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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
This was great, I appreciated that while it was YA the characters weren't TOO young. Well paced and entertaining.
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
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:
Complicated
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
By far my favorite of the remixed classics that I've read. The rich descriptions of cities, places, and food brought both the setting and the time period to life. I found myself deeply engaged in the first half of the book, despite the bulk of the action happening much later. As a long-time lover of sea stories, I loved the chance to step into a maritime context (1820's South China Sea) that I'm still unfamiliar with. I also appreciated the author's notes about language and cultural background at the end.
I could really feel the love the author had for this story and its themes. Xiang and her personal struggles with living up to her mother's expectations (and wanting something different out of life entirely) explored a different facet of the coming-of-age narrative the original novel puts forth - just like Jim from Treasure Planet, another retelling I adore. Treasure Island simply stays winning.
(And as a fun little bit of meta, the audiobook narrator, Emily Woo Zeller, is the same person who read the audiobook for Red As the Sky, Deep As the Sea. Zheng Yi Sao cinematic universe lmao.)
I could really feel the love the author had for this story and its themes. Xiang and her personal struggles with living up to her mother's expectations (and wanting something different out of life entirely) explored a different facet of the coming-of-age narrative the original novel puts forth - just like Jim from Treasure Planet, another retelling I adore. Treasure Island simply stays winning.
(And as a fun little bit of meta, the audiobook narrator, Emily Woo Zeller, is the same person who read the audiobook for Red As the Sky, Deep As the Sea. Zheng Yi Sao cinematic universe lmao.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Murder
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
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:
No
4.25 stars. This book was so fun!! A retelling of the classic, Treasure Island, but in 19th century China based off of a real bad ass woman pirate? Hell. Yeah. There's different languages (mandarin, cantonese, vietnamese, with mentions of many more), and cultures. Our MC is really trying to prove herself and we go on this great adventure with her. I love that she comes into her queerness (lesbian) and there's swords and fighting too! This book has it all, including historical and language references at the end. 9/10 definitely recommend!
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Amazing. The Story, the Characters, everything catched me and i couldn't Stop reading. Even through one plottwist seemes a Bit obvious, some Turns really catched me Off guard and the ending was so good and surprising!
I also Loved the historic Touch in it. This series of classic Retellings is one of my favorites!
I also Loved the historic Touch in it. This series of classic Retellings is one of my favorites!
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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:
No
Okay I knew this was an Asian retelling of Treasure Island, but I didn’t know it was LGBT! The sapphic romance was so good! Never knowing if Anh (or the crew) is gonna betray Xiang. The twists and turns! I never read the original but I watched the movie (Muppets version) as a young child so it was certainly reminiscent, but a very fresh take on the story!