didn’t feel the last bit of the book did much to add to the message of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Rape, Xenophobia
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this was amazing, I read almost the entire thing (>200 pages) in 1 day. once the main characters were introduced, I couldn't stop reading. I loved all of the characters (except Tin's dad ofc, and honestly even Sying), they were all written masterfully, all with their own personality traits and motivations, and some of the relationships really had me close to tears. Ai and Brigitte, Brigitte and Bowie, Brigitte and Ai, Tin and Ai, and then Lucille and Ai was probably the one that got to me the most, everyone needs a maternal figure like that in their life. by the end, I felt like I had known these characters for years. I would say that although I was rooting for Ai, and wanted her to 'make it', especially in the white, affluent setting of the fine arts school, I felt the second half of the book was weaker than the first - but maybe it was just because I loved the friendships and school setting of the first. really highly recommended <3 (but quite a few TWs for sexual assault, domestic violence, death etc)