A review by hdubois
Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A heart wrenching story, and an important tale about the atrocities committed against Chinese-Americans (and all Asian-Americans) from the moment they arrived here. Zhang is a very strong writer and Daiyu is a thoughtful and engaging protagonist. 

The conclusion leaves a lot to be desired, but in the end, that’s the point. Daiyu/Zhang are able to reclaim their story here, and while the demise is tragic and entirely avoidable in a just state, it certainly leaves you wishing for something different in this narrative when it comes to its finale. Daiyu’s clarity of personage in her final moments certainly has a sense of beauty to it though, and her growth is a deeply admirable quality that I hope he can all learn to integrate. Seeing the larger picture of your world and knowing that you can do something for your people and those closest to you, even at your own expensive is a wonderful thing. Her ability to return to Nelson is beautiful. Her commitment to shouting off Caroline is cheer-worthy. Her decision to attempt to save her friends in her moment of freedom is stunning. Every choice she makes in the final part of the story is some form of uplifting, and I only wish she could have found peace in life for a longer time.


This is the sort of book that feels appropriate and well suited to deal out as party of history courses touching on the American west and the early days of Asian immigration into America. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings