maliactuallyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
abbycole's review against another edition
5.0
this is the story of pressures, building up and up and up until an explosion is certain. but the story isn't about the explosion; it's about the pressures.
rhiannonfriend22's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
gabb99's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
emmagency's review against another edition
3.0
While this book was well written, I feel a lot of the well written parts were actually a over-dramatisation and a cheap way of getting you to feel for the characters what the writer wanted you to.
The biggest issue I had with this book was the ongoing custody battle for the baby.
There are so many things about this that made me mad.
What would happen if Bebe got custody and then lost her job and was poor again? Would she decide again that the baby was not her problem again and go to give her back to the people who had had her for longer anyway?
Would anyone have thought twice about Mcculloughs getting custody if the baby had not been Chinese? Why does this make an otherwise unfit mother someone to rally behind for custody of the child she gave up?
Why was Bebe only torn apart by missing her baby when someone told her where she was? She hadn't been doing anything to get her back before she found out, presumably happy that she was somewhere safe with people who loved her but then as she found out that was the case she decided it was time to fight that.
I think the way this issue was done is incredibly damaging as it puts a huge emphasis on blood relations. Adoptive parents should not be used as babysitters until the biological parent decides they are now in a position to have their baby back.
Throughout the story, Bebe is told that this baby is hers. Everyone around them tells her that the baby is hers.
They keep referring to the baby as May Ling even though the baby only had that name for a month and a half and has been called Mirabelle for a year just because her birth mother chose that name.
I could go on and on about the issues surrounding this case but it's just too frustrating to do so and I feel I have already wasted enough energy on it.
Aside from that is my problem with Mia.
At first I liked her, but I later realised she has just as much of a saviour complex as Elena only she gets to feel good about it because she is poor whereas Elena is demonised for it because she is wealthy...
Also because of how much of a hypocrite she is. Yet we as the reader are told that Elena is the bad person for pointing this out.
This book made me angry throughout and while I was going to give it a higher review because of the writing, the message by the end of the book is one I do not condone and I feel the entire book was a waste of my time.
Side note : After reading a post on the differences between this and the tv show I have decided I definitely won't be watching the show. Good things about the book have been distorted and I feel the issues I had with it have been only exacerbated in the show.
The biggest issue I had with this book was the ongoing custody battle for the baby.
There are so many things about this that made me mad.
What would happen if Bebe got custody and then lost her job and was poor again? Would she decide again that the baby was not her problem again and go to give her back to the people who had had her for longer anyway?
Would anyone have thought twice about Mcculloughs getting custody if the baby had not been Chinese? Why does this make an otherwise unfit mother someone to rally behind for custody of the child she gave up?
Why was Bebe only torn apart by missing her baby when someone told her where she was? She hadn't been doing anything to get her back before she found out, presumably happy that she was somewhere safe with people who loved her but then as she found out that was the case she decided it was time to fight that.
I think the way this issue was done is incredibly damaging as it puts a huge emphasis on blood relations. Adoptive parents should not be used as babysitters until the biological parent decides they are now in a position to have their baby back.
Throughout the story, Bebe is told that this baby is hers. Everyone around them tells her that the baby is hers.
They keep referring to the baby as May Ling even though the baby only had that name for a month and a half and has been called Mirabelle for a year just because her birth mother chose that name.
I could go on and on about the issues surrounding this case but it's just too frustrating to do so and I feel I have already wasted enough energy on it.
Aside from that is my problem with Mia.
At first I liked her, but I later realised she has just as much of a saviour complex as Elena only she gets to feel good about it because she is poor whereas Elena is demonised for it because she is wealthy...
Also because of how much of a hypocrite she is.
Spoiler
She can ignore the fact that she ran away with Joe Ryan's biological baby but is fighting for Bebe gets to have hers simply because of the blood relation?This book made me angry throughout and while I was going to give it a higher review because of the writing, the message by the end of the book is one I do not condone and I feel the entire book was a waste of my time.
Side note : After reading a post on the differences between this and the tv show I have decided I definitely won't be watching the show. Good things about the book
Spoiler
Trip and Pearl having a sweet relationship for exampleitsjadenbaby's review against another edition
4.0
This took me awhile to get through because of school, but had I been more free, I would have blown through it. Celeste Ng has such a skill for writing people. This is a character driver book and although I’m normally a plot person, I’m so in love with Ng’s writing of humans, I couldn’t help but love it.
kelseygoldwein's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
love the writing style. characters were great when the people weren't.