Review: The Downstairs Girl (by Stacey Lee)

My Rating: 5 stars

Reading Stacey Lee's YA novel The Downstairs Girl was truly a delightful experience – one that I honestly was not expecting.  As I've mentioned before, I don't read much YA because I'm not the target audience for the genre and, as such, I feel like it would be harder for me to appreciate the story and/or the characters.  With the last few YA novels I've read though, I've been pleasantly surprised with how much I've enjoyed them.   As an avid reader, one of the things I always hope for in any reading experience is the possibility of encountering a book that will resonate with me in ways I wasn't expecting.  With Lee's book, this is exactly what happened – so much so that even now, a few days after finishing the book, I am still thinking about the characters and longing to revisit with them again.  

 

The year is 1890 in Atlanta, Georgia.  17-year-old Jo Kuan works as a milliner's apprentice making hats for society's wealthy elite.  Though the pay is meager, it's a job that Jo is good at and is grateful to have given that she is a girl who, by necessity, has lived in the shadows all her life.   Abandoned by her parents when she was a baby, Jo was taken in and raised by the elderly Old Gin, who works as a caretaker on the estate of one of the wealthiest families in Atlanta.  Jo and Old Gin live quietly in a dilapidated basement that used to be a hideout for abolitionists – a basement located underneath a print shop owned by the Bell family, who have no idea that the space (or the Kuans) exist.  When Jo is fired from her job unexpectedly (due to her being "too opinionated" according to her employer Mrs. English, though the real reason is because Jo is Chinese), she has no choice but to return to the Payne estate and work as a house maid for the family's cruel daughter Caroline (who hates Jo with a passion).  One night, through a pipe in the basement, Jo overhears a conversation between the Bells and their son Nathan that inspires her to start an advice column in their newspaper, using the pseudonym "Miss Sweetie."  The column, which focuses on addressing society's ills from the female perspective, becomes wildly popular, but also garners backlash from those uncomfortable with society's fixed notions being challenged.  When Jo discovers a letter that provides clues to her past and who her parents are, she must decide whether to remain hidden or risk coming out of the shadows.

 

This is one of those books that proves, once again, that we shouldn't judge a book purely by its genre.  I know this book is largely categorized as YA, but to be honest, it really doesn't read like a typical YA novel.  In addition to the story being very well-written, with endearing yet realistically-drawn characters, I also thought the historical and cultural elements of the story were really well done – most impressive though, was how the author, Stacey Lee, was able to so seamlessly weave in complex social commentary about race, class, privilege, identity, etc., which actually made this an unexpectedly timely read despite its setting in the 19^th century.  Reading about society's prejudices back in the 1890s and the discrimination that people of color faced during that time, it both frustrates and saddens me to be reminded, once again, that, even though our society and our country as a whole have both a come a long way, many of the attitudes and biases haven't changed all that much.  With that said, I am heartened by the increasing presence of books like this one in society nowadays — books that don't hold back in terms of bringing important issues to the forefront and helping to initiate necessary conversations about social justice and the need for change in our society.  I absolutely love the fact that the main protagonist in this story is a young Chinese woman who defies the typical gender and cultural stereotype — a woman who is smart and feisty, opinionated, yet kind and compassionate, and most admirable of all, bravely rises above her circumstances and stands up for her beliefs, even in the face of society's harsh criticisms and prejudices.  I also love how all the main characters — the most well-drawn and endearing characters — were either Chinese (Jo and Old Gin) or Black (Noemi and Robby).

Thinking back to my own childhood, growing up as a Chinese girl in a city as supposedly diverse as Los Angeles, it was nearly impossible to find books with Asian supporting characters in them, let alone Chinese characters (and female ones at that).   I remember back then, the only way for me to read fiction books with characters in them who looked like me, was to have relatives buy books in Hong Kong and send them to me here.  I wish there had been books like this back then that do a way better job of educating youths about diversity and acceptance than school textbooks; that would've been way more helpful for a Chinese girl like me — one of only 3 Asian faces in the entire school — to actually stand up for myself, rather than constantly shrink into the shadows, stay quiet, keep my head down, and draw as little attention to myself as possible; that would’ve helped me navigate the contradictions of my identity and understand that it didn't matter whether we were born here or grew up here, by virtue of our "foreign" faces, this will never truly be our home and we will never truly belong — but yet we must strive to make our situation more tolerable, if only for survival's sake.   

There were so many scenes in the book that I was able to relate to;  that had me nodding my head in agreement at how true to life many of Jo's and Old Gin's experiences were; that had me both laughing and crying at various moments throughout the story.  For me, one of the most heartbreaking scenes was that last segregated streetcar scene near the end of the book, which powerfully summed up what the Chinese experience has been for many of us in America. 

There is a lot to unpack with this book and it's impossible for me to do justice to it in such a brief review.  I definitely recommend taking the time to read this one — if anything, for its glimpse into history and culture.  Yes, this is ultimately a triumphant story and perhaps even a predictable one in terms of plot, but it is an absolutely worthwhile read — one that I'm sure will continue to stay with me for a long time!

Review: You Have a Match (by Emma Lord)

My Rating:  4 stars

With only a few days left in the year, I didn't think I would have time to finish another book before the last day of the month.  But as I was planning my January and February "to be read" lists yesterday, I got a bit anxious over the insane number of books I have lined up for those 2 months, so in a moment of panic, I decided to get a head start on one of the January releases on my list.  In anticipation that I would likely be reading whichever book I chose through the new year break, I wanted something potentially light-hearted and fun, a relaxing read that wouldn't require me to do a whole lot of unpacking.  Scanning my lists, I came across Emma Lord's sophomore novel You Have a Match and after reading the summary, I knew this would likely fit what I was looking for.  I'm usually not much of a YA or romance reader and though I was aware of this author's much beloved debut novelTweet Cute (which was actually recommended to me a few times last year), I never got around to reading it, so going into this, her second book, I wasn't too sure what to expect.  It turns out this book was exactly what I needed at the moment – a cute, fun read that explores modern day sentiments (i.e. social media, adoption, LGBTQ relationships, complicated family dynamics, sibling rivalry, genetics and DNA testing, etc.) in a way that isn't heavy-handed, which I definitely appreciated.  Many reviews of the book mention the Parent Trap vibe of the story, which I completely agree with given the antics of the two sisters Abby and Savvy, though the story and characters also reminded me of other famous literary "sister" relationships such as Beezus and Ramona from the Beverly Cleary books (which I adored when I was a kid) and the Wakefield sisters from the Sweet Valley High series.  

As for the summer camp setting, it definitely felt like a throwback to my childhood days of camping with schoolmates and Girl Scouts, something I haven't done in decades, so it was fun to get to experience those memories again (even if it's only briefly through a few short scenes).  Reading this book actually made me nostalgic for those carefree days of youth, which isn't a bad feeling to have right now, to be honest.  

If you're looking for a feel-good read with endearing characters and an engaging story, I would recommend picking this one up. I actually surprised myself by finishing this book in two sittings, with the unexpected result of now being able to add another book I enjoyed to my 2020 recap.  

Received ARC from Wednesday Books via NetGalley

 

Review: The Poet X (by Elizabeth Acevedo)

My Rating: 5 stars

**After watching (and hearing) Elizabeth Acevedo perform a segment from her book during an author chat after I read the book, I was absolutely blown away!  That performance gave me a new appreciation for this story and so I am changing my rating to 5 stars (from 4.5).**

I’ve never been much of a poetry reader.  Nothing against the form or anything, I just have a difficult time getting into poetry, for some reason. Perhaps it’s because my brain processes poetry and poetic verses differently than it does regular prose and as a result, I often have to exert much more effort in reading/re-reading (usually multiple times) poetry in order to fully grasp its meanings. The experience overall can be exhausting and draining for me, which is why, when it comes to leisure reading, I tend to avoid poetry.  This is also why, despite being an avid reader for most of my life and having read countless books over the decades, I had never read a novel-in-verse before, as I’ve always considered it a form of poetry and would likely struggle with it.  Given the above, I was understandably apprehensive when I found out that the group read for one of my book clubs this month would be renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo’s debut novel-in-verse from 2018, The Poet X.   Even though I had heard so many wonderful things about Acevedo and her works, I didn’t know how I would take to a reading experience that, up to this point, was largely foreign to me. (As if that weren’t enough, this book also falls into the YA category, which I don’t read much nowadays, since I’m not the audience for it).   With all that said, I’m actually more surprised than anyone that I ended up enjoying this one so much more than I expected.

Xiomara Batista is the titular Poet X, a teenager who immigrated with her family from the Dominican Republic and now lives in Harlem with her parents and twin brother Xavier.  As she leaves adolescence and starts to come into her own, Xiomara struggles with trying to make sense of the world and her role in it.  In doing so, Xiomara encounters one obstacle after another – at school, she struggles with fitting in, which became more challenging after her body “started taking up more room than [her] voice” and consequently being the target of either affection from boys or jealous gossip from girls.  At home, Xiomara has a strained relationship with her parents – her father ignores her and her mother, who is fiercely religious, sees Xiomara as nothing but trouble and so enforces strict adherence to the laws of her church as a means of keeping her daughter from straying.  At the same time, Xiomara is also dealing with issues of the heart, as she starts to develop feelings for a boy in her biology class and becomes confused at the conflicting emotions raging with her.  Xiomara has a lot she wants to say, but feeling unheard, she has no choice but to pour all her frustrations into the pages of her notebook, in the form of poems that become a salve for her soul.  Through these poems, Xiomara is able to articulate every thought, feeling, desire, that she does not dare express out loud to a world that refuses to listen.  When she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, Xiomara is deeply conflicted, as she doesn’t know how she could ever speak the words from her notebook out loud, plus her mother would never let her attend anyway. With some encouragement along the way, Xiomara finally takes a step toward performing her poems, but the implications are severe, especially the visceral reaction from her mother, which threatens to destroy everything, including the little bit of self-worth she had worked so hard to gain.

Xiomara is one of those wonderfully drawn characters who, once you meet her, is very hard for you to forget her.  This is especially true when you have such a talented author as Elizabeth Acevedo at the helm, with her lyrical, poetic words beautifully giving voice to Xiomara, but in a way that is completely accessible, which I love.  For my first time reading a novel-in-verse, I’m so glad I got to start with Acevedo’s work!  Instead of struggling with this as I usually would if I were reading traditional poetry, I actually flew through this and finished in one sitting – though I did feel a bit sad afterwards because I was so immersed in the story and didn’t want it to end.

Overall, this was a different experience for me, but an absolutely incredible one. If, like me, you are looking to try a novel-in-verse for the first time, I highly recommend this immensely moving, heartfelt coming of age tale that is beautifully told in a powerful and unforgettable voice.  Acevedo’s talent definitely shines through and now I can’t wait to read her two subsequent works (also novels-in-verse), With the Fire on High (which came out in 2019) and her newest release Clap When You Land (which came out in May of this year) as well as whatever she decides to write next of course!

Review: Tell Me Three Things (by Julie Buxbaum)

My Rating:  4 stars

I haven't been much of a YA reader for many years already — so long in fact that I can actually count the number of YA novels I've read over the past decade on one hand.  The reason I don't regularly read YA isn't because I have anything against the genre of course — rather, it has more to do with the fact that, after reaching a certain age and already having a certain amount of life experiences as well as insights under my belt, I sometimes find it hard to relate to the themes and characters often explored in books from the genre.  There are different reasons why I read and indeed, the way I experience a book each time will not be the same, however one thing that I look for each time I read is being able to connect to the story and/or the characters in some way.   Given everything that has been going on recently, both in the world and personally in my own life, that connection has become increasingly important in helping me better understand and make sense of things.  With all that said, one of the things I've noticed with my own reading experiences in recent years is that this connection to a story or characters or (in the case of non-fiction books) subject matter, more often than not, can happen unexpectedly – and sometimes without me even realizing it until afterwards when I'm sitting down to write a review and start reflecting on what I read.  This is exactly what happened with author Julie Buxbaum's Tell Me Three Things, her YA debut novel from 2016.  

To be very honest, this is not a book that I probably would've picked up on my own – the main reason I chose to read it is because it is one of the recommended books in my book club's summer reading guide, plus friends who've read it seemed to enjoy it (also my library hold for the book happened to come through).   It turns out that I ended up enjoying this one more than I thought I would.  Sure, the premise is simple, the plot is not tremendously exciting, and much of the story as well as the ending are super predictable – but that's fine because I wasn't expecting a complicated read and instead wanted something light and fun, which this book definitely delivered.  What worked for me the most with this book though were the characters, especially the main protagonist of the story, Jessie.  Even though I'm not a teenager and I finished school eons ago, I still absolutely connected with Jessie and the emotions she went through navigating the strange new environment she suddenly found herself in after moving across the country – new family, new house, new school, new friends etc.  Part of why I connected so strongly with Jessie though is because she reminded me so much of how I used to be in high school – bookish, quiet, solitary, not having many friends, not being much of a talker because I'm terrified of saying the wrong things and so would much rather "write" what I wanted to say than verbally say it, etc.  It felt nostalgic (and perhaps a bit surreal) to re-visit that period of my life through the eyes of a character whose personality hewed so closely to my own – an experience that doesn't come around often, that's for sure!

Overall, I found this to be a delightful read – funny, sweet, light-hearted, poignant and sentimental where it needed to be but not overly so.  Also, I loved the structure of the story, with the text messages between Jessie and "Somebody-Nobody" and also with her other friends interspersed so seamlessly throughout.  This type of structure can be risky depending on how it's done, yet Julie Buxbaum pulled it off so beautifully here.  It's been a long time since I've had so much fun reading a book, but more significantly, it provided a much-needed respite during this trying time.  Glad I got the chance to read this one and definitely recommended!

Review: Lovely War (by Julie Berry)

My Rating: 4 stars

This was a delightful read, one that I was a bit apprehensive going into it, but ended up really enjoying!  The premise of the story is a unique one: two young couples — Hazel and James, Colette and Aubrey — fall in love amongst the turbulence of World War I, their story narrated not by any human characters, but rather by a few famous gods and goddesses from Greek mythology.  After being caught by her husband Hephaestus in an affair with a fellow god (Ares, god of war), Aphrodite, the goddess of love, seeks to avoid judgment on Mount Olympus by spinning the story of these 2 couples and the love that they share despite the world around them descending into chaos.  But yet, this story isn’t just about love — it is also about the bonds of friendship and the unifying power of music, about courage in the face of adversity and destruction, about the possibility of hope after heartbreak, resilience after devastation.  Ultimately, in a battle of Love versus War, will Love triumph or will War succeed in destroying everything in its path?

This book is largely categorized as historical fiction, but at the same time, it can also be appropriately grouped under romance, YA, and fantasy.   I will be honest in saying that, based on these genres, this is a book that I probably would not have picked up on my own to read due to the fact that, while I love historical fiction (and the author, Julie Berry, certainly did a great job with the historical elements in here – there were ample historical details but not to the point of dragging down the story), I’m not too keen on the other 3 genres.  I don’t read much YA because I’m not the target audience for that genre and so I usually find it harder to appreciate the story and characters; with romance, I can be quite picky and usually don’t handle “overly sappy” stories well; and with fantasy, that’s just not really my thing.  But given that this was the May selection for one of my book clubs, plus the story sounded interesting based on the summary and it came highly recommended by trusted friends, I decided to give this one a try and hope for the best.  Well, this book ended up surprising me, but in a good way – all the genres blended together really well, the story was engaging, and the writing was lovely, but most important for me were the characters, all of whom I couldn’t help but love dearly.  It’s not often that I feel like I don’t want a story to end because I want to keep reading about these characters and spend more time with them – this was definitely one of those instances!

One thing that I think has to be mentioned, especially since the entire premise of the book hinges on this aspect, is the Greek mythology angle and the unique structure of having Aphrodite and the other gods narrate the main characters’ stories.  From the various reviews, this aspect seemed to be a mixed bag in that it worked for some people but not for others.  For me personally, it worked really well – in fact, I loved the cleverness of the way Berry structured the story, with having the appropriate god or goddess narrate the chapters based on their areas of expertise (for example – the chapters heavy on music were narrated by Apollo, the ones that revolved around the war battles were narrated by Ares, sections related to death or injury were narrated by Hades, and of course, the overall love story with the main characters was narrated by Aphrodite).  Perhaps it is because I already had a certain familiarity with Greek mythology going into this, since I had studied it extensively back in my school days (albeit that was eons ago), so it helped me appreciate those aspects in a way that I probably would not have otherwise.  With that said though, in terms of the sections where the gods (and goddess) interacted with each other, while I did find some of their banter funny, it got a bit old after a while, which made me somewhat impatient for them to get back to the actual story.

The other thing that I felt this book did really well was balance – parts of the book were fun to read but the parts related to the war and its aftermath as well as other historical events were treated seriously as it needed to be.  The story itself had substance, yet it wasn’t dense to the point of being overly complicated or hard to follow.  This is one of those books that manages to blend the YA and adult aspects pretty well, without sacrificing the elements that also make this a worthwhile historical fiction read.  Definitely recommended!

Review: Descendant of the Crane (by Joan He)

My Rating:  4 stars

 

First off, let me say that I am not the target audience for this book, as this is classified as a YA fantasy and I am neither a Young Adult nor do I read fantasy novels all that often.  I have nothing against either genre of course, it’s just that at my age, I sometimes feel a bit self-conscious reading books that are clearly meant for a younger audience, as I feel  that perhaps I’m too old for the story and with all the characters mostly in their teens, I probably won’t be able to relate to any of them.  In terms of the fantasy genre, it has always been a hit or miss for me – depending on the type of story, the world-building in fantasy novels can often become too overwhelming for my tastes, so I end up struggling through the story, which is rarely ever a pleasant experience.  Based on the above, it might seem that Joan He’s YA fantasy debut novel Descendant of the Crane shouldn’t appeal to me -- to be honest, if I were just looking at genre alone, I probably would not have chosen to read this one.  But then again, this is exactly why I don’t choose books based on genre alone…rather, I always read through the summary and do my own research before I make the decision to pick up a book (unless it’s an author I’ve read before or a favorite author whose books I already know I will want to read).   In this case, in addition to the summary and research, what influenced my decision most in picking up this book was the “Chinese-inspired fantasy” element, which to me, is important given the fact that Chinese-themed stories are a rarity in the genre (and technically in the mainstream literary community as a whole as well) -- and of course, being Chinese-American myself, I was curious as to how my culture would be represented.  Also, I understand the difficulties that writing a Chinese-themed story (and a fantasy one at that) for a largely non-Chinese audience entails, so I applaud Joan He’s effort in doing so and wanted to support it.  Going into this with so many expectations, I wasn’t sure what impact it would have on my reading experience, but it turns out I needn’t have worried, as I ended up enjoying this book way more than I thought I would.  Perhaps it is my background, growing up in a household where I was often immersed in Chinese pop culture (television, movies, books, magazines, etc.), the familiarity with the culture made it easier for me to connect with the story, the characters, and even the world that the author built, more than I initially anticipated.

The story itself revolves around Princess Hesina, who is suddenly thrust into the role of ruler over the kingdom of Yan after her father, the king, is found inexplicably murdered.  Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina consults with a soothsayer – in her kingdom, an illegal act punishable by death – and launches an investigation in the hopes of bringing the perpetrator to justice.  Meanwhile, as she takes up the responsibilities of being queen to an unstable kingdom, she must learn to reconcile who she is as a person versus who she needs to be as a ruler, even if it means sacrificing her own convictions for those of the people.  As the trial progresses and Hesina gets closer and closer to the truth of who killed her father, she is also thrust deeper and deeper into a complicated world of danger and deception, a world that leads her to question whether even those closest to her can be trusted.   In the end, Hesina must decide whether the cost of seeking justice for her father is worth the sacrifices she must make, both for herself as well as for her kingdom.

This book was a fun, exhilarating read for me, one that surprised me in so many ways.  The story was quite creative, with well-developed characters and plenty of plot twists that kept me engaged and completely immersed to the point that I didn’t want to put the book down.  I found Hesina to be a very interesting character, as there were different layers to her personality and it was fascinating to watch how her character evolved as she adjusted to her position as queen – the author did a good job depicting Hesina’s constant struggle between her personal beliefs and those instilled in her by her father versus her duty as the ruler of the kingdom to consider the greater good and will of the people.  All the other characters were also multi-layered in that there was an ambiguousness to them and you could never tell where their loyalties lie – in other words, the lines between good versus evil, friend versus enemy, moral versus corrupt, were constantly blurred.  Plot-wise, there was a lot going on and the story actually covered a lot of ground – from a murder mystery that encompassed palace intrigues, political machinations, family dynamics, love and friendship, loyalty and betrayal, lies and deception, to action-packed fight scenes, cleverly written court scenes, and the various cultural elements woven seamlessly throughout the story.  The writing was good as well, though I did notice some pacing issues, especially in the first half of the book, that made parts of the story feel a bit slow and drawn out.  Other than that though, the plot was intriguing enough that it was easy to lose yourself in the story – in fact, I was so engrossed at certain points that I almost forgot I was reading a YA novel, except that some of the language used was a bit amateurish, which jarred me into remembering at those points.  To be honest, I actually think the story would work well as an adult novel too, as long as the language is cleaned up a bit and the characters’ ages are adjusted up a few years. 

This is the type of story that I feel would be perfect for adapting into a TV series or movie.  In fact, as I was reading, each scene played out visually in my mind as though I actually WAS watching one of those Chinese costume drama series that I would binge-watch in my younger days (though admittedly, I still watch my fair share of Chinese dramas on a consistent basis, even now).  Also, based on the way the book ended, the stage is set for a sequel and who knows, there might even be more books down the line as well.  Regardless of how many there will be, this is definitely a series that I will be following.  Sign me up for the next book please!

As a bonus, I recommend going onto the author’s website and checking out the sketches of the main characters there.  This book has a huge visual element to it so browsing through the artwork – which complements the beautiful cover perfectly – definitely played a role in making the story and its characters come to life for me.

Received ARC from Albert Whitman & Company via Edelweiss