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ode_to_readers's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don’t know where to start with reviewing this book. There is so much detail and depth that I feel like a review barely scratches the surface of the content.
There are incredible learning lessons throughout this story. The main one focusing on racism and how hard it is to fight against it. It really opens your eyes to issues and shows that you can still be a racist even if you were “just drunk”. There’s no excuse.
Relationships (both familial and romantic) were also a big feature and the growth of the characters was heartwarming. Margaret and Annalie were both so so different and I feel that their sisterly love was portrayed extremely well. You don’t have to get on with your sibling but they will always be there for you when it counts.
Annalie’s first kiss was too relatable! I feel like I reacted the same way she did when I had my first kiss. It made me miss being younger. Also, Margaret’s relationship was very cute and the ending made me tear up a bit. (Okay…maybe a lot).
The one thing I found was the writing was hard to get into at first. A lot of the sentences seem to start the same way “I…” “We…” Etc. It seemed a little staccato but once you get into it, I really appreciated the story behind the words.
This is definitely a story you need to read. It balances light and heavy topics in an easy way and seeing as it’s set during summer…would be great to read as soon as it’s out!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Abandonment
kindredbooks's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
5.0
I received a copy of This Place is Still Beautiful by XiXi Tian from HCC Frenzy in exchange for an honest review.
I don't think that I could have been prepared for this book, despite having read the synopsis prior to reading it. This story is told from the perspectives of two sisters, Annalie and Margaret, who both feel distant and different from one another. This is once again shown when Annalie calls Margaret who is away for college, after a racist incident happens, and Margaret returns home to her younger sister and mother to handle things. The two sisters both have different approaches and reactions to the racist incident. While Margaret wants to find the perpetrators and bring awareness to the situation, Annalie just wants to move on from this horrible incident and hang out with her new boyfriend. As the summer progresses, both sisters confront the results of their actions or non-actions and try to find a way that they can both live and move forward.
I felt that this was such a great story about family, racism, the model minority myth, friendship, and it's just everything I needed to read this year to feel seen, acknowledged, and important. Truly such a beautiful story that is so relevant and a favourite of mine this year so far.
I don't think that I could have been prepared for this book, despite having read the synopsis prior to reading it. This story is told from the perspectives of two sisters, Annalie and Margaret, who both feel distant and different from one another. This is once again shown when Annalie calls Margaret who is away for college, after a racist incident happens, and Margaret returns home to her younger sister and mother to handle things. The two sisters both have different approaches and reactions to the racist incident. While Margaret wants to find the perpetrators and bring awareness to the situation, Annalie just wants to move on from this horrible incident and hang out with her new boyfriend. As the summer progresses, both sisters confront the results of their actions or non-actions and try to find a way that they can both live and move forward.
I felt that this was such a great story about family, racism, the model minority myth, friendship, and it's just everything I needed to read this year to feel seen, acknowledged, and important. Truly such a beautiful story that is so relevant and a favourite of mine this year so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
10/5 stars?? Is that an option, because this is probably the best book I've ever read because everything felt like life turned into words, like a world that was built and characters who were real all coming together to break my heart. And I don't know what to do with that right now so I'm going to review this later (edit: review now below)cause none of this is making sense, but if you didn't have this on your TBR I would recommend you add it now. Or pre-order the book. Or just scream with me cause this book hit every note, every element, I've always wanted and feared and I'm now lost.
Holy heck. This was phenomenal.
TWs: racism, bullying, racially motivated hate crime, discrimination
Rep: Second generation Chinese Americans, sisters
---
Reading the synopsis of this book, one might think that it'd be very race focused. And it is, in part. Sisters Annalie and Margaret deal with the hate crime in polar opposite ways - Margaret is ready to fight and Annalie is ready to forget and move on. The subject of race and the harm the model minority concept has is so prominent in this book without being in your face about. It's subtle, but also hits you so hard as you read and learn and digest the story and learn with the characters as they navigate this town full of memories and now hurt. But while a hate crime occurs, and the MC's are forced to confront their differences and people's opinions about race and racism, the hate crime isn't truly the focus of this story.
Told from alternating POVs between the sisters, Xixi Tian does a phenomenal job of world building through her characters' experiences. Every place they go within town has a memory attached to it, and holds some part of their history - the park isn't just some old, condemned thing, but a place Margaret and Rajiv used to go and eat ice cream and chat as they fell in love with each other; the bakery isn't just a local stop, but Annalie's favourite, which she frequents with her best friend Violet, has pastries to die for, and a grumpy owner who she thinks favours them because of their obsession with his food. Those additions provided so much history for the characters and shows how embedded the town is/was in their lives.
Beyond that, this book is about growing up and growing into yourself. And more than that, it's about life. While the hate crime affects them, it's a footnote in their full, well-developed, beautiful, and broken lives. Their differences (they're half-Chinese and half-Caucasian, with Margaret having more traditionally Chinese features and Annalie more Caucasian), also impact how they view, digest, and deal with the crime - as well as how other people around them respond to the hate crime. It definitely added another layer to their own disjointed relationship and their experiences presently and in the past as they grew up. In the end, the crime doesn't define them, it simply happened to them, and now they're trying to deal with the impact and the fallout as they move forward with their lives.
Finally, this is a story about family. Let me tell y'all - this book not only made me feel seen as a Chinese Canadian (in my case, though this takes place in America) - but it made me feel seen as the older sister in a Chinese family, as a Chinese person who grew up in a mostly Caucasian neighbourhood, as a Chinese person who does not get along with their family well because of our need to not make waves. Like holy heck, this book was so real, so moving, and so perfectly flawed, I was absolutely shocked and thrilled and so fricking seen. Annalie and Margaret's relationship grows throughout the book, as does Margaret's relationship with their mother, and their family unit as a whole. I loved seeing those moments as they battled through years of tradition, of keeping quiet, and of favouritism and expectations. Y'all, I just loved this whole book so much I want to cry.
Definitely recommend this, a thousand times over I recommend this. Such a poignant and impactful read that's so so so relevant to our world today.
Five stars, a million stars, I'm obsessed and in love and I want to scream at the top of my lungs at how much everyone needs to read this book. Simply put, phenomenal.
eARC gifted via Edelweiss by Balzer and Bray via HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review.
Holy heck. This was phenomenal.
TWs: racism, bullying, racially motivated hate crime, discrimination
Rep: Second generation Chinese Americans, sisters
---
Reading the synopsis of this book, one might think that it'd be very race focused. And it is, in part. Sisters Annalie and Margaret deal with the hate crime in polar opposite ways - Margaret is ready to fight and Annalie is ready to forget and move on. The subject of race and the harm the model minority concept has is so prominent in this book without being in your face about. It's subtle, but also hits you so hard as you read and learn and digest the story and learn with the characters as they navigate this town full of memories and now hurt. But while a hate crime occurs, and the MC's are forced to confront their differences and people's opinions about race and racism, the hate crime isn't truly the focus of this story.
Told from alternating POVs between the sisters, Xixi Tian does a phenomenal job of world building through her characters' experiences. Every place they go within town has a memory attached to it, and holds some part of their history - the park isn't just some old, condemned thing, but a place Margaret and Rajiv used to go and eat ice cream and chat as they fell in love with each other; the bakery isn't just a local stop, but Annalie's favourite, which she frequents with her best friend Violet, has pastries to die for, and a grumpy owner who she thinks favours them because of their obsession with his food. Those additions provided so much history for the characters and shows how embedded the town is/was in their lives.
Beyond that, this book is about growing up and growing into yourself. And more than that, it's about life. While the hate crime affects them, it's a footnote in their full, well-developed, beautiful, and broken lives. Their differences (they're half-Chinese and half-Caucasian, with Margaret having more traditionally Chinese features and Annalie more Caucasian), also impact how they view, digest, and deal with the crime - as well as how other people around them respond to the hate crime. It definitely added another layer to their own disjointed relationship and their experiences presently and in the past as they grew up. In the end, the crime doesn't define them, it simply happened to them, and now they're trying to deal with the impact and the fallout as they move forward with their lives.
Finally, this is a story about family. Let me tell y'all - this book not only made me feel seen as a Chinese Canadian (in my case, though this takes place in America) - but it made me feel seen as the older sister in a Chinese family, as a Chinese person who grew up in a mostly Caucasian neighbourhood, as a Chinese person who does not get along with their family well because of our need to not make waves. Like holy heck, this book was so real, so moving, and so perfectly flawed, I was absolutely shocked and thrilled and so fricking seen. Annalie and Margaret's relationship grows throughout the book, as does Margaret's relationship with their mother, and their family unit as a whole. I loved seeing those moments as they battled through years of tradition, of keeping quiet, and of favouritism and expectations. Y'all, I just loved this whole book so much I want to cry.
Definitely recommend this, a thousand times over I recommend this. Such a poignant and impactful read that's so so so relevant to our world today.
Five stars, a million stars, I'm obsessed and in love and I want to scream at the top of my lungs at how much everyone needs to read this book. Simply put, phenomenal.
eARC gifted via Edelweiss by Balzer and Bray via HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism
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