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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As always, love Lisa See. So appreciated learning more about China during this time, and some times the book was heavy handed to talk about the social dynamics of that time, but it was so interesting it didn’t really drag the plot down.
So sorry to say this, but my god, the main character is insufferably dumb
Although I found the premise that an American girl would really leave everything she knew to live in rural China a bit difficult to believe... the story itself is fascinating, and beautiful. I love how Lisa See explores female relationships from sisters in Shangai Girls to mother/daughter relationships in this book. I found her reader's guide where she included pictures of the places she used for inspiration absolutely fascinating! Don't put the book away without reading her guide!
I enjoyed this much more than the first book, but recommend that you read both. I wish there was a third book in this series.
emotional
hopeful
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:
Yes
Another wonderful book by Lisa See. I want more of these sisters and their family.
A wonderful sequel to Shanghai Girls. The setting shifts back to China, but it does not resemble the China of Pearl and May's childhood. Their daughter, Joy, uncovers the secret of her birth and runs away to China to find her father, her roots, and her political beliefs. Joy finds herself living on a commune in Red China with a disappointing husband and a baby she couldn't feed. It's horrifying to learn that the most disturbing scenes in the book were based on real history. It is a book that affected me.
This book was frustrating. Joy is a completely unlikable, infuriating character. I felt like I had to suspend disbelief a lot through this novel. Although Joy obviously endured a lot throughout the story, she and Pearl got lucky far more than seemed plausible. After following the story through two books the ending felt abrupt and left a lot to be desired. I have read 2 books from this author outside of this duology and they were fantastic so I think my expectations were high and this ultimately fell short. I will still be picking up more from this author though, this was just a miss for me.
Lisa See didn't disappoint, once again. In the emotional continuation of "Shanghai Girls", family and cultural ties are once again tested when Joy runs away to communist China and her mother follows. The alternating chapters told from both mother and daughter serve as a unique glimpse into both sides of a complicated relationship. With each character, See creates such honest inner and outer dialogue that allows the reader to feel enveloped by the women's voices. A sad, honest glimpse of history combined with the emotional pull of lovable characters makes for a compelling read.
Like Shanghai Girls, I read this book in about two and a half hours. All criticisms aside, Lisa See is compulsively readable.
I actually preferred this book to Shanghai Girls, but I do think to really enjoy this there needs to be a suspension of disbelief. It's a little hard to believe that American-educated, of-sensible-upbringing Joy would really go to the lengths she does in this novel - to China, Why would any American girl do that, no matter how naive?
In some ways this story is so good because it's a bit fantastical. There's never a dull moment. It's all drama all the way through. I liked Pearl in Shanghai Girls, but I loved her in Dreams of Joy. If in Shanghai Girls Pearl got the short end of the stick, then this book is the parallel to that. Sometimes it's hard to root for Joy because of her thick head and generally attitude - of course, I say this as someone with a low tolerance for other people's insecurity and general B.S, and you're never rooting against Joy. It's just that sometimes she's frustrating because she's so bright and could have totally avoided her predicament.
And of course, in the style of Lisa See, this book is impeccably researched and incredibly informative. She really does the historical fiction genre to perfection. I'm kind of sad there's not going to be a book after this, but perhaps it's a good thing - I think the Chin/Louie girls have been through enough as it is :)
I actually preferred this book to Shanghai Girls, but I do think to really enjoy this there needs to be a suspension of disbelief. It's a little hard to believe that American-educated, of-sensible-upbringing Joy would really go to the lengths she does in this novel - to China,
Spoiler
to the commune, and to marrying Tao.In some ways this story is so good because it's a bit fantastical. There's never a dull moment. It's all drama all the way through. I liked Pearl in Shanghai Girls, but I loved her in Dreams of Joy. If in Shanghai Girls Pearl got the short end of the stick, then this book is the parallel to that. Sometimes it's hard to root for Joy because of her thick head and generally attitude - of course, I say this as someone with a low tolerance for other people's insecurity and general B.S, and you're never rooting against Joy. It's just that sometimes she's frustrating because she's so bright and could have totally avoided her predicament.
And of course, in the style of Lisa See, this book is impeccably researched and incredibly informative. She really does the historical fiction genre to perfection. I'm kind of sad there's not going to be a book after this, but perhaps it's a good thing - I think the Chin/Louie girls have been through enough as it is :)