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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Gosh, this was such a raw and emotional story, spotlighting mental health and family dynamics, especially in Asian families.
The story revolves around Anna who is the eldest daughter (eldest daughter to the core, I'm already hard relating and crying), left to look after her younger sister and brother when her mother's mental health takes a plunge and her father gets too busy with the restaurant. Anna's just a teen, trying to get through her studies, hoping every day that her Ma will feel good enough to leave her room and taking care of the family in her stead.
She's not sure what she wants from the future, all she wants is to help her family thrive. Things start to change when she finally convinces her father to let her help at the restaurant and they hire a new delivery boy named Rory. Rory might seem fun and charming on the outside but he has his own mental health concerns.
As the days go by, Anna starts to question whether her mother will ever truly get better and what is really going on with her.
Listen, I'm too emotional about this book to write a proper review but oh god, this one just hit me deep in my soul. Anna is so young that she barely understands mental health issues and clearly feels the pressure to be the perfect daughter and keep her family together. And then we have Rory, who has gone through his own troubles as he tries to help Anna know that she deserves to feel her feelings and live the life she wants while also asking for help.
Ugh, it's such a well done book, the family dynamics are messy and frustrating but also so real and heartwarming. I was screaming at the book one second and crying the next.
Absolutely great depiction of mental health, especially with that ending. I think it was so well-written. This book definitely gets my counselling student stamp of approval.
An interesting story.
I did like reading something from the Chinese-Australian perspective, and I appreciated the representation of mental health... but this wasn't a book that I absolutely loved. I'll still happily recommend it to YA fans, just not a new favourite for me.
I did like reading something from the Chinese-Australian perspective, and I appreciated the representation of mental health... but this wasn't a book that I absolutely loved. I'll still happily recommend it to YA fans, just not a new favourite for me.
emotional
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
WOW!!! this book was so heartwarming and loving, it was like a warm blanket and a cup of hot chocolate and a cup of noodles and dumplings all in one. everything was perfect and made me feel happy and at home, the way mental illness was portrayed was perfect and to have a nice ending just made me feel so happy. also loved that it was set in the inner west because i live here!! will definitely be picking up my own copy after i return this one to the library <3
challenging
emotional
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:
Yes
Allowed the reader to understand the life of an immigrant family and how to live with mental illnesses which is a fresh take needed, particularly for young adult readers.
First I want to say that the title of the book is incredibly misleading as you're led to believe it's about cooking. It's 100% not that. It's a book about a family's struggle with their mom's mental illness. I highly enjoyed the dynamics of how the family behaviors towards mental illness as it's a good reflection of how many families deal with it.
What made me not love the story is the boring and honestly unnecessary romance. I didn't feel any sparks between Rory and Anna, and honestly it felt forced into the narrative.
Also, I felt there was a huge missed opportunity with Wei. The story would have been better and stronger if instead of the uninteresting romance that Anna and Wei become friends over their similar family situation especially since Anna literally has no friends.
Overally, great story about an Asian family in a difficult situation, but that romance weakened the narrative.
What made me not love the story is the boring and honestly unnecessary romance. I didn't feel any sparks between Rory and Anna, and honestly it felt forced into the narrative.
Also, I felt there was a huge missed opportunity with Wei. The story would have been better and stronger if instead of the uninteresting romance that Anna and Wei become friends over their similar family situation especially since Anna literally has no friends.
Overally, great story about an Asian family in a difficult situation, but that romance weakened the narrative.
The title of this book caught my attention. I love dumplings so I just new I have to read this book! I was not expecting the roller coaster of emotions that I went through while listening to it. I have to say, I absolutely loved it!
The story centered around Anna, a young Chinese-Australian girl. As the oldest of her siblings, Anna was trying to do her best to help raise her siblings. In the beginning, Anna's mother appeared to show a lot of symptoms of depression and schizophrenia. Her mother would stay in bed all day for several days and would sometimes yell at Anna and her sister in the middle of the night. What made things more difficult were that Anna's father was not there to support them. Instead, he stayed working all day at his restaurant and slept there instead of going home to his family. My heart completely went out to Anna and her siblings as they tried to live life as normally they could. Anna's worries for her siblings and taking the mother role hit close to home for me.
This book raised various topics/issues that made this audiobook a worth-it read. It heavily focused on mental illness but it also talked about immigration, stereotypes, racism, the importance of education, family relationships, and parental role models (or lack of). Though this book was set in Australia and the main character was of Chinese descent, the topics that it brought up could be relatable to many people of various cultures. In addition, the heart behind the story was what won me. I could not help but feel as if I were Anna herself. I even cried at the end as I felt Anna's hope and anguish.
The reader for this audiobook production did a fantastic job. Christina Ho captivated all of the characters' voices well, including all the accents. She had great tone and great pacing. It was easy to get swept up into the story and get lost in it. Ms. Ho brought the story to life.
Overall, I highly enjoyed this audiobook. The topics that were raised were relatable and I felt connected with Anna's character. This has become a new favorite of mine!
The story centered around Anna, a young Chinese-Australian girl. As the oldest of her siblings, Anna was trying to do her best to help raise her siblings. In the beginning, Anna's mother appeared to show a lot of symptoms of depression and schizophrenia. Her mother would stay in bed all day for several days and would sometimes yell at Anna and her sister in the middle of the night. What made things more difficult were that Anna's father was not there to support them. Instead, he stayed working all day at his restaurant and slept there instead of going home to his family. My heart completely went out to Anna and her siblings as they tried to live life as normally they could. Anna's worries for her siblings and taking the mother role hit close to home for me.
This book raised various topics/issues that made this audiobook a worth-it read. It heavily focused on mental illness but it also talked about immigration, stereotypes, racism, the importance of education, family relationships, and parental role models (or lack of). Though this book was set in Australia and the main character was of Chinese descent, the topics that it brought up could be relatable to many people of various cultures. In addition, the heart behind the story was what won me. I could not help but feel as if I were Anna herself. I even cried at the end as I felt Anna's hope and anguish.
The reader for this audiobook production did a fantastic job. Christina Ho captivated all of the characters' voices well, including all the accents. She had great tone and great pacing. It was easy to get swept up into the story and get lost in it. Ms. Ho brought the story to life.
Overall, I highly enjoyed this audiobook. The topics that were raised were relatable and I felt connected with Anna's character. This has become a new favorite of mine!
I blame this book for making me crave dumplings... do not read on an empty stomach.
Chinese food aside, there's a lot of great discussion on mental illness here that the author unpacks with sensitivity and care. I was particularly pleased with the ending, because Chim doesn't try and BS you with a "happy ending" where Anna's mom starts medication and therapy and then is magically "fixed" somehow. Instead, she struggles, she relapses, but Anna's family finds new ways to handle her mother's illness instead of pretending it isn't there. Honestly, the most realistic and satisfying ending I could have asked for. I really related to Anna as a protagonist, who has hardcore Eldest-Daughter Syndrome™ and struggles to care for both her parents and younger siblings while finding her own pathway in life. Mental illness is so often white-washed too, so it was so interesting (and necessary!) getting to read about the intersections of Chinese culture and mental health. On top of all of this is a very sweet and pure romance between Anna and Rory. A little too much cheese at times, but as to be expected of a YA novel.
I was a little annoyed with Anna at times because she has a very "not like other girls" attitude that I don't think she every really learned from. True she became a little closer with Wei towards the very end, but sometimes her inner commentary was super obnoxious. I'll never forget the line where she said she and Rory were "just like Romeo and Juliet," maybe even an "Edward and Bella" which I think dropped my rating of this book a full star lollll. (Sorry I'm petty).
Overall though, very cute and touching book. I can see this helping a lot of people. It's realistic and touches on dark and sensitive subjects, but still remains warm and joyful throughout.
Chinese food aside, there's a lot of great discussion on mental illness here that the author unpacks with sensitivity and care. I was particularly pleased with the ending, because Chim doesn't try and BS you with a "happy ending" where Anna's mom starts medication and therapy and then is magically "fixed" somehow. Instead, she struggles, she relapses, but Anna's family finds new ways to handle her mother's illness instead of pretending it isn't there. Honestly, the most realistic and satisfying ending I could have asked for. I really related to Anna as a protagonist, who has hardcore Eldest-Daughter Syndrome™ and struggles to care for both her parents and younger siblings while finding her own pathway in life. Mental illness is so often white-washed too, so it was so interesting (and necessary!) getting to read about the intersections of Chinese culture and mental health. On top of all of this is a very sweet and pure romance between Anna and Rory. A little too much cheese at times, but as to be expected of a YA novel.
I was a little annoyed with Anna at times because she has a very "not like other girls" attitude that I don't think she every really learned from. True she became a little closer with Wei towards the very end, but sometimes her inner commentary was super obnoxious. I'll never forget the line where she said she and Rory were "just like Romeo and Juliet," maybe even an "Edward and Bella" which I think dropped my rating of this book a full star lollll. (Sorry I'm petty).
Overall though, very cute and touching book. I can see this helping a lot of people. It's realistic and touches on dark and sensitive subjects, but still remains warm and joyful throughout.