Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

19 reviews

tak_everlasting's review

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adventurous challenging medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75


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quasinaut's review

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adventurous hopeful 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? Yes

4.25

Slow build, but ultimately really enjoyed it! Everything came together in the end -- perhaps too conveniently?

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bandysbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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 is the story of a young Chinese woman trying to find her place in the early 1900s South. She must deal with racism, not fitting in, financial struggles, and familial struggles while trying to figure out who she is and what she wants from life. 

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zombiezami's review against another edition

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4.25

I loved this book! The voice of the protagonist Jo was truly endearing, and I loved the twists and turns of the narrative. Also, it's rare to see books about Asian Americans' presence in the South. 

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rebthack's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

4.5


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kayladaila's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Downstairs Girl tells the story of Jo Kuan, a Chinese American woman struggling to find her place in post-Civil War Georgia. Jo is employed as a servant for a wealthy family while she lives illegally in the basement of a struggling newspaper owner’s house. She decides to write an advice column to help her upstairs neighbor boost newspaper sales and give herself an outlet. 

Stacey Lee seamlessly touches on so many themes over the course of The Downstairs Girl. My favorite was Lee’s handling of intersectional feminism. From Jo’s column to her involvement with the Women’s Rights movement, there is so much to unpack, and sadly, most of it still needs to be unpacked today. 

The Downstairs Girl reminded me of Last Night at the Telegraph Club. It didn’t help that Emily Woo Zeller read the audiobook for both. However, they are both about young Chinese American women dealing with inter-generational conflict and discrimination. I think these books are worth looking at next to each other. 

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bookswithmybulldog's review

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reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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qingxuanluvr's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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? No

3.75

I'm not usually one for historical fiction without a bit of magic and/or dragons thrown in, but The Downstairs Girl hooked me from the beginning.  From the halfway point, I just couldn't put it down.  The way the plot twists smacked me towards the end were phenomenal and the relationship between Jo and Old Gin was absolutely beautifully woven - the heart of the story.

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wear_sun_screen's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring 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? No

5.0


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