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nahret 's review for:
Black Water Sister
by Zen Cho
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
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:
Yes
I came across this book by chance when I was browsing available titles in my library app. So, I went into the book without really knowing anything about it, and I'm glad I did.
The protagonist and I probably stepped into the whole mess of the Chinese spirit world equally unprepared. And a mess it is: spirits everywhere, gods small and big, everyone dead or alive with an agenda. While the tone started out light, the story quickly progressed into much darker themes, all the while maintaining its sense of humor. I liked the protagonist; while she is unnecessarily obtuse about the whole being-haunted-by-your-dead-grandmother situation at first, once she accepted what she'd gotten herself into, she handled it admirably. The character development was actually amazing! Jess had really come into her own by the end of the story, in more ways than one.
I really liked the way language was handled here. I'm a sucker for the art of reflecting a foreign language's peculiarities in English. While I do not speak Hokkien, the way the native language characters' speech was written allowed me a tiny glimpse into its mechanisms.
The narration by Catherine Ho is spot-on. She's doing a great job with the different voices, and I particularly liked Ah Ma.
I am really glad I came across this book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.
The protagonist and I probably stepped into the whole mess of the Chinese spirit world equally unprepared. And a mess it is: spirits everywhere, gods small and big, everyone dead or alive with an agenda. While the tone started out light, the story quickly progressed into much darker themes, all the while maintaining its sense of humor. I liked the protagonist; while she is unnecessarily obtuse about the whole being-haunted-by-your-dead-grandmother situation at first, once she accepted what she'd gotten herself into, she handled it admirably. The character development was actually amazing! Jess had really come into her own by the end of the story, in more ways than one.
I really liked the way language was handled here. I'm a sucker for the art of reflecting a foreign language's peculiarities in English. While I do not speak Hokkien, the way the native language characters' speech was written allowed me a tiny glimpse into its mechanisms.
The narration by Catherine Ho is spot-on. She's doing a great job with the different voices, and I particularly liked Ah Ma.
I am really glad I came across this book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Classism