Review: Run For the Hills (by Kevin Wilson)

My Rating: 4 stars

Whenever I pick up a Kevin Wilson book, I already know that I will be in for a zany and wild ride through a weird yet heartfelt story alongside a cast of characters who are quirky and eccentric, but in a loveably delightful way.  In this instance, the “ride” is a literal one, as the central premise revolves around a road trip that four half-siblings embark upon to locate their long-lost father. 

Madeline “Mad” Hill’s solitary yet “okay” life living on a farm with her mother in Coalfield, Tennessee is suddenly upended when a young man named Reuben (nickname “Rube”) shows up on her doorstep claiming to be her half-brother.  As it turns out, their father, Charles Hill, is a serial abandoner – he walked out on Rube and his mother 30 years ago, changing his name and starting a new life on a farm with Mad’s mother, only to walk out on her and Mad 10 years later.  But Rube and Mad weren’t the only ones abandoned – their father actually did the same thing two more times after them, leaving behind a college-age daughter named Pepper (“Pep” for short) in Oklahoma and an eleven-year-old son named Theron (who goes by “Tom”) in Utah.  Rube invites Mad to accompany him on a cross-country trek to not only find their other siblings, but also try to locate their father so they can confront him and get answers.  Though Mad thinks this is a crazy idea, she ultimately agrees to go with Rube and together, they set off on a road trip unlike any other.  When Rube and Mad locate their other siblings and trade stories about their father, they are shocked to discover that he took on an entirely different persona with each “new life” he started.  These facts about their father, along with other secrets they uncover, deepen the siblings’ determination to find their father and figure out what exactly is going on (and perhaps more importantly – why??).

I will admit that, at first, when I read this outlandish premise, I honestly wasn’t sure if it was going to work, as it sounded a bit too off-the-wall to me.  But then I remembered that this is Kevin Wilson – an author who has the unique talent of taking the zaniest of premises and turning them into fun, delightful, emotionally nuanced stories that may not always be believable, but are always full of humor and heart.  I loved the four siblings at the center of the story and was truly moved by their earnest efforts in trying to navigate their newfound sibling relationship while at the same time reconciling the impact of their father’s actions on their lives.  With that said, I’m not really sure how I feel about the ending – I don’t want to give anything away, so I won’t say too much here, but I think this is an area that would make a good (and interesting) topic of discussion.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and highly entertaining read. Sure, there were some moments where I felt like I had to suspend disbelief somewhat, but those were few and far between – plus there was the emotional payoff that made things worthwhile in the end. I definitely recommend picking this one up, as it makes for a fantastic summer read!

Received ARC from Ecco via NetGalley.

Review: Tomb Sweeping (by Alexandra Chang)

My Rating:  3.5 stars

This was an interesting collection of 15 short stories by Alexandra Chang, whose previous novel Days of Distraction I had read several years back and really enjoyed.  With this particular collection, I was drawn to certain stories more than others, which isn't surprising, as that's my usual reaction to short story collections that aren't linked somehow. While I would say that I did enjoy this collection overall in terms of content and writing, I didn't like that all the stories felt incomplete in some way — in some cases, I felt like I was being dropped in the middle of a scene that had already been happening, while in other cases, the ending felt so abrupt that I couldn't helping thinking I was missing some pages perhaps. That feeling of "incompleteness" is one of the things that makes short story collections a hit or miss for me (though at the same time, it's hard for me to not read them if I come across a collection that seems like it would suit my tastes).

For me, one of the things that stood out the most with this collection was the way Chang plays around with form in some of the stories. 

The first story that started off the collection, entitled "Unknown by Unknown"definitely captured my attention with its tense buildup, but then it veered a little bit into the abstract and in the end, I didn't really understand where it was going (though maybe that was just me).  The second story, "Li Fan" was the most interesting as well as the most obviously experimental one — the entire story was told backwards (which I actually didn't realize until I was about a quarter of the way through the story and was wondering why it read so oddly), with the last sentence first and the first sentence last.  This was definitely a unique structure, one that I'd never seen employed before, though to be honest, it didn't quite work for me, since I prefer stories in a more straightforward format (I get too distracted otherwise).  I actually had to go back and re-read this story the "right" way (starting at the end back to the beginning, which did irk me a little).  The story "Me and My Algo" features an algorithm as a main character (that is essentially in conversation with the unnamed first person narrator), while the story "Cat Personalities" consists of two characters talking about each other (and a friend) in relation to each of their cat's personality traits.

Even though I didn't necessarily resonate with some of the stories, I did appreciate overall the familiarity of the themes that we as Asian Americans and immigrants often struggle with — themes such as identity and our relationship with society, generational disparity and differences, reconciling past with present, the role of family and the way the dynamics evolve in an immigrant household, etc.   There also seemed to be quite a few stories relating to technology, which was interesting considering this was a central theme in Chang's previous work as well.

Overall, this was a pretty decent collection and I'm glad I read it, despite not necessarily understanding the message behind each story. I'm interested in seeing what Chang will write next, though I'm definitely hoping that it will be a novel rather than short stories.

Received ARC from Ecco Press via NetGalley.

Review: Family Lore (by Elizabeth Acevedo)

My Rating:  3 stars

I read Elizabeth Acevedo's YA novel-in-verse The Poet X in book club a few years back and absolutely loved it.  I loved the book even more after I got the chance to watch an author talk that Acevedo did where she read an excerpt from the book out loud (with her being a poet, this was a wonderful treat that definitely enhanced my experience of the book).  Given this admiration for Acevedo's previous work, I was of course excited when I heard she would have a new book out this summer and that it would be her first novel for adults.

Family Lore is a story about a Dominican-American family told from the rotating perspectives of the Marte sisters — Matilde, Flor, Pastora, Camila — and their daughters Ona and Yadi.  Written in a non-linear format, the story is centered around the living wake that second eldest sister Flor decides to throw for herself to celebrate the long life that she has lived.  While this request may not be particularly unusual, it sets off anxiety and panic within this family because of the special "gift" that Flor possesses:  the ability to "see death" — that is, to predict (in some cases, to the exact day) when someone will die (the premonition comes in a dream to her). Whether Flor saw her own death or someone else's, she refuses to say, which has the family speculating as to the motivation behind the wake.  Flor's sister Pastora also has a "gift" of her own — the ability to "see truth" whereby she can tell just from the way someone talks and the tone of their voice whether they are lying or not.  So the family looks to Pastora to hopefully talk to Flor and get some answers— but instead, Pastora chooses to confront oldest sister Matilde about her unfaithful husband Rafa, whose philandering ways Matilde has tolerated for decades.  Meanwhile, their next generation, Yadi and Ona, have their own struggles and issues that they are secretly dealing with.  In the three days leading up to the wake, some things happen that lead the various characters to reminisce and reflect about their pasts, with a few "secrets" that undoubtedly spill forth in the process.  This is the part where the story jumps back and forth not just between time periods (past and present, though without specific timeframe), but also between settings, with scenes taking place in the Dominican Republic as well as in the United States (specifically in New York).

This was an interesting story that I found to be beautifully written with prose that was both poetic and lyrical.  With that said however, the format, unfortunately, didn't quite work for me. First, there were way too many characters, all with their own unique backstories that were told in alternating chapters non-chronologically, which made things hard to follow.  As I was reading, I was having a hard time keeping everyone's story straight, which was frustrating (though it helped that Acevedo included a character table at the front of the book, which I had to refer back to more often than not). The other aspect that I felt didn't really work were the snippets of commentary from Ona that were inserted throughout the story.  Ona's character, an anthropologist, interviewed various members of her family for a research project she was working on, and excerpts from those interviews were woven into the story — which I didn't mind, except that I felt those most of those snippets and segments didn't contribute much to advancing the plot, and given the non-linear nature of the story, it just made things more confusing (for me at least).  Thirdly, the story felt too scattered, with multiple threads that seemed to go in different directions, and while the threads did come together at the end, once I got there, I still felt like I didn't really know what was going on (and it also didn't help that the ending itself felt too abrupt and ambiguous, which made an already complicated structure even more confusing).

Overall, I felt that this story had potential, it's just that it was executed in a way that was more complex than it needed to be.  I did find several of the sisters' backstories interesting, especially in seeing how some of the things that happened in their lives shaped who they eventually became — but it felt like too much to explore all at the same time.  Perhaps a better approach would've been to focus only on one or two main characters' arcs rather than try to cover everyone's story all at once. As a whole though, I did appreciate what Acevedo was trying to do and indeed, there was much that I did enjoy about the book, but unfortunately, the tedious and frustrating reading experience won out in the end.

Though Acevedo's first foray into adult fiction didn't quite land for me, I continue to be an admirer of her YA works, with The Poet Xremaining an unforgettable favorite.  I also continue to look forward to any future works she might come out with, be it YA or adult — though hopefully the next adult one will be a better experience.

Received ARC from Ecco via NetGalley.

Review: Now is Not the Time to Panic (by Kevin Wilson)

My Rating: 4 stars

"The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers.  We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us."

The plot of Kevin Wilson's latest novel, Now Is Not the Time to Panic, revolves around this phrase in a huge way.  Of course, how and why this phrase is important is not going to make sense to anyone who hasn't read the novel and I actually don't plan on revealing too much of the plot in this review, as the unique nature of this book is that you need to read it for yourself in order to see where the story takes you.  All you need to know is that majority of the story takes place in Coalfield, Tennessee in 1996 and the two main characters are sixteen-year-old misfits Frances "Frankie" Budge and Ben "Zeke" Brown.  Frankie and Zeke, two lonely teens from broken families, meet for the first time during the summer of 1996 and, largely left to their own devices, work on a "project" together that ends up changing their lives.

With two teenage protagonists at its core, this is no doubt a coming-of-age story, but it's one unlike anything I've ever read.  I will admit that, at first, I worried about whether the story would have too much of a YA feel to it, and while there is definitely some "teenage angst" with the characters, the way it is written feels very clearly "adult" to me.  Kevin Wilson has a unique way with words and with that, is able to tell a compelling, original, and emotionally nuanced story quite effortlessly.  Indeed, there were so many different emotions that went though my mind as I read this one — it was heartwarming, yet also heartbreaking; funny at times, but also sad and serious when it needed to be; weird to the point that, at times, I honestly wasn't too sure what I was reading, but yet some parts were so familiar and relatable, I found myself nodding in recognition;  there were moments of sweetness (though not the overly saccharine kind), but also moments that were anger-inducing where I couldn't help but shake my head at how things got that way.  

One of the things I loved most about this story was how realistically-rendered the characters were.  Wilson didn't shy away from writing about the "messiness" of his characters' lives — which, in doing so, reflected the realities of ordinary life in a universally resonant way that made it easy to connect with the characters despite a reader such as myself having completely different backgrounds and experiences than them. 

I definitely recommend this book, but want to also put in a word for the Author's Note, which I feel is just as much of a "must-read" as the book itself.  It was of course interesting to read about the inspiration for this story, but more importantly, the insights it provided enhanced my understanding of the story, which I always appreciate.  After finishing this book, I immediately put Wilson's other works on my TBR — hopefully I'll be able to get to those soon!

Received ARC from Ecco via NetGalley. 

Review: The Hero of This Book (by Elizabeth McCracken)

My Rating: 3 stars

I really really wanted to love this book like so many of my fellow readers did, but unfortunately, this one didn't quite work out for me.  Don't get me wrong — Elizabeth McCracken is a great writer and her ability to use humor in the cleverest of ways is one of the things that I appreciate most about her works (this book was no exception).  I also found the premise of the story very touching, with McCracken's indirect tribute to her mother through the narrator's recounting of her her memories (though of course, as McCracken makes clear, this is not a memoir, and the narrator, though also a writer who shares other similar details with herself, is technically not her).  Having said that, the story overall was a bit hard to follow, as there wasn't much of a plot — it was mostly the narrator's thoughts and memories that would jump back and forth from past to present.  It actually got to the point where I would be halfway through the book and have no idea what I just read.  There were also moments where I had to stop reading in order to attend to a life issue, but then afterwards, I didn't really feel like picking the book back up again (though of course, I eventually did pick it up and finish, since I have a problem with DNFing books once I start them).

While overall I was glad to have read this — and there were certainly aspects I related to and appreciated, such as the narrator's complicated relationship with her mother and also trying to reconcile that with her sensibilities as a writer (hence the struggle of whether to actually write about her mother or not) — the back and forth was a bit too much for me.  At times, the story felt like it was all over the place and that ended up detracting from the emotional aspect a bit. 

Even though this one fell a little short for me, I'm still interested in reading McCracken's other works at some point and having a different reading experience.

Received ARC from Ecco Press via NetGalley.

Review: Beasts of a Little Land (by Juhea Kim)

My Rating:  4.5 stars



When I finished reading Juhea Kim's debut novel Beasts of a Little Land, the first thought that came into my head was that this did not read like a debut at all.  From the story structure to the development of the characters, to the historical details as well as the various themes and motifs incorporated into the narrative, the writing flowed so well and so seamlessly that I was completely immersed in this epic story from beginning to end.

 

The story spans a time period from 1917 to 1965 — a half century that bears witness to Korea's evolution over the years, as a Japanese-occupied territory up through World War II, and later divided into the North and South Korea that we are more familiar with in modern times.  Against this backdrop, we are introduced to two characters whose fates become inexplicably intertwined — JungHo, an orphan who roams the streets as a beggar, later becoming a revolutionary fighter for Korea's independence, and Jade, a peasant girl sold by her family to a courtesan school who later becomes one of the most sought after actresses in Korea.  As Jade and JungHo come of age amongst the changing landscape of their country, they experience moments both glorious and harrowing, but all have a profound impact on them in some way.  This is a story where all the supporting characters play vital roles in the narrative, but not only that, all of the characters – whether good or bad, endearing or despiscable – are all equally unforgettable.  One of the things I love most about this story is the complexity of the characters and the mixed feelings that evoked  – for example, with the Japanese generals Ito and Yamada, they are supposed to be the enemy and majority of their actions are indeed abhorrent, but then, at certain points, they reveal their humanity through certain acts of kindness or a redeeming factor that made it hard to despise them completely.  By the same token, there were also moments where I found it hard to root for some of the "good" characters, even with the understanding that some of the morally questionable actions they take are out of a need for survival.  I also found it interesting the way nearly all the characters that appear in the story are connected in some way, whether directly or indirectly, that is apparent to the reader, but not necessarily to the characters themselves.  This aspect, coupled with the atmospheric nature of the historical setting and time period, made for a truly immersive reading experience.  

With all that said, my one complaint would probably be that, given the epic nature of the story, I was expecting more emotional depth, which I felt was a bit lacking in this instance (hence the reason why I rated this 4.5 stars instead of 5).  Nevertheless, this was absolutely a worthwhile read, especially for historical fiction fans.  In addition to learning a lot about Korea that I didn't know before, I also appreciated the time period being one that isn't commonly covered in many historical fiction works.  I definitely recommend this book and at the same time, look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Received ARC from Ecco via NetGalley.

Review: Good Company (by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney)

My Rating:  3 stars

I'm not really sure what to make of this one.  I can't say I didn't enjoy it because I did, especially the parts that described the inner workings of the theater, which I thought was quite fascinating. The title of the book, Good Company, is actually the name of the theater company that is owned by Julian Fletcher, the husband of the main character Flora Mancini.   At first, I thought this theater company would be the main focus of the story, however it turned out to be more of a backdrop, an element of the characters' pasts back when they lived in New York City prior to moving to Los Angeles.  Rather, the story focuses on the aftermath of one very simple action — while looking for a photo to give to her daughter for her graduation, Flora stumbles across an envelope that she opens to find her husband's wedding ring, which he claimed to have lost in a pond many years ago.  This triggers a reckoning for Flora that threatens to upend not just her marriage and her family, but also her relationship with her best friend Margot.

To me, this story actually had a lot of potential, but the execution didn't work too well.  The main problem is that the story meandered and jumped around way too much.  While I understand the necessity of incorporating the various characters' backstories, it was done in a way that was distracting, as the details were often inserted in the middle of a scene or thought, basically going off on a different tangent and interrupting what was happening at the moment — by the time it got back to the current scene, I had already forgotten what had happened earlier.  The plot felt like it was all over the place, which made the story overall difficult to follow.  Also, I thought some of the plot points felt a bit forced and unnecessary — such as the  encounter between Flora and her therapist Maude, for example — and didn't do much for the story except drag it out more than necessary. 

In terms of the characters, I actually didn't care for any of them, for some reason.  I'm not sure if perhaps the structure of the story affected my ability to connect with the characters or maybe I just didn't find any aspects of their thoughts or actions relatable to my own — all I know is that I had a hard time rooting for any of the characters.

I haven't read this author's debut novel The Nestyet so I don't have a comparison point, but I have heard good things about that one, so I still intend to read it at some point.  As for Good Company, I feel it's worth a read, especially if you liked this author's previous work — it just wasn't really for me.

Received ARC from Ecco (HarperCollins) via NetGalley.

Review: We Run the Tides (by Vendela Vida)

My Rating: 4 stars

Vendela Vida's We Run the Tides is a coming-of-age tale set in the 1980s, about two teenagers and their experiences growing up in the privileged, wealthy enclave of Sea Cliff in San Francisco.  Eulabee and Maria Fabiola are best friends who've known each other since Kindergarten – more than that though, they also know every nook and cranny of the oceanside neighborhood they grew up in, even down to the history of each house and its current as well as former occupants.   Now in eighth grade, the two of them attend the elite all-girls school Spragg, where their circle of friends includes two other girls from their neighborhood, Faith and Julia.   One day, as the 4 of them walk to school together, they encounter an "incident" involving a man in a white car that becomes a huge source of contention between Eulabee and Maria, to the point that it ruptures their friendship.  Then later, their relationship suffers further setback when Maria suddenly disappears for a period of time, claiming upon her return to have been kidnapped, which Eulabee finds hard to believe. With their friendship becoming increasingly fraught, can Eulabee and Maria Fabiola overcome the rift that separates them to salvage a once close relationship?

I found this to be an interesting read that captivated me from the first page.  I was invested in the story early on and even though I didn't particularly like the characters (more on this later), I still felt compelled to keep reading because I wanted to find out what happens to the characters and how things pan out for them.  Vendela Vida's portrayal of the mercurial and sometimes confusing relationships between teenagers in the midst of navigating their adolescence was spot on.  The teenage angst, that overwhelming desire to belong, to be accepted and liked, petty grievances that change from one day to another, the self-discovery and gradual realization that all actions have consequences, etc. — so much of this is explored through the lens of Eulabee's coming of age.  

A unique aspect of this story is that it provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the rich and privileged, but through the perspective of an adolescent who has known no other way of life.  As a reader, I felt like an outsider looking in, observing a way of life that I can't even begin to relate to. For me, stories revolving around the trials and tribulations of the wealthy elite are a slippery slope, as the attitudes and behaviors of the characters are ones that I usually find difficult to reconcile, which more often than not turns me off to the story.  In this instance though, the story worked, for the most part — despite Eulabee's sporadic bouts of naïveté and ignorance (which, if I'm being honest, did annoy me quite a bit), I still couldn't help feeling a certain amount of sympathy for her at various parts of the story.  

One thing that surprised me was how well-developed the characters came across, especially given the limited insight we get into the characters due to the story being narrated entirely from Eulabee's first person point of view. We see all of the characters — Maria Fabiola, Julia, Faith, all the parents, etc. — through Eulabee's eyes and yet, we still learn quite a bit about the characters, enough to determine how I feel about them.  I thought this was an interesting way to tell the story and appreciate how Vida was able to pull this off given that almost all the characters were largely unlikable (at least to me).

Vida is a "new-to-me" author whose work I wasn't familiar with before but I'm glad to have discovered. I'm definitely interested in exploring her backlist and hopefully get a chance to read another novel of hers at some point.

Received ARC from Ecco via NetGalley.

 

Review: These Women (by Ivy Pochoda)

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Six women from different walks of life.  A series of murders, fifteen years apart.  One particularly destitute area of South Los Angeles where chaos and violence run rampant. A society that collectively ignores the pleas of those women who are deemed to be of dubious moral character, based solely on preconceived notions, imagined or otherwise. A place where prejudice goes beyond merely the color of one’s skin, extending also to one’s occupation, the way one speaks, and overall way one lives their life.  This is the world where author Ivy Pochoda sets her heartbreaking yet masterfully told story, and in so doing, gives voice to women who are often forsaken, their thoughts and feelings usually dismissed, their words rarely ever believed. 

Though this is billed as a mystery / thriller, it is apparent very early on in the book that “solving the mystery” of the murders, while necessary, is not as important as letting the stories of these women be told, allowing their voices to be heard. As is expected, of course the perpetrator of the crimes is identified in the end — it was an easy guess, one already figured out a few chapters in, before the first narrative segment was even over.  The way he is found out though is anticlimactic, downplayed, sparse on details — we don’t know too much about him, his background, why he became the way he was, even the details of how he committed his crimes are not entirely clear.  But that is the beauty of how Pochoda structured the narrative — there’s no need to dwell too much on the killer because in the end, who he is doesn’t really matter.  What matters are the women — the victims of his crimes and the family members who get left behind to deal with the aftermath.  Especially poignant are the segments about the mothers — Dorian, Mrs. Holloway, etc. — whose only way to grieve is to make sure their children’s deaths are not ignored and brushed aside as though their existence never mattered in the first place;  their mission then, becomes making sure what was done is never forgotten.  

For me, despite having already figured out the “mystery” way early on, I kept turning the pages because I wanted to know whether justice would prevail in the end, and whether these women, ignored for so long, would finally be heard.  Reading this book made me reflect on a lot of things.  It made me think about family, society, the impact of individual actions and behavior, etc. — most importantly, it served as a reminder of the differences in each of our circumstances and the dangers of passing judgment, especially in those situations where there the understanding of those circumstances is lacking.

These Women is a powerful story, one that absolutely deserves to be read.  With that said though, this is not an easy read by any means — many of the scenes are dark, gritty, gruesome, violent, and there is profanity galore.  It can also be a frustrating read, at times even painful, especially in light of the blatant injustices that take place time and time again throughout the story.   But yet, there is also grace, hope, resilience, and most significantly, the steadfast courage of these women who, despite being constantly ignored, still refuse to be silenced.  A difficult read, but definitely a worthy one!

Received ARC from Ecco (HarperCollins) via NetGalley.

Review: Days of Distraction (by Alexandra Chang)

My Rating: 4 stars

Given the current unprecedented situation, the past few weeks have been one of the busiest and most difficult I've ever encountered — a sentiment I'm pretty sure many others also share at the moment.   Reading has always been a solace for me and this time around is no exception.  I've continued to read every day as I normally do, but the problem is that it's been very hard to concentrate, which has caused my reading to become more "restless" than usual. I've found myself starting a book, but after getting a ways through it, my mind wanders, so I put the book down and, thinking perhaps it's just not the right book for the moment, I start another one, only to have the same thing happen.  As a result, I've got 4 or 5 books that I started and need to finish, though I'm resigned to the fact that it's going to take longer than anticipated and also require more concentration on my part.  

One of the books I started during this time period is Alexandra Chang's fictional novel Days of Distraction, which is a coming-of-adulthood tale based in large part on the author's own life and personal experiences.  The protagonist in the story is a twenty-something Chinese-American woman named Jing Jing (whom we later find out actually shares the same first name as the author) — she works as a writer for a tech publication in San Francisco, California, where she is, notably, one of only two women on the entire staff (the other woman is a photographer named Jasmine, who also happens to be Chinese-American and also Jing Jing's closest work friend).  Jing Jing lives with her Irish American boyfriend J (he is referred to only by his one initial throughout the entire story), who is a research associate at a lab where he spends hours on end with mostly scientists and mice.  Jing Jing is very close with her family — her mother and younger sister and brother who live near her, as well as her dad, who moved back to China after a not-so-amicable divorce from her mother.   When J gets accepted to grad school in New York, Jing Jing decides to move across the country with him, leaving behind her family and her job in a bustling city to settle in the small, quiet, upstate town of Ithaca.   Along the way, mostly to pass the time, Jing Jing begins acquainting herself with stories about her ancestral heritage as well as those of other Asian Americans in history, which leads her on a journey of self-reflection, especially as it pertains to her relationship with her boyfriend J.  

Plot-wise, this is what I would call a quiet, slow-burn type of story where nothing much actually happens.  The closest thing to "action" that ever occurs is the brief "road trip" that Jing Jing and J take across the country for their move.   Aside from that, majority of the story consists of Jing Jing's observations about the mostly mundane everyday things going on around her, and later, it shifts to reflections about her identity within a society that, for the most part, doesn't realize she exists.  The format of the story was one of the main things I had to get used to, as it was told in a way that required a little bit more attention than normal — narrated by Jing Jing in the first person, the narrative jumped around quite a bit, with short sections that at times felt anecdotal, interspersed throughout with excerpts from various articles or other things that Jing Jing happened to be reading at the time.  In hindsight, given the format, this was probably not the best choice of book to read during this time period, but it paid off in the end because the story was one that resonated with me, and the characters too, I felt a connection to. While Jing Jing did come off as annoying at times (mostly in those situations where she would debate things back and forth extensively in her mind but then not take any action), she was a character I was able to relate to on many levels.  With that said though, my favorite characters in the story were actually Jing Jing's mom and dad (especially her dad, whose hilarious quips about society and culture always made me chuckle) — what I loved most was how the parents were written in a way where they did not come across as traditional, stereotypical Asian (specifically Chinese) parents, yet they were still such an important source of cultural insight for Jing Jing (and the reader as well).  In most of the contemporary stories I read where there's a young Asian protagonist at the center of the story, the parents are often portrayed in a very "traditional" manner, which isn't necessarily wrong of course, since there are plenty of Asian parents like that, but on the other side of the coin, there are also many Asian parents who, like Jing Jing's mom and dad, embody both cultural sentiments as well as modern sensitivities  — it was definitely refreshing to see an Asian author tackle this aspect.

On the surface, this may seem like another "immigrant story" that centers around the protagonist's struggle with identity and belonging, but it actually goes so much deeper than that.  In addition to identity and immigration, it is also a commentary of sorts on several hot button societal issues such as racism, politics, interracial relationships, family dynamics, economics, history, culture and tradition, etc.  What made this work for me was the subtleness of the commentary, presented in a way where it was essentially a neutral relaying of facts — rather than "preach" about society's injustices and try to steer the reader toward a certain direction, the author — through the narrator's experiences as well as references from history — offers up examples in a non-judgmental manner and let's the reader decide for themselves. 

This is one of those books where the reaction will be different depending on the audience.  I definitely enjoyed this book and highly recommend it, though with the caveat that it may not resonate with others as much as it did with me.  I look forward to seeing more from this author in the future! 

Received ARC from Ecco (HarperCollins) via Edelweiss.

Review: Your House Will Pay (by Steph Cha)

My Rating: 4.5 stars

It’s not often that a book I read impacted me so much that I was rendered virtually speechless immediately afterwards — to the point that despite having finished this book several days ago, I had to wait to write this review because I needed time to regroup and gather my thoughts. The reason this book impacted me so much is because the subject matter it covered hit a little too close to home for me, as it brought back memories from 27 years ago and emotions that felt so real, I truly felt like I had been transported back in time to my childhood.  Back then, my family lived in a little enclave of apartment buildings in Westchester, near its border with Inglewood in Los Angeles. Nearby, within walking distance, was a tiny strip mall with a donut shop, a laundromat, a small restaurant, and a Korean-owned liquor store on the very corner — a setup similar to the neighborhoods that the main characters in the book lived in during their youth.

The story, especially the events that took place during the “past” timeline of 1991 and 1992, was tremendously familiar to me because it aligned with much of what I remember experiencing growing up as an Asian American in the Los Angeles of the 1990s.  I remember what happened to Latasha Harlins and the public outrage over the light sentence that Soon Ja Du ended up getting; I remember the already simmering tensions between the African American and Korean communities that were further exacerbated by the Harlins case;  I remember the Rodney King beating that took place around that time as well as the infamous acquittal that came down a year later; and of course, I remember the LA Riots and the devastation that took place those 6 days.   I was 13 years old at the time (around the same age as one of the main characters in the book when the story opened) and when the riots broke out, I remember most of us were still at school, anxiously waiting for our parents to come pick us up.  Our school wasn’t close in proximity to the riot area fortunately, however, due to the chaotic nature of things and the fear that the rioting might spread to other areas, it was advised for all the schools to shut down for the day.  As we waited for our rides, there was a lot of nervous chatter among our group of friends, as many of them either had long commutes home or they would have to pass by the areas where much of the rioting was beginning to gain traction.  Adding to those fears, we had heard that rioters had started venting out their anger at innocent bystanders, stopping random cars and pulling people out and beating them (a “rumor” that was confirmed later that night on the news when we all witnessed in horror the terrifying events that unfolded at the intersection of Florence and Normandie).  The looting and burning down of stores followed, with the devastation spilling over to surrounding cities – news coverage showed chaotic scenes, with the destruction hitting heaviest in South Los Angeles and Koreatown (which had become a target due to the Latasha Harlins case).  It was the worst time to be out in the streets – in fact, it was the worst time to be anywhere other than hidden away in the safety of our own homes with doors locked, windows barred, blinds drawn. 

The experience of reading this book felt almost surreal to me.  Even though the entire story was a fictionalized version based on past events and many of the details had been changed, plus a majority of the timeline focused on present day (2019) and how the various characters dealt with the aftermath of what had happened so long ago, the memories it triggered were enough to bring the real-life events the story was based on back to life for me.  The author Steph Cha did a great job capturing the sentiments and perspectives of both the African American and Korean communities during that period in history, but what floored me the most was how vividly she was able to depict the realities of what life was like growing up in Los Angeles in the 1990s, not just for people of color, but also for immigrants and others who were part of the community at the time.

Ten years after the riots occurred, on the way to visit friends, I happened to be driving through one of the areas hit hardest by the riots and I will never forget the shock I felt seeing how much of the area never got rebuilt.  Steph Cha captured my sentiments exactly when, in the book, she described what one of the main characters, Shawn Matthews, saw when he was surveying the devastation that had taken place around him right after the fictionalized riots in the story: “Wherever he went, he saw the extent of the ruin, the cooled remnants of days of unchecked wrath.  Where there had been buildings, there were now building frames like children’s pictures scribbled in pencil, gray and blurred and skeletal, on the verge of disintegration.  Roll-up doors defaced by graffiti and ash, the metal warped so they’d never close again.  Rubble and trash littered the streets like fallen teeth, like dead skin, the rot of a ravaged body.”   This was actually the reality of what I saw as well, many years later – and even now, nearly 3 decades later, some remnants of the devastation still exists, albeit in smaller pockets.

To come across a book like this one, that captures a history and time period and even elements of a culture that I was once so familiar with on a personal level – THIS is one of the reasons why I read.  With that said, I did struggle with the rating on this one, wavering between 4.5 and 5 stars…in the end, I decided on 4.5 stars, mostly because I’m not sure how I feel about the story’s ending and the way things played out.  Needless to say, this is a book I definitely recommend, though word of warning, this is not an easy one to read, especially if you have a personal connection to parts of the story like I did.

Received ARC from HarperCollins (Ecco) via NetGalley.