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rachelle_reads's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
The contrast that the author sets up between the two narrators is stark. Both women wish to mother the child at the center of the story. Both have to make sacrifices for their work. Both have difficulties with their husbands. And yet, their lives are so drastically different.
This is a page-turning thriller with powerful commentary on class, citizenship and immigration, language, marriage, and what it means to be a woman and mother.
If I had a complaint, it’s the way the book ended. This is a general comment about pacing, but I’ll use the spoiler tags in case you don’t want any clues: The end felt like running into a brick wall. It didn’t feel like everything was tied up too neatly, but I wished for more reflection - a longer epilogue maybe?
This is a page-turning thriller with powerful commentary on class, citizenship and immigration, language, marriage, and what it means to be a woman and mother.
If I had a complaint, it’s the way the book ended. This is a general comment about pacing, but I’ll use the spoiler tags in case you don’t want any clues:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Stalking
pomoevareads's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Kwok takes on transracial adoption, the one child policy of China of the early 2000s, privilege, discrimination and looks behind the curtain of publishing in her latest novel The Leftover Woman.
Told in dual POVs of two mothers from two very different backgrounds and their desire to have the best outcome for their child. Jasmine is living in a small village in China when she discovers that the daughter she birthed has been illegally adopted by an American family after her husband had told her that her child died shortly after birth. Rebecca, an editor in chief at a publishing house in New York, and her husband Brandon adopted an orphaned child from China when attempts to have their own child were unsuccessful. Rebecca and Brandon have hired a Chinese speaking nanny to ensure their child holds onto her roots and Brandon is a professor whose specializes in Asian studies and speaks Chinese after having grown up there but never fitting in completely because of his whiteness. Now Jasmine is trying to pay back the snakeheads who brought her to the states illegally and plans to escape with her daughter into a new life.
This was my third book by this author and I quite enjoyed it but wasn’t surprised by any of the plot twists. While it was quite predictable at times, I did find myself interested in the examination of what is best for a child adopted outside of their culture.
The author’s writing is smooth and the story was propulsive. The Leftover Woman has an action packed ending worthy of being on screen.
Thank you to @harpercollinsca for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. the Leftover Woman publishes October 10, 2023.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, Sexual harassment, Racism, and Gun violence
Minor: Infertility and Addiction
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