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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Overall devastating & amazing
I understand why she doesn’t…. but i wish Lily would just knock shelby out like a lot while reading
only real reasons i didn’t give 5⭐️ was i felt Kath was reduced a bit to just the love interest and i also would’ve liked to see some of the other characters explored, especially nearer the end andwith the raid of the. telegraph club, i wanted to know what happened with Tommy!!!!
I understand why she doesn’t…. but i wish Lily would just knock shelby out like a lot while reading
only real reasons i didn’t give 5⭐️ was i felt Kath was reduced a bit to just the love interest and i also would’ve liked to see some of the other characters explored, especially nearer the end and
emotional
inspiring
slow-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
I went into this book not having a clue what it was about. The cover, along with the title, piqued my interest. I imagined maybe historical fiction with a jazz club theme. I was so very wrong. I’m kind of glad that I didn’t know what it was about because I probably wouldn’t have read it. I like learning about all kinds of people though, so I’m glad I happened upon it.
The first half of the book was extremely boring. My husband kept telling me to give up on it and read something else, but I usually don’t quit books once I’ve started. I was right to continue with this one. Once you get past the halfway point (maybe the 60% point), it becomes more interesting. Essentially, the last 40% of the book is where the real story happens.
Being a teenager in any time period isn’t easy. I don’t pretend to know what it’s like to struggle with your sexuality as a teenager, and I only imagine it to be worse for a young Chinese American girl in the 1950s. This book attempts to give us some insight about what that would have been like.
Lily is a very likable character. Even if I couldn’t identify with her as a young Chinese girl in the 50s, or a teenager struggling to figure out her sexuality, I could identify with her struggle to figure out on her own how to make choices for herself within a household that is very strict and with a parent who believes that their beliefs are the only ones that matter.
I admired Lily for how strong she was, even if she didn’t realize it. She was willing to take chances to figure out where she fit in the world, and she was willing to stand up for her choices, even if they went against the beliefs of her opinionated and controlling mother and the others in her community. While it was subtle, at least her Father tried to help her understand that she would be okay if she followed her heart.
I thought the story came to kind of an abrupt end (maybe because my Kindle was telling me that there was a lot more left), but I guess the book told the part of the story it needed to tell and left us to figure out that Lily was strong enough and smart enough to find her way in the world, even if it didn’t fit into the path her mother expected from her.
In the first half of the book, I was ready to give it just two stars. While the end was much better, I don’t like having to read so far into a book before it gets interesting. That is why it earned only one extra star from me.
If you’re thinking this book is historical fiction with a jazz twist like I did, this book may not be for you. If you are close-minded and can’t handle a story about a young girl struggling with her sexuality, this book definitely isn’t for you. If you aren’t LGBTQ, but have an interest in understanding people who are different than you are, this book could be for you…as long as you realize that you will read for a while before it gets very interesting.
All in all, it was a good story that’s worth reading, but it was just really slow to start.
The first half of the book was extremely boring. My husband kept telling me to give up on it and read something else, but I usually don’t quit books once I’ve started. I was right to continue with this one. Once you get past the halfway point (maybe the 60% point), it becomes more interesting. Essentially, the last 40% of the book is where the real story happens.
Being a teenager in any time period isn’t easy. I don’t pretend to know what it’s like to struggle with your sexuality as a teenager, and I only imagine it to be worse for a young Chinese American girl in the 1950s. This book attempts to give us some insight about what that would have been like.
Lily is a very likable character. Even if I couldn’t identify with her as a young Chinese girl in the 50s, or a teenager struggling to figure out her sexuality, I could identify with her struggle to figure out on her own how to make choices for herself within a household that is very strict and with a parent who believes that their beliefs are the only ones that matter.
I admired Lily for how strong she was, even if she didn’t realize it. She was willing to take chances to figure out where she fit in the world, and she was willing to stand up for her choices, even if they went against the beliefs of her opinionated and controlling mother and the others in her community. While it was subtle, at least her Father tried to help her understand that she would be okay if she followed her heart.
I thought the story came to kind of an abrupt end (maybe because my Kindle was telling me that there was a lot more left), but I guess the book told the part of the story it needed to tell and left us to figure out that Lily was strong enough and smart enough to find her way in the world, even if it didn’t fit into the path her mother expected from her.
In the first half of the book, I was ready to give it just two stars. While the end was much better, I don’t like having to read so far into a book before it gets interesting. That is why it earned only one extra star from me.
If you’re thinking this book is historical fiction with a jazz twist like I did, this book may not be for you. If you are close-minded and can’t handle a story about a young girl struggling with her sexuality, this book definitely isn’t for you. If you aren’t LGBTQ, but have an interest in understanding people who are different than you are, this book could be for you…as long as you realize that you will read for a while before it gets very interesting.
All in all, it was a good story that’s worth reading, but it was just really slow to start.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's really hard to decide if this is a 4 star or 5 star book. The first half is very long and dense (making it a 4) while the second half of the book is strong and makes you unable to put it down (making it a 5). The story is great, and I love how realistic all the characters are. I love the time period it is set in, and one can tell Lo did immense research you get the accuracy down.
Overall, you gotta get past the 1st half to get to the better half but it's worth it.
Overall, you gotta get past the 1st half to get to the better half but it's worth it.
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
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
i really liked the book. i read it really quickly, i just wish there was more to the ending. there were a lot of things left to interpret by the reader at the end. i wanted more closure for lily and kath.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book fell a bit flat for me in a lot of areas. I nearly DNFd it about halfway through. I felt like for the first ~300 pages the story hadn’t moved enough and I really didn’t feel invested in the characters or care what happened to them. The last 100 pages then felt very rushed and I don’t really feel satisfied that everything was tied up neatly. I did appreciate the diversity with it being set in the 1950s and based on an Asian American family. I found it interesting to read about that. Although I felt like there were too many themes and subplots that a lot of them ended up feeling half done. It sort of felt like heartstopper to me in that I appreciate its existence for LQBGTQIA representation for young people but it just wasn’t really up my street tbh.