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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
'sweet home alabama', but chinese american and with a twist. a pleasant, enjoyable read.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall horrible with 0 likeable characters. Touches on some interesting themes but overall not at all worth it to read
Wow, I feel like Delia Cai took my entire adolescent experience right out of my brain. Although there are many differences between Audrey's life and my own in the smaller details, we have so much in common when it comes to the Chinese-American experience. Her tenuous relationship with her family and her uneasy feeling of never quite belonging anywhere are obstacles I have had to contend with. Audrey's voice conveys her inner struggles clearly and with a great deal of self-awareness.
Throughout the book, there are times when Audrey comes across as bratty, which makes her a more unlikable character but also a more realistic one. Although she does have to contend with bigotry due to her race, particularly in her small town, she also possesses numerous privileges and displays a sense of entitlement.
Nevertheless, the author manages to capture the complicated family dynamics between Audrey and her parents perfectly, almost mirroring exactly what I've experienced with my own parents, and I'm sure many others as well. The language barrier and cultural gaps are difficult to overcome, even when both sides desperately want to understand the other better. I am familiar with the feelings of awkwardness and discomfort when speaking about emotions and vulnerable topics, and I have never learned to navigate or overcome them, so it is much easier just to avoid them completely. It's a sad cycle that is hard to break. I wish the dialogue said by Audrey's parents had been written in a more authentic way. It was much too fluent and grammatically correct considering they are not native speakers and still speak Mandarin primarily. If Mandarin was the language actually being spoken in many of these circumstances, that was not specified and Audrey's understanding would have been limited.
There were points in which the story moves fairly slowly, but for a debut, this was an impressive undertaking and a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for my ARC.
What was that like, to just confidently ask things of the world without wondering if someone would be annoyed by the burden of your needs?
Throughout the book, there are times when Audrey comes across as bratty, which makes her a more unlikable character but also a more realistic one. Although she does have to contend with bigotry due to her race, particularly in her small town, she also possesses numerous privileges and displays a sense of entitlement.
Nevertheless, the author manages to capture the complicated family dynamics between Audrey and her parents perfectly, almost mirroring exactly what I've experienced with my own parents, and I'm sure many others as well. The language barrier and cultural gaps are difficult to overcome, even when both sides desperately want to understand the other better. I am familiar with the feelings of awkwardness and discomfort when speaking about emotions and vulnerable topics, and I have never learned to navigate or overcome them, so it is much easier just to avoid them completely. It's a sad cycle that is hard to break. I wish the dialogue said by Audrey's parents had been written in a more authentic way. It was much too fluent and grammatically correct considering they are not native speakers and still speak Mandarin primarily. If Mandarin was the language actually being spoken in many of these circumstances, that was not specified and Audrey's understanding would have been limited.
There were points in which the story moves fairly slowly, but for a debut, this was an impressive undertaking and a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for my ARC.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Such a great book. So surprising and amazing
I didn't enjoy this much at first but by the end I was very moved. The scene where Audrey's dad makes a roast chicken made me cry.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did not love it. I *think* you are supposed to dislike the main character to some degree, but I disliked her more than I thought was intentional. Also, it wasn't subtle. Oh, was the mom overly critical? I didn't quite catch that. And I do get it was a set up to compare the mom daughter relationship later. But still. I also found the narrator gesturing toward talking like an adult even though she was talking very much like a kid. Anyway, I found it irritating but still stuck with it and found some things interesting.
I subscribe to Delia Cai's Deez Links newsletter, so for the past year or so I have been mildly curious to read her debut novel.
On her newsletter, her writing is sharp, funny -- its got some bite to it. So I was a bit disappointed when the narrator's voice in this book fell flat. In my opinion, the book had to rely a lot more on the plot to carry the sometimes lackluster writing.
I did think the relationships in this novel were fledged out really well. You get this picture of her fiance as really great but also you see how he sucks, etc. Also it had a nice low number of characters so I was never confused about who people were, which I so appreciated.
On her newsletter, her writing is sharp, funny -- its got some bite to it. So I was a bit disappointed when the narrator's voice in this book fell flat. In my opinion, the book had to rely a lot more on the plot to carry the sometimes lackluster writing.
I did think the relationships in this novel were fledged out really well. You get this picture of her fiance as really great but also you see how he sucks, etc. Also it had a nice low number of characters so I was never confused about who people were, which I so appreciated.
Thanks to NetGalley & Ballentine Books for this eARC copy in exchange for my honest review.
Audrey is headed back to her small hometown with her bougie photographer fiance, Ben, in tow so he can meet her parents. She has hidden this piece of herself away from Ben, and the rest of her life in New York in part due to shame, and in part due to hurt. She ran from her relationship with her demanding mother to New York, and ran from her small life in her small town, in an effort to both become her own person and please her mother. Audrey is faced with the difficult decision of continuing to hide who she really is and or showing her whole personality to her fiance, and ultimately herself.
50% Progress Check:
I'm not going to lie, it's midnight, and I've been reading since 10, and I'm not going to put this book down till I finish. This is a dramatic hot/cold relationship, mixed with multi-generational cultural divides, mixes with unrequited crushes. Audrey's relationship with her parents hits home for me, as an AAPI.
Immediate Completion Thoughts:
I'm so happy with the ending. I was hoping she wouldn't settle and she didn't. Audrey definitely got the wake-up call she needed and it was so satisfying the way it played out.
Final Ramble-y Thoughts:
Audrey wasn't a super likable character, and to be completely honest, most characters weren't 100% likable, except her Dad. BUT I think that's what makes this book so good. Each character is SO real. Relatable and also hatable. There were several times where I was like, Uhhhm, Audrey, you're kind of being a bad person. But I also think that her feelings are so real - it is super hard being the odd one out, especially in a small town, and dealing with racism is really the only way that is possible in such a small town, which unfortunately is just...trying to ignore it, because no matter how hard you fight to stand up for yourself, you still will be outcast. It is terrible. I think this book is powerful in that Cai didn't sugarcoat the truth, which is yes, racism exists, and this is how we experience it as AAPI. In addition to the racism faced by AAPI, there are also such high expectations put on us, both from our own parents, and the same people who are calling us racist names - the stereotypes of being the "smart" Asian, and being the "successful" daughter are indeed stereotypes, but also an expectation we are forced to try to live up to. It was frustrating to read it because I experienced the same expectations from my parents and the same bullying from my peers.
Let's talk about Audrey's relationship with her parents. I think it's accurately summed up by something my mother said to me when I was younger. She said I always go to her for my problems, but when she tries to help me with them, I would cry to my dad about how she was so unfair for judging me. I've noticed that most of my other AAPI girlfriends are daddy's girls, and favor their dad over their mom. It's kind of a forever, "protect dad from the drama". But also mom knows too much so we can't talk to her about bad stuff either. UGH. This book is so good.
I'm going to leave the romance on the table because honestly, the romance was juicy and interesting, but I was more interested in the cultural insights. I have felt that same, "hide who you are" feeling with past boyfriends because I still wanted to uphold the "Asian and Indigenous, but raised white" persona because being too much more than that is "too ethnic" and "too different". How fascinating is it that we have to hide parts of ourselves to fit in, and when we show our whole selves, we're told we've shown too much? I could go on and on about this...so, needless to say, this book shook me.
Audrey is headed back to her small hometown with her bougie photographer fiance, Ben, in tow so he can meet her parents. She has hidden this piece of herself away from Ben, and the rest of her life in New York in part due to shame, and in part due to hurt. She ran from her relationship with her demanding mother to New York, and ran from her small life in her small town, in an effort to both become her own person and please her mother. Audrey is faced with the difficult decision of continuing to hide who she really is and or showing her whole personality to her fiance, and ultimately herself.
50% Progress Check:
I'm not going to lie, it's midnight, and I've been reading since 10, and I'm not going to put this book down till I finish. This is a dramatic hot/cold relationship, mixed with multi-generational cultural divides, mixes with unrequited crushes. Audrey's relationship with her parents hits home for me, as an AAPI.
Immediate Completion Thoughts:
I'm so happy with the ending. I was hoping she wouldn't settle and she didn't. Audrey definitely got the wake-up call she needed and it was so satisfying the way it played out.
Final Ramble-y Thoughts:
Audrey wasn't a super likable character, and to be completely honest, most characters weren't 100% likable, except her Dad. BUT I think that's what makes this book so good. Each character is SO real. Relatable and also hatable. There were several times where I was like, Uhhhm, Audrey, you're kind of being a bad person. But I also think that her feelings are so real - it is super hard being the odd one out, especially in a small town, and dealing with racism is really the only way that is possible in such a small town, which unfortunately is just...trying to ignore it, because no matter how hard you fight to stand up for yourself, you still will be outcast. It is terrible. I think this book is powerful in that Cai didn't sugarcoat the truth, which is yes, racism exists, and this is how we experience it as AAPI. In addition to the racism faced by AAPI, there are also such high expectations put on us, both from our own parents, and the same people who are calling us racist names - the stereotypes of being the "smart" Asian, and being the "successful" daughter are indeed stereotypes, but also an expectation we are forced to try to live up to. It was frustrating to read it because I experienced the same expectations from my parents and the same bullying from my peers.
Let's talk about Audrey's relationship with her parents. I think it's accurately summed up by something my mother said to me when I was younger. She said I always go to her for my problems, but when she tries to help me with them, I would cry to my dad about how she was so unfair for judging me. I've noticed that most of my other AAPI girlfriends are daddy's girls, and favor their dad over their mom. It's kind of a forever, "protect dad from the drama". But also mom knows too much so we can't talk to her about bad stuff either. UGH. This book is so good.
I'm going to leave the romance on the table because honestly, the romance was juicy and interesting, but I was more interested in the cultural insights. I have felt that same, "hide who you are" feeling with past boyfriends because I still wanted to uphold the "Asian and Indigenous, but raised white" persona because being too much more than that is "too ethnic" and "too different". How fascinating is it that we have to hide parts of ourselves to fit in, and when we show our whole selves, we're told we've shown too much? I could go on and on about this...so, needless to say, this book shook me.
While there were passages I found relatable as a Chinese only child woman growing up Christian in Illinois too, I thought that the author really brushed past Audrey’s inner feelings and emotions, especially at critical times like breaking up with Ben, rekindling things with Kyle, hearing that her dad had cancer, and so on. A lot of the novel was spent on her observations, and the voice was very monotone and devoid of any feeling.