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futuretreeman's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book, man. Wrenched at my heart in every way possible. I am a sucker for complicated parental relationships! And does this book have that! The characters are maybe some of the most complex characters I've ever read. They are so full of flaws and can be quite awful to each other. I loved getting to read from each of their POVs. If the story was only written from the perspective of one, I would be inclined to think of the others as the villains of the story. But you just can't, each one makes mistakes and some of them horrible but . . .
I read this book as I am in the folds of moving on from my own broken relationships. We were horrible to each other, in many ways me more than them, just as these characters were horrible to each other. But it was wonderful to see that they could still love, care, and support each other anyway.
My critque?
Thai used a lot of metaphors in her writing and many were beautiful! But there were also many that did not make a whole lot of sense to me. And those little moments took me out of the book a little bit. They multiplied in a way that sometimes made it hard to see past their cliche and into the powerful thoughts they were supposed to be.
This next bit is not a critique to the author. Some of the chapters from Minh's POV also took me away from the story a bit. And I don't think it was because they were poorly written or nonvaluable. I think it was maybe my own afterlife beliefs. Everything in the story is so raw and real, but hearing from the ghost of somebody in that context was strange. I think that because I don't believe in an afterlife, it was hard for those chapters to feel as real to me as the others.
Though I am sure someone who does believe in the afterlife would not have the same qualms with the chapters as I did.
I did find those chapters illuminating to Minh's character though. And when she took us back to her past in Vietnam, how everything started, I was able to fall back into the story; those were wonderful moments.
Every chapter brought us a new twist. Some, granted, quite a lot bigger than others. Thai keeps you coming back from the moment meet our 3 badass women choking on red tide toxins.
Thank you Thao Thai.
I read this book as I am in the folds of moving on from my own broken relationships. We were horrible to each other, in many ways me more than them, just as these characters were horrible to each other. But it was wonderful to see that they could still love, care, and support each other anyway.
My critque?
Thai used a lot of metaphors in her writing and many were beautiful! But there were also many that did not make a whole lot of sense to me. And those little moments took me out of the book a little bit. They multiplied in a way that sometimes made it hard to see past their cliche and into the powerful thoughts they were supposed to be.
This next bit is not a critique to the author. Some of the chapters from Minh's POV also took me away from the story a bit. And I don't think it was because they were poorly written or nonvaluable. I think it was maybe my own afterlife beliefs. Everything in the story is so raw and real, but hearing from the ghost of somebody in that context was strange. I think that because I don't believe in an afterlife, it was hard for those chapters to feel as real to me as the others.
Though I am sure someone who does believe in the afterlife would not have the same qualms with the chapters as I did.
I did find those chapters illuminating to Minh's character though. And when she took us back to her past in Vietnam, how everything started, I was able to fall back into the story; those were wonderful moments.
Every chapter brought us a new twist. Some, granted, quite a lot bigger than others. Thai keeps you coming back from the moment meet our 3 badass women choking on red tide toxins.
Thank you Thao Thai.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, and Child abuse
gondorgirl's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
Minor: Colonisation, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Classism
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