Reviews

All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien

qdove's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

pri_t's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective

4.0

Book club book.

My Ratings (from our book club forms):
Characters - 4/5
Writing - 4/5
Plot Story - 5/5

General vibes from everyone:
- Liked the multi POV - but least enjoyed Lulu’s
- Good range of characters that were fleshed out 
- Migrant experiences in which some aspects were relatable but a lot was new to read and learn about 

My notes:
- Liked learning and seeing the different migrant experiences and different experiences of the Vietnamese war and what immigrating looked like for them 
- Didn’t appreciate the crying at 1:30am in the morning as I finished the book. (Really liked that I got so moved by the story and characters)

My Fave quotes:
- “…until one day flora couldn’t remember what her brother had looked like before his skin declared war on him.”
- “He told her he loved her. He’d never said it again, embarrassed by his break in tradition, embarrassed by his honesty.”
- ”…beacuse what do the living do but carry the weight of the dead?”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Grief, and War

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Alcoholism

kikireads24's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse

stevematt's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

jaclyncrupi's review against another edition

3.0

Lien looks at the Australian migrant dream in incredibly complex and interesting ways. I’ve loved so many American novels that have done this in recent years and this is a very welcome and needed addition to #auslit. This book is a testament to migrant parents, childhood friendship and Cabramatta.

eappel's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.25

geauxgetlit's review against another edition

5.0

This is one of those books that everyone should read, as it’s filled with such depth and poignancy of the Vietnamese culture and community.
When Ky Tran discovered her strait laced brother was murdered in a popular Vietnamese restaurant and no one was speaking to the police, she was determined to find the reason behind his death.

annasforages's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

jkm_reads's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad

4.5

carysn's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25