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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Steph Cha has a hell of a tightrope to walk with this one. A fictional retelling of the Latasha Harlins murder, she breaks down the impact of it between both families impacted: the black family that mourned her and the Korean family that produced her killer. Writing black characters, specifically in a context such as this, is a tall task for a non-black writer.
But Cha is successful. She navigates this with a less-is-more approach, focusing on how grief and racial trauma impact both families respectively. She did a lot of research to make this book possible and it pays off well. Ava’s family is comprised of fully realized characters, Shawn in particular, who have to navigate through white supremacy and the requisite grief of losing their own to racial violence.
Grace’s family is one where I feel like Cha has a dueling conscience as someone who is both Korean-American and educated on anti-blackness. Grace herself loves her family and struggles to process all that is happening when the big reveal comes about her mother. Her sister Miriam is the kind of well-intentioned but often obnoxious antiracist type, someone who sees black people broadly as causes more than humans. The dynamic between the two sisters and their mother, along with the family their mother harmed, plays out well over the book.
The ending is really something. I had a sense of who did what but I wasn’t sure how Cha was going to bring it home and it really stuck with me, especially in this moment.
I remember reading and enjoying Steph Cha’s first book Follow Her Home but I didn’t think it would lead to her writing something like this. To see her progress as a writer to pen one of the best thing I read all year is special.
But Cha is successful. She navigates this with a less-is-more approach, focusing on how grief and racial trauma impact both families respectively. She did a lot of research to make this book possible and it pays off well. Ava’s family is comprised of fully realized characters, Shawn in particular, who have to navigate through white supremacy and the requisite grief of losing their own to racial violence.
Grace’s family is one where I feel like Cha has a dueling conscience as someone who is both Korean-American and educated on anti-blackness. Grace herself loves her family and struggles to process all that is happening when the big reveal comes about her mother. Her sister Miriam is the kind of well-intentioned but often obnoxious antiracist type, someone who sees black people broadly as causes more than humans. The dynamic between the two sisters and their mother, along with the family their mother harmed, plays out well over the book.
The ending is really something. I had a sense of who did what but I wasn’t sure how Cha was going to bring it home and it really stuck with me, especially in this moment.
I remember reading and enjoying Steph Cha’s first book Follow Her Home but I didn’t think it would lead to her writing something like this. To see her progress as a writer to pen one of the best thing I read all year is special.
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is based on the death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins at the hands of a Korean-American store owner, Soon Ja Du, in 1991.
Du accused Latasha of shoplifting a bottle of orange juice, and their verbal altercation escalated into a physical one. Then the woman grabbed a gun and fired, killing the girl. When police arrived on the scene, they discovered that Latasha had the money for the juice in her hand — $2. Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter but served no jail time.
I’ve read about the protests in LA following the beating of Rodney King, and I’ve read books that mention the tension between Koreans and African-Americans, but I never knew why, and I’m thankful this book opened my eyes to that.
➞ During the riots of 1992, 2,280 Korean American-owned stores had been looted, burned or damaged, amounting to about $400 million in losses.
Your House Will Pay is set in the summer of 2019, after yet another police shooting of an unarmed black teenager.
I love how the story was formatted, and that the book touches on both sides of the story. As the background story slowly unfolds, we are constantly learning more about the characters and how these events have shaped their lives. The narrative will have you questioning your familial relationships, your biases, and the Justice system.
This story will stick with me for a long time. Thank you Kristin Lee for recommending this one!
Du accused Latasha of shoplifting a bottle of orange juice, and their verbal altercation escalated into a physical one. Then the woman grabbed a gun and fired, killing the girl. When police arrived on the scene, they discovered that Latasha had the money for the juice in her hand — $2. Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter but served no jail time.
I’ve read about the protests in LA following the beating of Rodney King, and I’ve read books that mention the tension between Koreans and African-Americans, but I never knew why, and I’m thankful this book opened my eyes to that.
➞ During the riots of 1992, 2,280 Korean American-owned stores had been looted, burned or damaged, amounting to about $400 million in losses.
Your House Will Pay is set in the summer of 2019, after yet another police shooting of an unarmed black teenager.
I love how the story was formatted, and that the book touches on both sides of the story. As the background story slowly unfolds, we are constantly learning more about the characters and how these events have shaped their lives. The narrative will have you questioning your familial relationships, your biases, and the Justice system.
This story will stick with me for a long time. Thank you Kristin Lee for recommending this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is so unlike any other book that I’ve read, and I went into it without really even reading the blurb as it was sent by Readr books. It was absolutely extraordinary, totally immersive and dealt with incredibly important themes whilst maintaining an addictive plot and developing deep characters. I would absolutely recommend it.
A solid 3.5, but I gave it a bump because it is "of the moment" and therefore more auspicious. Cha is a quality writer, but it seems like she either didn't want to get into the weeds on this one or doesn't have the range.
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Hmmm.... this felt lacklustre? The story had a lot of
potential and I can see now what people mean by themes not being explored enough. I couldn’t stand Grace and I was hoping for her to grow even just a little bit by the end of the book and well..... nice writing tho
potential and I can see now what people mean by themes not being explored enough. I couldn’t stand Grace and I was hoping for her to grow even just a little bit by the end of the book and well..... nice writing tho
i can’t believe how much nuance fit into like 300 pages but oh my god….
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes