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jasmine_470's review against another edition
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence
Minor: Car accident and Colonisation
deckleeditproof's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Racism and War
lo_ferrara's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
5.0
Beautiful debut novel that perfectly capture the tension between the past and present and the nuance of mother daughter relationships.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
vedpears's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Classism
Minor: War
emk5's review against another edition
3.75
To be blunt: Ann felt like a shell of a character. I kept reading because the other POVs were strong enough, but overall this book didn't work for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Death
leahgustafson's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
This book wasn’t initially on my radar, but after hearing Thao Thai talk about it on a podcast, this sounded like a perfect fit for me!
•
This is probably my favorite kind of book—a multi-generational family story filled with complex characters and complex family dynamics/relationships. This story is told from the perspectives of three generations of women (a mother, daughter, and grandmother), each of which is grappling with her own identity, purpose, and secrets. Multiple perspectives is the perfect format for this story, and it adds so much to the complexity. I really like how I could connect/empathize with all three women at various times throughout the story. The alternating narrators allows the reader to understand a character’s motivations and decisions while also understanding how these choices could be misunderstood/misinterpreted by the other women in their family.
•
This story is a great exploration of the effects of intergenerational trauma, motherhood/maternal instincts, and the will to survive. I really look forward to reading other books by this author!
•
Check out what I'm reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!
•
This is probably my favorite kind of book—a multi-generational family story filled with complex characters and complex family dynamics/relationships. This story is told from the perspectives of three generations of women (a mother, daughter, and grandmother), each of which is grappling with her own identity, purpose, and secrets. Multiple perspectives is the perfect format for this story, and it adds so much to the complexity. I really like how I could connect/empathize with all three women at various times throughout the story. The alternating narrators allows the reader to understand a character’s motivations and decisions while also understanding how these choices could be misunderstood/misinterpreted by the other women in their family.
•
This story is a great exploration of the effects of intergenerational trauma, motherhood/maternal instincts, and the will to survive. I really look forward to reading other books by this author!
•
Check out what I'm reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
anni_banani's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
loved this loooveddd! Im waiting for Thao Thai to write another book already!
I loved this book for
an intergerenational story of women
a love letter to those relationships
an anthromorphized house and trees
secrets and twists and turns
women triumphing over men who have scorned them
women taking control of their life and future
amazing myths
real deal emotional landscapes
dealign with grief
a narrator who is an ancestor in spirit!!!! hell yes!!!
I loved this book for
an intergerenational story of women
a love letter to those relationships
an anthromorphized house and trees
secrets and twists and turns
women triumphing over men who have scorned them
women taking control of their life and future
amazing myths
real deal emotional landscapes
dealign with grief
a narrator who is an ancestor in spirit!!!! hell yes!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Racism
beetsbydwight's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Miscarriage
nerdatlas5's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
3.5
It was an interesting read. The whole books is about how secrets and trauma linger between generations and follow Ann and her mom healing their relationship after Grandma's death, with little inserts from Grandma's ghost as she tells us the secrets that they will never fully know. They are all messy people, but the book has us and them make peace with that. I'd also call the book light on plot. The book moves forward as time moves forward for the characters and the greatest influence on the characters is simply that passage of time. This isn't to say nothing happened, but reading this kinda just felt like floating along through almost a year of Ann's life. Thao Thai does a great job threading the themes of the book throughout the characters' arcs and the plot of the book
The shifting narratives did get in the way a little by halting the momentum of the previous pov, but not enough to make me truly dislike it.
The shifting narratives did get in the way a little by halting the momentum of the previous pov, but not enough to make me truly dislike it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infidelity and Racism
boliv3's review against another edition
slow-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
3.0
The banyan tree was mentioned so many times it kind of lost significance as a symbol.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse