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A review by corporatemumlovescoffee
When Sleeping Women Wake by Emma Pei Yin
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
When Sleeping Women Wake is the book of 2025. Emma Pei Yin has written something so powerful, so evocative, it feels less like reading a novel and more like living through history itself.
From the very first page, I was transported to Hong Kong and witnessed the Japanese occupation from beginning to end. It showed me a time and place that pulsed with fear, pain, courage, and resistance. Through the lives of Mingzhu, Qiang, and Biyu, Emma gives us the voice of women, which is so often silenced. Each woman’s story is distinct, yet intertwined through their shared longing for freedom, their unyielding resilience, and their refusal to be forgotten.
I didn’t just read about their suffering or hope, I felt it. Emma’s prose is deeply immersive, lyrical yet raw, and the emotional depth she brings to her characters is breathtaking. I wept with them. I feared for them. I cheered for them. And long after turning the final page, I continue to carry them with me.
This is more than historical fiction, it is a love letter to the strength of women, a testimony to survival, and a call to remember. I’ll be recommending this book to everyone I know.
Thank you Emma Pei-Yin, for this unforgettable gift.
From the very first page, I was transported to Hong Kong and witnessed the Japanese occupation from beginning to end. It showed me a time and place that pulsed with fear, pain, courage, and resistance. Through the lives of Mingzhu, Qiang, and Biyu, Emma gives us the voice of women, which is so often silenced. Each woman’s story is distinct, yet intertwined through their shared longing for freedom, their unyielding resilience, and their refusal to be forgotten.
I didn’t just read about their suffering or hope, I felt it. Emma’s prose is deeply immersive, lyrical yet raw, and the emotional depth she brings to her characters is breathtaking. I wept with them. I feared for them. I cheered for them. And long after turning the final page, I continue to carry them with me.
This is more than historical fiction, it is a love letter to the strength of women, a testimony to survival, and a call to remember. I’ll be recommending this book to everyone I know.
Thank you Emma Pei-Yin, for this unforgettable gift.