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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time. I really enjoyed it.
This maybe could have been a 5 for me but I HATED the ending! Otherwise, I was fascinated by the cultural elements, invested in Anna and Rory as characters, and pulled by the plot lines the book wove together. Until the end. Such a disappointment.
A good book, like this one, allows its readers to see new perspectives and have a deeper understanding of what life, love, and the challenges they bring are like for others. I feel like this is a book every teenager should read for exactly that reason. It's not the idealized version of life sometimes portrayed but a beautifully honest and heartfelt exploration of what love in the face of mental illness might look like.
dark
emotional
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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Racism
Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicide attempt
Thanks to @kidlitexchange and @scholasticinc for sharing an ARC of The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by @onewpc. This book is out November 10, 2020; add it to your list now so you don’t forget to grab a copy!
Anna is used to being in charge of everything; as the oldest sister, she naturally takes care of her younger brother and sister. Her dad works long hours at his restaurant, often spending the night in his office, so Anna also cooks dinner and makes sure her siblings do their homework. She even picks her little brother up from school. Anna does all this because her mother can’t - or won’t - Anna’s not entirely sure which. She just knows her mom stays in bed most of the time, and if she’s not in bed, she’s yelling at Anna for being a horrible daughter. Anna knows there’s some sort of mental illness making her mom unable to perform everyday tasks, but she doesn’t know what it is, or how to get help. She tries to lose herself in working in her father’s restaurant, where she loves to help cook… and watch Rory, the cute new delivery boy. As she gets to know Rory, Anna realizes that everyone has some sort of problem, and maybe she should ask for help with her mother. But that task seems impossible, until something happens that forces the family to take action.
This is a powerful book about mental illness and how it might be addressed and handled. I liked how Anna’s mother’s condition was discussed, but wished there was more about Rory - his illness fell a little flat for me, and I wish it had been explored more. I think it would help teens a lot more to see Anna not only dealing with her mother, but with a friend’s situation as well. Besides that, it was an interesting read, touching on typical YA tropes in a unique way and deftly balancing mental illness.
Anna is used to being in charge of everything; as the oldest sister, she naturally takes care of her younger brother and sister. Her dad works long hours at his restaurant, often spending the night in his office, so Anna also cooks dinner and makes sure her siblings do their homework. She even picks her little brother up from school. Anna does all this because her mother can’t - or won’t - Anna’s not entirely sure which. She just knows her mom stays in bed most of the time, and if she’s not in bed, she’s yelling at Anna for being a horrible daughter. Anna knows there’s some sort of mental illness making her mom unable to perform everyday tasks, but she doesn’t know what it is, or how to get help. She tries to lose herself in working in her father’s restaurant, where she loves to help cook… and watch Rory, the cute new delivery boy. As she gets to know Rory, Anna realizes that everyone has some sort of problem, and maybe she should ask for help with her mother. But that task seems impossible, until something happens that forces the family to take action.
This is a powerful book about mental illness and how it might be addressed and handled. I liked how Anna’s mother’s condition was discussed, but wished there was more about Rory - his illness fell a little flat for me, and I wish it had been explored more. I think it would help teens a lot more to see Anna not only dealing with her mother, but with a friend’s situation as well. Besides that, it was an interesting read, touching on typical YA tropes in a unique way and deftly balancing mental illness.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
This story is so important to read. It talks about the AAPI community as well as mental health awareness. It’s written for YA adults and deals with some mature topics, but I really think if you have a high school age child, they would benefit from this book
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I found this novel particularly important because it deals with mental health problems and mental health stigma, particularly in the Chinese community. Cultural views of mental health vary and this book shines light on this subject.
Also important is the way children deal with the fact that their parents may have a mental health issues.
Also important is the way children deal with the fact that their parents may have a mental health issues.
There's a lot of good stuff in here amidst several themes that aren't prevalent in YA fiction.
Chinese Australian Anna is trying to be a good daughter and a good big sister while her mother suffers from an unnamed mental illness and her father hides from his paternal duties by running and living in his restaurant a few towns away in order to provide for his family (his rationale).
Anna just wants to be a normal teen but she's ostracized at her private school where she struggles in some of her classes and she feels like she's failing her sister and brother because she's not successfully able to juggle their needs with her needs and her parents' needs.
And then she meets a boy, one who has empathy for her situation.
As one may guess based on the title, there's lots of food talk going on in this story so don't read it while hungry.
The good:
Anna shines in her relationship to her father's restaurant and staff as well as to Chinese cuisine, in general. Again, do not read this while hungry, it will only make you hungrier.
Anna's thirteen-year-old sister Lily is the more compelling character, however. I don't know if it was because she's the middle child but she tried hard to be supportive of both her mother and her older sister, tried to fix things as best as she could, and was often given more responsibility than she should have had. She was the child who was most pressed to succeed academically and her frustration with her older sister, who often left Lily alone to care for their mother and little brother, was showcased well though only superficially resolved.
I appreciated the idea that family is more than biological relations and that you often need the family you create as much, if not more, than the family you're given.
The less-good:
There are a few loose ends that don't get tied up and I was disappointed that nobody mentioned family therapy and group support, especially for the kids, which potentially leaves room for some harmful messages, namely: It's ok to rely on only one person outside of your situation for support (Rory, in this case) and that your cultural norms can and should dictate how you handle caring for ill relatives.
There were so many opportunities to refute these potential messages that never materialized.
And Rory. What was really going on with him, who was he really? Supportive and loving, angry and moody. Sometimes overbearing, sometimes helpful. Was he good for Anna or was he support when she needed support the most? I suppose that's up to the reader to decide but I left feeling pretty unsure about him.
Still, this is a solid story about young people coping with parental illness, family obligation, the desire to fit in, and food.
3.5 stars
Chinese Australian Anna is trying to be a good daughter and a good big sister while her mother suffers from an unnamed mental illness and her father hides from his paternal duties by running and living in his restaurant a few towns away in order to provide for his family (his rationale).
Anna just wants to be a normal teen but she's ostracized at her private school where she struggles in some of her classes and she feels like she's failing her sister and brother because she's not successfully able to juggle their needs with her needs and her parents' needs.
And then she meets a boy, one who has empathy for her situation.
As one may guess based on the title, there's lots of food talk going on in this story so don't read it while hungry.
The good:
Anna shines in her relationship to her father's restaurant and staff as well as to Chinese cuisine, in general. Again, do not read this while hungry, it will only make you hungrier.
Anna's thirteen-year-old sister Lily is the more compelling character, however. I don't know if it was because she's the middle child but she tried hard to be supportive of both her mother and her older sister, tried to fix things as best as she could, and was often given more responsibility than she should have had. She was the child who was most pressed to succeed academically and her frustration with her older sister, who often left Lily alone to care for their mother and little brother, was showcased well though only superficially resolved.
I appreciated the idea that family is more than biological relations and that you often need the family you create as much, if not more, than the family you're given.
The less-good:
There are a few loose ends that don't get tied up and I was disappointed that nobody mentioned family therapy and group support, especially for the kids, which potentially leaves room for some harmful messages, namely: It's ok to rely on only one person outside of your situation for support (Rory, in this case) and that your cultural norms can and should dictate how you handle caring for ill relatives.
There were so many opportunities to refute these potential messages
Spoiler
Anna and Wei could have attended or even started a support group and created a friendship between them. Both doctors who treated Siuling, as well as her therapist, had experience with different Asian cultural norms and probably would have been aware of Anna's family's dynamic and could have communicated to Anna and her family what to expect from their mother's mental illness and how to care for themselves while also caring for each other.And Rory. What was really going on with him, who was he really? Supportive and loving, angry and moody. Sometimes overbearing, sometimes helpful. Was he good for Anna or was he support when she needed support the most? I suppose that's up to the reader to decide but I left feeling pretty unsure about him.
Still, this is a solid story about young people coping with parental illness, family obligation, the desire to fit in, and food.
3.5 stars