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bookshelfbyla's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
4.5
In Vanessa Chan’s debut novel ‘The Storm We Made’ we are taken to Malaya (now Malaysia) in 1945 where the Japanese forces invaded and occupied in WWII.
Teenage boys are going missing and we follow the Alcantara family as their son Abel is the next to disappear. We find Cecily suffering from immense guilt as she feels not only responsible for the disappearance of her son but also the reason for the Japanese occupation. We find out she has been playing double duty — an unassuming housewife to a mother of 3 and a spy to General Fujiwara of the Japanese Imperial Army.
“It should not be the way of the world that the white men win everything”
This is a complex story from the backdrop to the characters. Most of the time we read stories where your enemy is your polar opposite, but what happens when your enemy looks like you? We see the same people who suffer pain, also inflict it on others. Your trusted friends can betray you and even your family can become people you don’t recognize.
I was gripped from the first chapter. I love that we followed the POV of Cecily and her 3 children. It is so well written and crafted with the dual timelines (of 1945 and ten years prior) to see the cause and effect of Cecily’s actions. Despite the heavy horrors the characters face, I read majority of this in a day.
Stories like these are my favorite. I am introduced to a history I unfortunately knew very little about and it reminds me how much havoc war and struggles for power ruin people and turn them into their worst selves. And sadly, as shown in the story the innocent tend to pay the heaviest price.
This is a phenomenal debut. I cannot wait to read more from Vanessa. I highly recommend picking this up especially if you enjoy historical fiction.
Minor: Rape
jasminegalsreadinglog's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Set in the period 1930s and 1940s, this novel is Cecily's and her children's story. Alternating between timelines and characters, this book gives us a glimpse of both the British rule and the Japanese rule of Malaya during this period.
This book is not an easy read by no means. But then, topics of colonialism, marginalization, and colorism are not supposed to be easy. Topics of slave labor camps, racial profiling, and child exploitation are handled this book. My heart literally broke into pieces for Jasmin and Yuki. Without expressing the emotions of these characters, the author has conveyed a lot because the reader is prompted to think.
Thank you, Simon Element, MarySue Rucci Books, for this book.
CW: Infidelity, Spying, SA, graphic description of child abuse, betrayal, starvation, death
Graphic: Slavery, Blood, Sexual violence, Bullying, Violence, War, Kidnapping, Confinement, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Classism, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Animal death, Racism, Hate crime, Rape, Grief, Death, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
beranceknows's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Moderate: War, Racial slurs, Violence, Trafficking, Misogyny, Vomit, Torture, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Pedophilia, Excrement, Pregnancy, Blood, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Classism, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, and Child death
katrinaslibrary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Slavery, Genocide, War, Colonisation, Murder, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Trafficking, and Pedophilia
Minor: Racism
This book is set during the Second Sino-Japanese war where the Japanese Imperial Army committed war crimes, across Asia. Please be mindful that for some readers can be triggered by generational trauma.theoceanrose's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Blood
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual assault
soljovis's review
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia
weyheyitsrachel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
From the start, I knew I would love this book. I appreciate the author's note at the beginning, the timeline of events in Malaya, and there was even a map! Little extras like that already make this book stand out from other historical fiction books I've read.
The way this story is told is so unique. It follows a mother and her three children, and we get POVs from those four characters PLUS a POV of the mother set in the past. Each chapter felt like little stories to me, and it made for a quick read. We get glimpses into the mother's past, which I loved. Her past explains so much and is pertinent to her character arc. And the POVs of the children really tied this book together. We got a clear family dynamic because of that, and it really made me see how war breaks families apart and how they cope with it.
Although this story was heartbreaking and tough to read at points, it was so beautifully written. I am mindblown that this is a debut! Vanessa Chan, this is a masterpiece and I hope you will share more stories with the world.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Rape, and Sexual violence
kay_bee33's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, War, Grief, Child death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Colonisation, and Rape
zdanielle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: War
Minor: Rape
heidirgorecki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The writing also wasn’t my favorite - it was more of a Tell rather than Show - as you watched from the outside. Overall I liked learning about the Malaysian people’s experiences during ww2, but it was a very dark book without any real redemption in the story.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Violence, and Rape