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alysereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Cancer, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual content
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Cancer
bhavanabee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Audrey Zhou is the only child of Chinese migrants, but hasn’t been home in eight years, and is only there this Christmas because her fiancé wants to meet her parents. She is effectively estranged from them and her relationship with her mother is particularly fraught. For me one of the strengths of the novel is its depictions of the relationships in the family - husband and wife, father and daughter, as well as mother and daughter - whether it be the pregnant silences, the explosive disagreements, or the myriad small details. Audrey’s father’s gestures of love for her - the roast chicken, the way he quietly slips her some money as she is leaving - are especially poignant.
Audrey is a complicated and not always likeable protagonist, but she is written in such a way that I could at least understand the reasons for her actions. Race, migration, identity and belonging - among my favourite themes - all factored in to them. As a teen she was desperate to leave Hickory Grove, to find somewhere to test her ambition and a place where she could belong. Over the course of the novel she comes to see the good in her parents and her hometown and to realise that she didn’t have to cut off everyone and everything from her past in order to escape it. She also recognises that she doesn’t actually like every aspect of her own behaviour or the way her life in New York is unfolding. This character arc and the ending help make this a satisying, feel-good read, while the exploration of issues like race and migration give it the depth I enjoy.
Many thanks to @penguinbooksnz for my ARC. Central Places releases in Aotearoa on 21 November.
Graphic: Racism
Minor: Cancer
megan_prairierose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It made me angry, I yelled in my head at the main character when I wasn’t reading it, this book wouldn’t leave me alone.
I guess I don’t always need to have lovable characters to enjoy a novel when it’s really well written.
Moderate: Infidelity and Racism
annabulkowski's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
applejacksbooks's review against another edition
Audrey was a wholely unlikeable main character and most of the people around her (except her sweet bean of a father) are also pretty unlikeable. This story follows Audrey as she goes back to her small hometown around Christmas time to be with her dad as he has a minor operation with her fiance, Ben.
The whole story flips between the nostalgia of meeting old friends from high school and dealing with her feelings around her mom/Ben with their judgment about everything. By 54% I was tapped out, between Audrey visibly pining after Kyle (her high school crush that never amounted to anything) and her actively being disrespectful to everyone else, I'm not sure there's anyone to root for in this story.
Graphic: Racism and Alcohol
saoliva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Cancer and Drug abuse
nicolekdan's review against another edition
- 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
This was a quick read, and Audrey’s internal thought process, which may seem like overthinking, was a highlight. I would compare the plot to a realistic version of a Hallmark movie.
Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the eARC.
Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Racism
christinesreads's review
- 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
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, and Racism