A review by bookedupandbusy
The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

Alternating chapters between two women. Jasmine, born and raised in China had an arranged marriage at 14 years old and was told by her husband, Wen, that their child had died at birth, he had actually arranged for the child to be adopted. Jasmine flees abroad to find her child. 

In contrast, we also follow Rebecca, a wealthy white woman with a great job in publishing, who is having fertility issues with her husband Brandon. 

I can’t go into too much detail about this story as this would be a major spoiler. I can’t even discuss the meaning of the title - find out yourself! But…

I really enjoyed my reading experience with this book. Recently, I have become a pro at solving mysteries, but this book had me. I didn’t see it coming. The plot is well thought out and cleverly written. The story really makes you question the definition of ‘Mother’ in both love and practice. I thoroughly enjoyed Jasmine’s chapters. The author wrote a character you want to root for. Rebecca’s chapters were engaging especially because she works in publishing and seeing the lengths agents go to in order to poach authors is quite insightful.

However, I will say that white privilege, transracial adoption and the immigrant experience is written in many different forms by the author and I loved how the author explored how China’s one child policy was tackled, from gangsters, to traffickers, foreigners and to those with infertility challenges.

There was one area I would have liked more information about; the illegal activities ongoing in the book. I understand authors can’t fully delve into everything but I was intrigued by this particular area and did question why and how certain things happened.

Read this one!