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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
A bit of a slower book, but my god this was a gut punch (not terribly aggressive, but a punch none-the-less).
challenging
reflective
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
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
3.5 stars. I feel quite conflicted. I really liked this book for its content of hard topics presented realistically and having a somewhat sad resolution. On the other hand, I really hated that the story was told mostly through a high-school student. It made the book seem overly juvenile tone wise, but at the same time, the topics and hardships the characters experienced and spoke about were handled in a way that you know a typical high-school student wouldn't respond that way. The juxtaposition of juvenile narrator with the overly mature handling of the serious/hard stuff made it challenging to stay engaged in the story and take anything seriously. I applaud the content and bring attention and focus to hard topics. I applaud a somewhat morose ending and unhappy incidents. I applaud the cultural diversity that I find challenging to find in many of my literary choices. I just think a change in choice of narrator or something may have helped to propel this book to 5 stars.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
medium-paced
Thank you to Harper Perennial for the free copy of “Others Were Emeralds”!
“Others Were Emeralds” is the story of Ai, the daughter of Cambodian refugees living in Australia in the 90’s. After years of navigating racism, boys, high school, and friendships, a freak accident changes her life and sets her on the path that leads her to being overworked, stressed, and eventually, in the middle of a mental breakdown.
I was really excited to read this book for a two reasons - it was highly reviewed, not to mention the plot sounded heartbreaking and moving (also…the cover was beautiful and I am not afraid to admit that I judge a book by its cover ITS FINE WHATEVER). But I have to say…I was really let down by this book.
The biggest problem I had was the dialogue - it was robotic and weird, and it was in no way what teenagers talked like. Almost like aliens who learned proper English from the olden days. It was…odd. The book was also super dialogue heavy, so because of the stilted dialogue, it made it hard for me to form a connection with ANY of the characters, even though they ALL go through horrific, deep, challenging moments.
It was a book that had a lot going on in the plot, but it felt like nothing really happened…things that were supposed to be heavy in weight were written the same way mundane things were, so it was just very flat and boring to me. I hate to say it, but I found it very poorly written - it was described as poetic and lyrical, and I didn’t find that it was either of those things. Unfortunately, with the stilted dialogue, not being able to connect to any characters (when character connection was the WHOLE point of the book), and the poor writing, I didn’t like “Others Were Emeralds”, and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
“Others Were Emeralds” is the story of Ai, the daughter of Cambodian refugees living in Australia in the 90’s. After years of navigating racism, boys, high school, and friendships, a freak accident changes her life and sets her on the path that leads her to being overworked, stressed, and eventually, in the middle of a mental breakdown.
I was really excited to read this book for a two reasons - it was highly reviewed, not to mention the plot sounded heartbreaking and moving (also…the cover was beautiful and I am not afraid to admit that I judge a book by its cover ITS FINE WHATEVER). But I have to say…I was really let down by this book.
The biggest problem I had was the dialogue - it was robotic and weird, and it was in no way what teenagers talked like. Almost like aliens who learned proper English from the olden days. It was…odd. The book was also super dialogue heavy, so because of the stilted dialogue, it made it hard for me to form a connection with ANY of the characters, even though they ALL go through horrific, deep, challenging moments.
It was a book that had a lot going on in the plot, but it felt like nothing really happened…things that were supposed to be heavy in weight were written the same way mundane things were, so it was just very flat and boring to me. I hate to say it, but I found it very poorly written - it was described as poetic and lyrical, and I didn’t find that it was either of those things. Unfortunately, with the stilted dialogue, not being able to connect to any characters (when character connection was the WHOLE point of the book), and the poor writing, I didn’t like “Others Were Emeralds”, and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
This book was absolutely beautiful. Leav's poetic voice shone through and I couldn't put it down. A powerful and heartwrenching look at racism. I fell in love with the characters and didn't want it to end. <3
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!
I thoroughly enjoyed this. I loved that the writing fluctuated from sometimes very lyrical to fairly conversational and informal. I often forgot that it was a work of fiction and not a memoir with how Leav was able to portray Ai looking back on her experiences. My only real criticism of the story was that the major turning point of the book didn't seem to lead to any changes in Ai. We didn't really get to see her grieve at all in part one and the second part of the book was so short it felt a bit rushed and we still didn't really get to see Ai delve into her grief very much. Overall, would definitely recommend and I look forward to reading more work by the author!
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!
I thoroughly enjoyed this. I loved that the writing fluctuated from sometimes very lyrical to fairly conversational and informal. I often forgot that it was a work of fiction and not a memoir with how Leav was able to portray Ai looking back on her experiences. My only real criticism of the story was that the major turning point of the book didn't seem to lead to any changes in Ai. We didn't really get to see her grieve at all in part one and the second part of the book was so short it felt a bit rushed and we still didn't really get to see Ai delve into her grief very much. Overall, would definitely recommend and I look forward to reading more work by the author!