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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I didn't like Joy in the first book and continued not to like her in this one. I kept reading because I liked the other characters and the plot was OK. Also, I was hoping to see Joy mature. She did but took the hardest road possible to get there. It wasn't until the last few chapters that I was eager to read what happened next. Overall, just OK.
4 stars for a story of tragedy, loss and family. This book starts with strong willed Joy rebelling against her mom and running away to China. It is 1957, the year before "The Great Leap Forward", which becomes a catastrophic famine. Recent research suggests about 45 million people died during this man made famine.
Joy has found out that her real parents are not those she believed to be her parents. She is determined to find her birth father in China. She meets and marries a farmer in a small Chinese village. She suffers terribly during the famine. The ending is one of hope and reconciliation. I strongly recommend it to historical fiction fans. The author has done a great deal of research, giving many details about life during the famine, including the reality of starvation vs. government propaganda.
Some of the descriptions are gruesome. If you are squeamish, this book may not be for you. My kindle edition was 449 pages not the 349 listed in Goodreads.
One quote: "Today the farmers' assignment is one I hardly believe: crushing glass sent from Shanghai and then working it into the soil as a 'nutrient.' It's ridiculous to me, but the farmers do it because The Great Helmsman can't be wrong."
This was a library eBook through the Libby app.
Joy has found out that her real parents are not those she believed to be her parents. She is determined to find her birth father in China. She meets and marries a farmer in a small Chinese village. She suffers terribly during the famine. The ending is one of hope and reconciliation. I strongly recommend it to historical fiction fans. The author has done a great deal of research, giving many details about life during the famine, including the reality of starvation vs. government propaganda.
Some of the descriptions are gruesome. If you are squeamish, this book may not be for you. My kindle edition was 449 pages not the 349 listed in Goodreads.
One quote: "Today the farmers' assignment is one I hardly believe: crushing glass sent from Shanghai and then working it into the soil as a 'nutrient.' It's ridiculous to me, but the farmers do it because The Great Helmsman can't be wrong."
This was a library eBook through the Libby app.
What an amazing book. Finishes the story of Pearl, Joy, and May. Lots of history. Character development.
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I enjoyed this even more than I enjoyed Shanghai Girls, which I didn’t anticipate. Pearl and Joy’s character development was so interesting to follow, and the way everyone’s relationships grew made me so happy. Such an amazing and informative book.
I'd like to say 4.5 stars, but I'll round up. Having read Shanghai Girls several years ago, it took me a while to remember what had happened as this book picks up right where the last one ended, but after a while I was able to recall. Maybe because of this, I felt like the book started a little slowly. After the first quarter or so, things picked up and, like all Lisa See books, I couldn't put it down. Lisa See puts so much research into her books, and she is able to produce amazing depictions of life in China throughout history. She is a great author, and it is always a pleasure to pick up one of her books.
Dreams of Joy is the sequel to Shanghai Girls and continues where that book left off. Joy is angry at her mother and aunt for the secrets they've kept from her for her entire life. She's also full of guilt about Sam's suicide. Because she believes strongly in the New China, she decides to go there to help build the new society and escape her family. She also plans to find her father Z.G. Li, who is a famous artist there, and the love of her Aunt May's life. Joy lives through great catastrophe before she understands important lessons her life has to teach her. This unforgettable story has its roots in the recent history of China, of the failures of Mao's Great Leap Forward and the ensuing famine that killed millions. It would be best to read Shanghai Girls before reading this. This is a meticulously researched historical novel, a breathtaking tale about escape from a brutal life and a wonderful story of the bond of mother and daughter.
3.75 stars. I thought I wouldn't like a book set in Communist China, but the story was very engrossing. It works as a stand-alone book as well as a sequel.
I love all of Lisa See's novels, this one though I was a little worried about since it is a continuation of Shanghai Girls but seen through Pearl and Joy's eyes.
I gave it five stars because not only did See restore her old characters such as Pearl, May and Z.G, she also added in new ones like Yong, Kumei and Tao that invoked an array of different emotions.
As always she does a marvelous job with her story telling and definitely pulls you in for the ride.
I gave it five stars because not only did See restore her old characters such as Pearl, May and Z.G, she also added in new ones like Yong, Kumei and Tao that invoked an array of different emotions.
As always she does a marvelous job with her story telling and definitely pulls you in for the ride.
Excellent book. Slow build to a fast and furious finish. I only wish there was more.
Dreams of Joy is the sequel to Shanghai Girls, which I read all the way back in 2013. I didn't realize I waited that long to read this! I love this author. Besides these two, I recomend Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. While the first book was about the sisters getting out of China and building their lives in LA, this book is about traveling back to China, and putting their lives together. It picks up exactly where it left off, with teenaged Joy finding out the family secrets and running away to China to find her birth father and join the Communist movement. This was in the 1950s under Mao. I knew nothing of this time at all. Nothing about these poor people starving because of ruined crops from having to follow the party way, causing many people to resort to cannibalism. The book goes between the points of view of young Joy and her mother Pearl, who returns to try and find her daughter and bring her home. After everything that happened in the first book, it was weird to realize May is only in her early 40's. I didn't like her so much in the first book, but in the second I did. This might be a novel where Joy grows up, but it's also one where May finally does. I can't wait to read more by this author.