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mikaylay's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The cover is visually appealing and gorgeous. I appreciated how the author sought to produce a book in memory of the eight Chinese passengers on the Titanic while also offering information about their treatment both on and off the ship. Personally, after reading this book, I would read the author's notes first, then read the book to lower any high expectations one might have going into the book. I enjoyed portions of the banter between the siblings Valora and Jamie, but I didn't like how Valora spent 99.9 percent of the book urging Jamie to come to America with her to fulfill her dream rather than theirs. I enjoyed Jamie's friendships with his buddies and thought they had the most character growth. Valora, our female main character, appears to have poor development as she bounces around from trying to persuade her brother Jamie to accompany her to America, disguising herself as a widow, and attempting to have a romance with Jamie's friend Bo, making it difficult to connect with her and see if she made any true connections with any of the other characters. The location of the Titanic was exciting, but the author's information and writing style made it difficult to determine where the individuals were on the ship in each scene. The plot idea was intriguing, and it was one of the reasons I bought the book in addition to the lovely cover, but it did not measure up to my expectations. The plot was slow and dragged on at times, and it took approximately 280 pages out of 361 for the Titanic's sinking to begin and for the pace to pick up. I also found it fascinating that the Titanic had just 20 lifeboats despite having about 2,000 passengers on board.
I thought the author did a good job of describing the confusion, chaos, and poor decision-making by both the passengers and the crew aboard the ship. As we read, many of the lifeboats were only half full; many thought the call to the lifeboats was only a drill; some were told they weren't allowed on because of their race or gender; and we get a glimpse into why safety drills are so important, as well as trying to remain as calm as possible.
The book's ending, while devastating as we see Valora give up her life so that her brother Jamie might be saved, was frustrating to read and reminded me so much of the Titanic film's ending that I felt like I was rewatching the Jack and Rose sequence all over again.
However, if one looks closely at Valora's dreams in the novel, one can discover foreshadowing of her death in them.
Overall, the book was okay, but the plot and writing style did not appeal to me. The Titanic narrative is heartbreaking whether you read, watch, or listen to it, and many mysteries surrounding the legendary sinking ship and its passengers remain unsolved to this day.
However, if one looks closely at Valora's dreams in the novel, one can discover foreshadowing of her death in them.
Overall, the book was okay, but the plot and writing style did not appeal to me. The Titanic narrative is heartbreaking whether you read, watch, or listen to it, and many mysteries surrounding the legendary sinking ship and its passengers remain unsolved to this day.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Grief, Racism, and Classism
jamiejanae_6's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Classism
ajay913's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Alcoholism, and Death
storiesatstarfall's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Classism, Xenophobia, Death, and Racism
Minor: Hate crime, Sexism, Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
wrensleyreads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
I'm not a give-5-stars-kind of reviewer, but this one, this gets five stars! This was the kind of book that as the climax approached, I delayed reading because I didn't want this to come to an end.
I have a grammatical pet peeve in that the author overused simile like a fish uses water in the early part of the book, but the beauty of story, the power of the characters, and acknowledgment of that this is probably a firmly me-problem, means the 5th star stays!
I have a grammatical pet peeve in that the author overused simile like a fish uses water in the early part of the book, but the beauty of story, the power of the characters, and acknowledgment of that this is probably a firmly me-problem, means the 5th star stays!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Classism
Minor: Abandonment and Alcoholism
ghostlyprince's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Addiction, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Hate crime
Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, Confinement, and Sexism
bookish_afrolatina's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Like anyone who has seen the movie Titanic and has a morbid fascination with this history, I was drawn to Luck of the Titanic after learning that there were Chinese passengers onboard and wanted to explore that.
The book started off well with a dose of the reality for folks of Chinese descent in the Western world during this time but had a dash of playfulness thanks to the creative license Lee took in making the MC a trained acrobat. As the story progressed, I started to feel like the choices Valora made didn’t really seem feasible. Her “disguise” didn't really work for me but I decided to stick with the story anyway. Like the Titanic movie, the book focuses more on the journey before the disaster so it starts to speed up about 80% of the way into the book. I found the ending pretty disappointing. I had hoped that Lee would bring us into the experience of these folks after this tragedy and I didn’t get that.
If this doesn’t bother you, then you may still enjoy this book for it’s effectiveness in getting one to think about the Chinese Exclusion Act and how Chinese people were treated at the time.
The book started off well with a dose of the reality for folks of Chinese descent in the Western world during this time but had a dash of playfulness thanks to the creative license Lee took in making the MC a trained acrobat. As the story progressed, I started to feel like the choices Valora made didn’t really seem feasible. Her “disguise” didn't really work for me but I decided to stick with the story anyway. Like the Titanic movie, the book focuses more on the journey before the disaster so it starts to speed up about 80% of the way into the book. I found the ending pretty disappointing. I had hoped that Lee would bring us into the experience of these folks after this tragedy and I didn’t get that.
If this doesn’t bother you, then you may still enjoy this book for it’s effectiveness in getting one to think about the Chinese Exclusion Act and how Chinese people were treated at the time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Confinement
janiscox's review
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Couldnt put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Classism, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Body horror, Blood, Deportation, Grief, Police brutality, and Violence
courtneyclouts's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Bullying, Hate crime, Racism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry
ravensandlace's review
adventurous
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Title: Luck of the Titanic
Author: Stacy Lee
Genre: Historical Young Adult
Format: hardback library book
Star Rating: 2.5 stars
tw: parental death, alcoholism, racism, sexism, death, drowning, drug use
I feel so bad that I didn’t like this book. I’m also disappointed that I didn’t like this book. I have been kind of obsessed with all things relating to the Titanic. I’m not sure why. Sometimes, I get on these kicks. Like right now, it’s Pokemon. So I thought that I would like this book considering what it was about.
I had a pretty hard time relating to Val, the main character. She’s British Chinese, which I think is awesome. She just really grated on my nerves. I felt she was more of a child than 18 years old. Val very much wanted it to be her way or no way. I understood that she wanted to be with her twin, Jake, but at the same time, she has to realize that Jake wants to do his own thing. He’s allowed to have friends. That part really irritated me. She got upset that he had made friends while he was away on ships. Val just needed to grow up.
The plot also moved incredibly slowly. There were a lot of day-to-day activities and a lot of Val’s thoughts that took up a lot of page time. The main event, which you all know what it is, doesn’t happen until there are about 100 pages left. It felt super rushed and I was a little confused about what was going on for most of it. Plus the ending made me so mad. I won’t say what it is because of spoilers but let’s just say it’s not a great ending for me anyway.
Overall, this book left me frustrated. There were a couple of positives, though, that I’ll share. There was a map and diagrams of the Titanic along with a complete character list. This book was also dedicated to the six Chinese men that survived the sinking, so I thought that was nice. But overall, I wasn’t impressed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Classism, Addiction, Racial slurs, Violence, Drug use, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Grief