You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
Loved the first two-thirds of the book, but something about the last third just didn’t connect for me and kept it from being a 5-star read.
2.5 stars
I can understand why this book is popular and though there are good sections, this book was super uneven in quality so I want to review in sections.
Part 1: Lily - 1 star
I really almost dnfed this book during the first part. There is so much self hatred and she really cannot be grateful for literally anything when she has this whirlwind romance with the richest guy ever and even when she’s like lowkey a dick to him. It’s all about how her life sucks and it was unbearable. I also feel like despite this it wasn’t even very well fleshed out and it was a lot of plot setup for later parts of the book. Despite this, it kept trying to make social commentary about the Asian experience so often that it was just commenting on different things where it was too superficial and didn’t give Lily as a character any depth. It doesn’t introduce a lot of the science until pretty late when it’s a big part of the book which felt like an odd choice to me.
Part 2: Nick - 2 stars
Nick’s character was a little more fleshed out and had some more real tension in his storyline due to the setup of part 1. However, I only liked it slightly better because of this and there was so much self hatred and doubt all over again. There’s parallels trying to be drawn that aren’t really necessary and he just comes across so in his head. The dynamics of him and his family are so much more interesting that I really don’t need to know the intricacies of his college experience and love, given how insecure he is. It wouldn’t be bad but this is a 3 generation story and there’s a much larger undercurrent plot about the role of genetic manipulation in our future which just is not compatible.
Part 3: May - 4.5 stars
This is where I feel people give this book great reviews as this part was really fleshed out and beautiful. May has a backbone and dreams, which come across so passionately. Then she acts with her passion and love, making difficult choices to push herself along and living with regret. The pain and yet the dreams that propelled her were so compelling and really made the side plot of the genetics really come together. The book really brings all the other parts together here but it focuses in on one aspect whereas the other parts were a lot about Lily and Nick’s lives outside of it which got all lost here. I think if just the relevant parts to this section were kept and everything else cut out, this book would be so much better.
I can understand why this book is popular and though there are good sections, this book was super uneven in quality so I want to review in sections.
Part 1: Lily - 1 star
I really almost dnfed this book during the first part. There is so much self hatred and she really cannot be grateful for literally anything when she has this whirlwind romance with the richest guy ever and even when she’s like lowkey a dick to him. It’s all about how her life sucks and it was unbearable. I also feel like despite this it wasn’t even very well fleshed out and it was a lot of plot setup for later parts of the book. Despite this, it kept trying to make social commentary about the Asian experience so often that it was just commenting on different things where it was too superficial and didn’t give Lily as a character any depth. It doesn’t introduce a lot of the science until pretty late when it’s a big part of the book which felt like an odd choice to me.
Part 2: Nick - 2 stars
Nick’s character was a little more fleshed out and had some more real tension in his storyline due to the setup of part 1. However, I only liked it slightly better because of this and there was so much self hatred and doubt all over again. There’s parallels trying to be drawn that aren’t really necessary and he just comes across so in his head. The dynamics of him and his family are so much more interesting that I really don’t need to know the intricacies of his college experience and love, given how insecure he is. It wouldn’t be bad but this is a 3 generation story and there’s a much larger undercurrent plot about the role of genetic manipulation in our future which just is not compatible.
Part 3: May - 4.5 stars
This is where I feel people give this book great reviews as this part was really fleshed out and beautiful. May has a backbone and dreams, which come across so passionately. Then she acts with her passion and love, making difficult choices to push herself along and living with regret. The pain and yet the dreams that propelled her were so compelling and really made the side plot of the genetics really come together. The book really brings all the other parts together here but it focuses in on one aspect whereas the other parts were a lot about Lily and Nick’s lives outside of it which got all lost here. I think if just the relevant parts to this section were kept and everything else cut out, this book would be so much better.
slow-paced
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Rape
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
More like a 3.5 - I liked it !
I have so many feelings about this book. When I first picked it up, I had no idea what the premise was going to be (it was a hardcover copy missing its dustjacket). I expected it to be something like a memoir or nonfiction, so when I actually started reading it, every twist the narrative went took me by complete surprise.
But the writing hooked me, and I spent almost an entire day just reading in anticipation of what would come next.
I grew up at the exact same time as Nick, so while I can recognize all of the age and era specific cultural references, I can also tell when things are written ever so slightly off. There are a few extremely minor inaccuracies, like the way Nick refers to gaming consoles, how the college application/acceptance process is described (pet peeve), how various modern high school processes work, etc. It's not a big deal, but every time I notice it I'm reminded that the author isn't actually one of us. Of course, that being said, Nick's section was probably still my favorite to read.
I wish the book got to further explore the themes it purports to talk about. I feel like many interesting things get commented on earlier in the text, but then are never addressed in their entirety. I still have so many questions, and not just plot related ones.
Also, I liked the part where Matthew is wearing a mask. Nice touch.
I have so many feelings about this book. When I first picked it up, I had no idea what the premise was going to be (it was a hardcover copy missing its dustjacket). I expected it to be something like a memoir or nonfiction, so when I actually started reading it, every twist the narrative went took me by complete surprise.
But the writing hooked me, and I spent almost an entire day just reading in anticipation of what would come next.
I grew up at the exact same time as Nick, so while I can recognize all of the age and era specific cultural references, I can also tell when things are written ever so slightly off. There are a few extremely minor inaccuracies, like the way Nick refers to gaming consoles, how the college application/acceptance process is described (pet peeve), how various modern high school processes work, etc. It's not a big deal, but every time I notice it I'm reminded that the author isn't actually one of us. Of course, that being said, Nick's section was probably still my favorite to read.
I wish the book got to further explore the themes it purports to talk about. I feel like many interesting things get commented on earlier in the text, but then are never addressed in their entirety. I still have so many questions, and not just plot related ones.
Also, I liked the part where Matthew is wearing a mask. Nice touch.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Kind of a fascinating example of not giving much away in the synopsis, but also by consequence making the story sound like something very different than it ends up being. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the story I expected more than I enjoyed what it actually turns out to be, but at the same time I feel like the style the book is written in, or at least the times and the ways it looks away, leaves a lot of the story to be desired. And normally I like multi-POV novels, but this one felt like it could have been better served by being a single POV, probably either Lily or Nick (and Nick gets my vote, but I see why he wouldn't work for other people).
Ultimately it was a decently enjoyable novel that I feel like should have left me with more to digest and think about, but missed a fair amount in the telling of it, so I didn't get left with much at all.
Ultimately it was a decently enjoyable novel that I feel like should have left me with more to digest and think about, but missed a fair amount in the telling of it, so I didn't get left with much at all.