Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
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
This was so good!! I loved the characters; how they interacted and their relationships with one another were so well developed. While I can't speak to the realisticness of how Malaysia was portrayed, I felt it was done very well. It doesn't hold your hand, but it let you truly experience the setting and the culture. It was interesting seeing how the various religions intermingled and how despite being a part of one, people would still respect the others.
The main character was a good blend of having good ideas while also making mistakes. She felt she had to handle it all on her own, but it never felt like she was being stubborn for no reason or being stupid. Also, her relationship was done well as there was realistic conflict but both had good points.
I liked the various antagonists motivations and how they were weaved within the story. Also the resolutions to the conflicts were done well. I felt they were well intertwined.
I read it in a mix of physical and audiobook and can recommend both.
The main character was a good blend of having good ideas while also making mistakes. She felt she had to handle it all on her own, but it never felt like she was being stubborn for no reason or being stupid. Also, her relationship was done well as there was realistic conflict but both had good points.
I liked the various antagonists motivations and how they were weaved within the story. Also the resolutions to the conflicts were done well. I felt they were well intertwined.
I read it in a mix of physical and audiobook and can recommend both.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape
Minor: Cancer, Police brutality, Car accident
This was an interesting story, with a look at what life is like for Chinese diaspora in Malaysia, most of the story hinging on their culture, religions, and superstitions. Although the story contained a lot of ghosts and gods, you could also boil the plot down to being about intergenerational female rage and trauma.
THAT SAID. This book should have come with a big, bold trigger warning. So allow me to:
I did not know I was signing up for getting triggered so bad I keep having panic attacks.
I guess aside from that, it was pretty good.
THAT SAID. This book should have come with a big, bold trigger warning. So allow me to:
Spoiler
big, big trigger warning for sexual assault. Rape is vaguely inferred a couple times throughout the story, but in chapter 22, we spend a lot of pages with the threat of rape and then the attempt of it GRAPHICALLY DESCRIBED.I did not know I was signing up for getting triggered so bad I keep having panic attacks.
I guess aside from that, it was pretty good.
3,5 stars, rounded up. I had read and enjoyed Zen Cho's other historical fantasy books, so I was very intrigued to see her venturing into urban fantasy. Jess is a painfully relatable character in her attempts to find a job (and find her way!) post college and while I am not one myself, I have a feeling her complicated relationships with her parents will resonate with many first generation children. However, I did not connect to any of the secondary characters as much as I connected with Jess. The relationship with her girlfriend never really hit home for me, possibly because they only had a few brief phone calls together over the course of the book. The worldbuilding was really cool but it also meant there were a lot of things happening all the time and the plot could get a bit chaotic and hard to follow at certain points.
medium-paced
BLACK WATER SISTER - review
At the beginning there's a stark focus on Jess' family and the family dynamics, and the mythological ghost-part is more a side-storyline that grows more important when the story evolves. But while this might have been a point of critic in the beginning, later in the book it becomes apparent why the story focuses so much on their family dynamic and I've come to appreciate what I first criticised. However, the mythological aspect is still what captures me the most. I also love the setting in Malaysia. Jess grows a lot as a character, and while the mythological elements are an essential aspect of the story, at its core this is a story about personal growth and family.
Tropes and themes:
- lesbian FMC
- sapphic
- female rage
- gods and ghosts
- set in Malaysia
- single PoV
At the beginning there's a stark focus on Jess' family and the family dynamics, and the mythological ghost-part is more a side-storyline that grows more important when the story evolves. But while this might have been a point of critic in the beginning, later in the book it becomes apparent why the story focuses so much on their family dynamic and I've come to appreciate what I first criticised. However, the mythological aspect is still what captures me the most. I also love the setting in Malaysia. Jess grows a lot as a character, and while the mythological elements are an essential aspect of the story, at its core this is a story about personal growth and family.
Tropes and themes:
- lesbian FMC
- sapphic
- female rage
- gods and ghosts
- set in Malaysia
- single PoV
Read Harder 2023 #22: Read any book from the Ignyte awards shortlist/longlist/winner list.
I enjoyed this very much! A really interesting, enjoyable book with a great cast of characters.
I enjoyed this very much! A really interesting, enjoyable book with a great cast of characters.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
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:
No
"A closeted and stressed lesbian medium fights gods, ghosts, gangsters, and grandmas in 21st century Penang"
And honestly? It was just as much fun as it sounds 🙂↕️
And honestly? It was just as much fun as it sounds 🙂↕️
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
If you loved Spirits Abroad and desperately wanted a story just like that but novel-sized -- this book is a gift.
Black Water Sister has Zen Cho's trademark immersive, bright quality that melds the Western and the Eastern with unflinching authenticity and humor that made me love Spirits Abroad, and find myself in resonance with the novel on many levels as well. Messy and loving families, despairing queer zillenials, grandmothers with an agenda, immigrant identity and sympathy, a supernatural mystery -- any of these on their own would be worth reading the book for, and how cool it is that they can come in one package?
Thanks to #NetGalley for an advance copy of #BlackWaterSister.
Black Water Sister has Zen Cho's trademark immersive, bright quality that melds the Western and the Eastern with unflinching authenticity and humor that made me love Spirits Abroad, and find myself in resonance with the novel on many levels as well. Messy and loving families, despairing queer zillenials, grandmothers with an agenda, immigrant identity and sympathy, a supernatural mystery -- any of these on their own would be worth reading the book for, and how cool it is that they can come in one package?
Thanks to #NetGalley for an advance copy of #BlackWaterSister.
If you loved Spirits Abroad and desperately wanted a story just like that but novel-sized -- this book is a gift for you.
Black Water Sister has Zen Cho's trademark immersive, bright quality that melds the Western and the Eastern with unflinching authenticity and humor that made me love Spirits Abroad, and find myself in resonance with the novel on many levels as well. Messy and loving families, despairing queer zillenials, grandmothers with an agenda, immigrant identity and sympathy, a supernatural mystery -- any of these on their own would be worth reading the book for, and how cool it is that they can come in one package?
Thanks to #NetGalley for an advance copy of #BlackWaterSister.
Black Water Sister has Zen Cho's trademark immersive, bright quality that melds the Western and the Eastern with unflinching authenticity and humor that made me love Spirits Abroad, and find myself in resonance with the novel on many levels as well. Messy and loving families, despairing queer zillenials, grandmothers with an agenda, immigrant identity and sympathy, a supernatural mystery -- any of these on their own would be worth reading the book for, and how cool it is that they can come in one package?
Thanks to #NetGalley for an advance copy of #BlackWaterSister.