A review by corar
The Girl with Ghost Eyes by M.H. Boroson

4.0

I think the world of The Girl with Ghost Eyes, nineteenth century China Town in San Francisco, was a fantastic choice for a fantasy novel. I found the relationship between the spirit world and the living world interesting, especially since it is based on Chinese beliefs from the time. I liked most of the characters in the book, especially the heroine. My only criticism was that I never got a good feel for the time period where the book was set. The setting of China Town came alive, but I had a hard time imagining it happening in the 19th century. That could be because of my own misunderstanding of what that time period was like, but it felt a little more modern despite the traditional Chinese culture that undervalued women in the book. The author did provide an author's note at the end of the book that was very helpful - you can tell he did his research. But every time I read the name of the character named Rocket it made me wonder if a Chinese man who did not speak English would be named Rocket (again, maybe it is my ignorance and that is not an uncommon name for the time/culture).