Reviews with content warning for Outing - Black Water Sister

Reviews tagging 'Outing'

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

29 reviews

madmadmaddymad's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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

I like the voice of this novel; it’s really written in a way where you can hear the characters speaking. Jess is a fish out of water but also, she is so easy to root for, when she becomes a medium and gets thrust into the inciting adventure of the novel.

My favorite character was Jess, but I felt for her family. The fear of having a father in remission from cancer, and how hard he has to work. The shame of having a secret girlfriend and being uncomfortable coming out. The attitude of family in this novel was all too real. It was cultural for me, but I’m not Asian, so I liked being immersed in a different culture and family dynamic.

Loved the ghost and god aspect - I started feeling really fired up when the Black Water Sister was punishing the labor workers for defiling her land - when they were just trying to make a living. She ought to go after Ng Chee Hin, since it was his holding ordering the landscaping and construction. I agree with Jess, when she said it is the whole business of gods to be fair.

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anarmandameg's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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thestarlesscasea's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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abijmieds's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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lilifane's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

I was in the mood to read a light-hearted YA Fantasy between two very intense books and thought this would actually be perfect. LOL! Nope.
First of all, this is definitely not YA. I don't even know why I thought it was? And then after a lighthearted and funny beginning, the story gets pretty dark and intense and violent. But also in a good way. I really liked the characters, the protagonist was very relatable, the dynamics between her and the ghost hilarious. The writing style, especially the dialogues, might need some time to get used when you're not the child of immigrants. But since I am, it felt familiar (even if the languages are totally different in my case).
Loved the atmosphere and how ghosts, spirits and gods played such a big part in the plot and every day life of the characters. Also, loved the themes that were explored in a raw and brutal way. Like having an identity crisis, being torn between your family and your own life, coming out to a traditional Chinese family, violence against women, sexism, generational trauma, unresolved hate and revenge. But there are some hard scenes towards the end, so I recommend checking trigger warnings.

Content Warnings