Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This is such a beautiful story of forbidden love between 17 year old Lily Hu, a Chinese American, and her high school classmate Kathleen Miller.
Set in 1950's San Francisco - Melinda Lo's book is so beautifully written and researched - it's like truly stepping into a time machine. As someone who lived in SF for decades it took me back to all the beautiful places - including a pre-demolished Sutro Baths, ChinaTown and North Beach.
Lily has to content with her family's fear of deportation due to McCarthy era red scare and the homophobia within her own family and friends and America as a whole.
There is so much joy and hope and bravery in Lily's journey! HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
Set in 1950's San Francisco - Melinda Lo's book is so beautifully written and researched - it's like truly stepping into a time machine. As someone who lived in SF for decades it took me back to all the beautiful places - including a pre-demolished Sutro Baths, ChinaTown and North Beach.
Lily has to content with her family's fear of deportation due to McCarthy era red scare and the homophobia within her own family and friends and America as a whole.
There is so much joy and hope and bravery in Lily's journey! HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Minor: Police brutality
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a beautiful coming of age story. The theme of identity both racial and sexual told through the lens of a 16 year old trying to understand her place in 1950s San Francisco is captivating.
Lily Hu struggles with being the good Chinese girl her family expects her to be, with her budding relationship with a female classmate. This relationship leads her to the underground nightlife scene of the hidden homosexuals of the time. When her family is faced with deportation Lily must make a choice of where her loyalty lies.
Miranda Lo tells Lily’s story beautifully. You can truly feel Lily’s emotional struggles as she attempts to find herself and stand up for what that means. My favorite part is that this sapphic romance truly feels like two teenagers falling in love. It leaves out the stereotypes and hyper-sexualization often found in these love stories and instead unveils this truly beautiful story of a teenage girl falling in love for the first time.
Lily Hu struggles with being the good Chinese girl her family expects her to be, with her budding relationship with a female classmate. This relationship leads her to the underground nightlife scene of the hidden homosexuals of the time. When her family is faced with deportation Lily must make a choice of where her loyalty lies.
Miranda Lo tells Lily’s story beautifully. You can truly feel Lily’s emotional struggles as she attempts to find herself and stand up for what that means. My favorite part is that this sapphic romance truly feels like two teenagers falling in love. It leaves out the stereotypes and hyper-sexualization often found in these love stories and instead unveils this truly beautiful story of a teenage girl falling in love for the first time.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I'm soooo devastated about the fact that this didn't end up being a new favorite. I truly thought it would be, but I was just kinda let down by everything.
Since there's barely any plot in this book, in addition to it being very slow, it's crucial to love the characters in order to love this book. And I wanted to love Lily. I truly did. However, there's not much else to her than the fact that she's a Chinese lesbian who likes math. We spent 400 pages with her and yet I know nothing about her. She doesn't feel like a real person. She barely feels like a character. She's just some shallow concept of some queer girl.
Additionally, I was unable to root for the romance since we got to see so little of the love interest that there was no build-up, no tension whatsoever. They might just be in love just because they didn't know any other lesbians.
What truly ruined this book for me was the ending. It's so abrupt. Something major in Lily's life happens and instead of going through this experience with her, we skip forward one year and get an epilog who doesn't even touch up on what happened.
I will give it to the book that its writing is very readable and it touches upon important political issues of the time, but that's about it. I didn't enjoy a single thing about the actual story this was focused on.
Since there's barely any plot in this book, in addition to it being very slow, it's crucial to love the characters in order to love this book. And I wanted to love Lily. I truly did. However, there's not much else to her than the fact that she's a Chinese lesbian who likes math. We spent 400 pages with her and yet I know nothing about her. She doesn't feel like a real person. She barely feels like a character. She's just some shallow concept of some queer girl.
Additionally, I was unable to root for the romance since we got to see so little of the love interest that there was no build-up, no tension whatsoever. They might just be in love just because they didn't know any other lesbians.
What truly ruined this book for me was the ending. It's so abrupt. Something major in Lily's life happens and instead of going through this experience with her, we skip forward one year and get an epilog who doesn't even touch up on what happened.
I will give it to the book that its writing is very readable and it touches upon important political issues of the time, but that's about it. I didn't enjoy a single thing about the actual story this was focused on.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
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:
Complicated