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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
funny
mysterious
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
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm glad I had this as an audiobook because I think if I read this I would think my dyslexia was really working against me. It is very dialogue heavy and when most of the dialogue is broken, translated English it takes a while for some plot points to get across.
The plot took a little while to get going. But when it finally hit it did run smoothly. The time skips were strange and were a bit jarring.
The plot took a little while to get going. But when it finally hit it did run smoothly. The time skips were strange and were a bit jarring.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Classism
Minor: Infidelity, Police brutality, Car accident, Pregnancy
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought this was . . . fine? I got it off the NYPL blog entry for the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (stand-alone fantasy book). I think it's a weird fit in that category, as it's less fantasy than a story rooted in a culture with very different beliefs about gods, the afterlife, and so on.
I did like the play with language here. It's in English, but the main character is a Chinese woman (Jessamyn), raised in the US, whose family is forced to return to Malaysia after they are financially ruined when Jess's father has to undergo cancer treatment. Although Jess speaks Hokkien to a certain extent, she is far from fluent. The reader thus experiences most of the other characters (other than those who are fluent in English) through Jess's halting understanding of them. It takes a little getting used to, but the end result is a really rewarding entry into a culturally different mindset and Jess's "neither-one-thing-nor-the-other" status.
But Jess, the main character, is fairly blah, and the plotting is not especially strong. One of Jess's central conflicts is that she is gay, in a long-term (and currently long-distance) relationship with an Indian woman, but is not out to her family (or really out in general, as in the US she'd lived in fear of the tight social circles of Chinese parents). But her girlfriend (for someone who occupies very little of the book) is aggravating as all get out. And there's a character who is a young, wealthy man who seems as though he will be very relevant throughout the book, who then disappears for much of it.
The best parts are the scenes set within the family, and there are probably at least two or three ghosts/gods too many.
I did like the play with language here. It's in English, but the main character is a Chinese woman (Jessamyn), raised in the US, whose family is forced to return to Malaysia after they are financially ruined when Jess's father has to undergo cancer treatment. Although Jess speaks Hokkien to a certain extent, she is far from fluent. The reader thus experiences most of the other characters (other than those who are fluent in English) through Jess's halting understanding of them. It takes a little getting used to, but the end result is a really rewarding entry into a culturally different mindset and Jess's "neither-one-thing-nor-the-other" status.
But Jess, the main character, is fairly blah, and the plotting is not especially strong. One of Jess's central conflicts is that she is gay, in a long-term (and currently long-distance) relationship with an Indian woman, but is not out to her family (or really out in general, as in the US she'd lived in fear of the tight social circles of Chinese parents). But her girlfriend (for someone who occupies very little of the book) is aggravating as all get out. And there's a character who is a young, wealthy man who seems as though he will be very relevant throughout the book, who then disappears for much of it.
The best parts are the scenes set within the family, and there are probably at least two or three ghosts/gods too many.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Murder
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual violence
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Complicated