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montereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
“What a thing a bad death was. It made a mythology that caught up in its wake old trees and young women alike, the violence of it reverberating through the years.”
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho is a chilling, family-centred ghost story about cycles of harm and reclaiming power. Jess, a young Malaysian woman raised in America, moves back to her hometown with her parents—only to find her grandmother, Ah Ma, haunting her. What proceeds is a romp through Penang’s spiritual circles, real-estate tussles, gang rivalries, and hipster cafes in search of a way to resolve Ah Ma’s gripes, stop being haunted, and go back to every recent grad’s beloved pastime: looking for a job. There was an almost superhero-esque note to the story that made it a lot of fun, even when the subject matter grew dark.
Jess and I are of different backgrounds, but we’re both immigrants, and a lot of her experiences sent a pang of sadness and familiarity through me. Cho writes the precariousness of half-belonging beautifully, showing us the ceaseless and overlapping comfort-discomfort of living across two cultures. Watching Jess grow more familiar with Penang, her family history, and her language reminded me that belonging isn’t static. Reconnection is always possible.
Cho leads us on a mostly straight path through this haunting mystery. There isn’t much lingering on backstory or filler information. The tight focus really let the setting and characters shine, and I found it helped avoid the believability issue I so often have with paranormal fantasy. Ah Ma and Black Water Sister felt viscerally real—Ah Ma hilariously so, spirited and witty. Black Water Sister, on the other hand, was terrifying.
The connection between the three women holds together the core of this book. Jess’s experiences with them brought up so many painful questions—what price will we pay for our own safety? What harm do our traumas lead us to inflict upon each other? How can we heal when the damage is ongoing? Cho handles these wounds and fears with grace, honesty, and tender care. Black Water Sister is a powerful story of belonging, diaspora, family, courage, faith, forging agency under patriarchy, and kicking some ass.
Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho is a chilling, family-centred ghost story about cycles of harm and reclaiming power. Jess, a young Malaysian woman raised in America, moves back to her hometown with her parents—only to find her grandmother, Ah Ma, haunting her. What proceeds is a romp through Penang’s spiritual circles, real-estate tussles, gang rivalries, and hipster cafes in search of a way to resolve Ah Ma’s gripes, stop being haunted, and go back to every recent grad’s beloved pastime: looking for a job. There was an almost superhero-esque note to the story that made it a lot of fun, even when the subject matter grew dark.
Jess and I are of different backgrounds, but we’re both immigrants, and a lot of her experiences sent a pang of sadness and familiarity through me. Cho writes the precariousness of half-belonging beautifully, showing us the ceaseless and overlapping comfort-discomfort of living across two cultures. Watching Jess grow more familiar with Penang, her family history, and her language reminded me that belonging isn’t static. Reconnection is always possible.
Cho leads us on a mostly straight path through this haunting mystery. There isn’t much lingering on backstory or filler information. The tight focus really let the setting and characters shine, and I found it helped avoid the believability issue I so often have with paranormal fantasy. Ah Ma and Black Water Sister felt viscerally real—Ah Ma hilariously so, spirited and witty. Black Water Sister, on the other hand, was terrifying.
The connection between the three women holds together the core of this book. Jess’s experiences with them brought up so many painful questions—what price will we pay for our own safety? What harm do our traumas lead us to inflict upon each other? How can we heal when the damage is ongoing? Cho handles these wounds and fears with grace, honesty, and tender care. Black Water Sister is a powerful story of belonging, diaspora, family, courage, faith, forging agency under patriarchy, and kicking some ass.
Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Sexual violence
willowy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
Length: 382 Pages
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
"You can submit yourself to me, or you can meet an ugly death at the hands of cruel men.
You can kill, or you can die."
A special thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book!
Jessamyn Teoh has a lot on her plate: A secret girlfriend (plus keeping the truth of her sexuality from her traditional Chinese parents), trouble finding a job after graduating from Harvard, and who could forget the ghost of her Grandmother haunting her?
After spending the majority of her life in America, Jess's parents have decided to move back to Malaysia, and out of a growing listlessness and filial duty, Jess tags along. Little does she know, she's got even bigger problems coming in the form of family secrets, gangsters, and a dangerous God known as Black Water Sister.
I loved learning about all the Gods, especially the titular Black Water Sister, who's tragic past reminded us that she was once human, too, and experienced one of the most human emotions: Rage -- sometimes justified, oftentimes not. My favorite character of the book was Jess's Grandma, Ah Ma, whose grumpy exterior hid a long suffering hurt. She was intelligent and funny when she wasn't being downright rude. Cho's writing brought the heat and wildness of Malaysia, the bustling, crowded city streets and hipster cafes to roaring life.
Black Water Sister is a poignant story of finding where we comfortably belong, of making painful choices to get the outcomes that let us be who we truly, authentically, are, and maybe even more importantly, letting go.
For more reviews visit my blog!
Length: 382 Pages
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
"You can submit yourself to me, or you can meet an ugly death at the hands of cruel men.
You can kill, or you can die."
A special thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book!
Jessamyn Teoh has a lot on her plate: A secret girlfriend (plus keeping the truth of her sexuality from her traditional Chinese parents), trouble finding a job after graduating from Harvard, and who could forget the ghost of her Grandmother haunting her?
After spending the majority of her life in America, Jess's parents have decided to move back to Malaysia, and out of a growing listlessness and filial duty, Jess tags along. Little does she know, she's got even bigger problems coming in the form of family secrets, gangsters, and a dangerous God known as Black Water Sister.
I loved learning about all the Gods, especially the titular Black Water Sister, who's tragic past reminded us that she was once human, too, and experienced one of the most human emotions: Rage -- sometimes justified, oftentimes not. My favorite character of the book was Jess's Grandma, Ah Ma, whose grumpy exterior hid a long suffering hurt. She was intelligent and funny when she wasn't being downright rude. Cho's writing brought the heat and wildness of Malaysia, the bustling, crowded city streets and hipster cafes to roaring life.
Black Water Sister is a poignant story of finding where we comfortably belong, of making painful choices to get the outcomes that let us be who we truly, authentically, are, and maybe even more importantly, letting go.
For more reviews visit my blog!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Violence
Attempted Rape but not carried throughmeltingpages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
I’ve never read anything from Zen Cho before, although I do have a few other books on my TBR. Now after reading this one, I’m definitely more intrigued about the ones that I haven’t read yet!
I liked Jess, but she wasn’t my favorite character ever. She was a bit annoying and didn’t make choices for herself, but instead let others dictate her life and her choices. However, her character development was enjoyable because she was starting to learn to stand up for herself and what she wants to do, instead of letting everyone take advantage of her and walk all over her. I liked that we got to learn about this world and the characters along side her in her journey to learn more about her family.
Jess is terrified of her family discovering that she has a girlfriend which, along with the distance, is driving a wedge between Jess and Sharanya, her girlfriend. I wish we had seen more of her girlfriend and their relationship, because I didn’t get a good sense of who she was as a side ch aracter. It’s clear she’s important to Jess, but at the same time Jess didn’t seem to really care too much about her or talking to her. It felt more like, “oh, by the way she’s also got a girlfriend”. I would’ve liked to see more of their interactions and how the relationship developed, I think that would’ve helped.
I did really like Ah Ma, she was a very strong willed and persuasive character. At one point in the story she makes a choice that I didn’t really agree with, and made me question how important Jess was to her as a granddaughter. That’s when I started to question her motives, and clearly Jess did as well because that’s really where the story took off.
I also liked the writing, it was straightforward and I think it complimented the story well. It was easy to fly through this book and it was really enjoyable. I loved the way that the paranormal aspects were woven into Malaysian culture. This got pretty dark at times, which I didn’t really expect. It also had a few twists and surprises along the way as well that I didn’t see coming! It did slow down a bit in the second half of the book, and I had some confusion with how Jess dealt with the Black Water Sister thing, but compared to the rest of the book that’s just a small thing.
The relationships that Jess had with all them members of her family and her girlfriend were very dynamic, and I enjoyed seeing Jess grow. I was a little irritated with her at times for not standing up for herself and basing her entire life around her parents, but I also understand that it’s expected in a lot of cultures to do that.
Much of this book is about vengeance – Ah Ma, the Black Water Sister, and Jess herself all seek vengeance in one way or another. I did like that they never just simply forgave those who wronged them, and followed through (for the most part).
Lastly, I do want to mention that there is sexual assault that occurs in this book, and it could be triggering, as it’s pretty graphic. I would also list potential trigger warnings for violence, homophobia, and death.
Overall, I do recommend giving this book a shot! It was ruthless and compelling, and I’m really looking forward to reading more from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Homophobia and Violence
Minor: Cancer
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