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sarahnicolejay's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.5
deschatjes's review against another edition
5.0
Well written story weaving in the devastating impact of mental health issues on a teen & her siblings. Set in Australia’s chinese community the taboos of opening up about the issues and the silence and avoidance by the father while the children struggle is real and recognizable.
Thanks to Libro.fm for the arc.
Thanks to Libro.fm for the arc.
ihateprozac's review against another edition
4.0
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling is an equal parts fluffy and hard-hitting Aussie YA contemporary that explores mental illness within a Chinese-Australian context.
I am a sucker for any book with a toxic mother/daughter relationship, so naturally I was alllllllll over this! (Why go to therapy when I can just read about fictional characters dealing with the same issues, lmao)
One of my favourite contemporary novel elements is when characters are navigating a new space but lack the required vocabulary and knowledge to properly participate. You don’t know what you don’t know, and I love being with the characters on their learning journey. In this instance, Anna doesn’t have the knowledge to articulate what is happening to her mother; to the point where she doesn’t even fully realise anything is even wrong with her. Seeing how mental illness is stigmatised so heavily in Chinese culture that it’s ignored completely was equal parts tragic and fascinating.
While it’s not a focal point of the story, the romance here was really delightful. First and foremost this is a book about family and mental illness, but through her burgeoning relationship, Anna grows more independent and her partner equips her with some of the knowledge she needs around mental health. It’s a pure and supportive relationship, with some of the best communication I’ve seen in YA. Not only do they argue and call each other out on problematic behaviour, they take the time to educate one another on why it’s problematic.
This was a really sweet and sad read, with the perfect balance of love and fluff to balance out the darkness. I just wish there’d been even more dumplings in it!
I am a sucker for any book with a toxic mother/daughter relationship, so naturally I was alllllllll over this! (Why go to therapy when I can just read about fictional characters dealing with the same issues, lmao)
One of my favourite contemporary novel elements is when characters are navigating a new space but lack the required vocabulary and knowledge to properly participate. You don’t know what you don’t know, and I love being with the characters on their learning journey. In this instance, Anna doesn’t have the knowledge to articulate what is happening to her mother; to the point where she doesn’t even fully realise anything is even wrong with her. Seeing how mental illness is stigmatised so heavily in Chinese culture that it’s ignored completely was equal parts tragic and fascinating.
While it’s not a focal point of the story, the romance here was really delightful. First and foremost this is a book about family and mental illness, but through her burgeoning relationship, Anna grows more independent and her partner equips her with some of the knowledge she needs around mental health. It’s a pure and supportive relationship, with some of the best communication I’ve seen in YA. Not only do they argue and call each other out on problematic behaviour, they take the time to educate one another on why it’s problematic.
This was a really sweet and sad read, with the perfect balance of love and fluff to balance out the darkness. I just wish there’d been even more dumplings in it!
lis_allenwalker's review against another edition
4.0
A good examination of a young girl dealing with a parent who has mental health issues while also grappling with first love and bring a first generation immigrant. It was a really heavy read which makes sense given the subject matter and I appreciated that the ending wasn’t “perfect”
Actual rating; 4 stars
Actual rating; 4 stars
manglitter's review against another edition
4.0
A very difficult but interesting read about some important themes like mental illness, racism, emotional and psychological maltreatment and neglect of children by parents and so on. I really liked this story.
jenniferduann's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
allison_sirovy's review against another edition
5.0
This is an important and well-written read! I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. #mentalhealth #familyiseverything
amanda9269's review against another edition
3.0
I find it quite ironic but when I first read this book in Year 7 I rated it 5 stars but now on the reread after analysing it for english it’s 3 stars. Now let me explain, I think this was a lovely contemporary for young adults to enjoy. It was relatable as both a teenager and Asian living in Australia and the food references where just mouth watering. However I think it was trying to cover a lot of topics in one. Mental health and romance usually aren’t the best combination and I’ll say Rory and Anna’s relationship didn’t really fit too well with the theme of this book. Aside from that and how bored I got from over analysing a pretty decent read and English book.
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderfully written book about mental health, family, love, and more.
When I started this one I was immediately pulled into the story. Into Anna’s life. It was so interesting to read, but also so heart-breaking. Her mother’s mental health is not good. Not at all. At times she just lies in bed for months and months. Other times she cleans at night. She whispers and tells weird stories. She shouts and there are other things happening. We see how things slowly escalate, things slowly get worse until the moment a psychosis happens. It was quite shocking to read because things go so wrong in the end. It was also sad to see that while Anna knows that her mom has been ill for so long she still keeps protecting her mom. Whereas her little sister Lily is more than eager to tell the doctors what is going on with their mom. I could understand both sides though. And given what we read in the book I definitely could understand why Anna was so protective. We also see how things go on from that point with the family. We see that the father is trying harder to be there for his family. We see the bonds between sister/brother become closer. We see that they try their best. But this is mental health, and there are ups and downs. The ending… I was hoping for it to be different but on the other hand I am also OK with how it ended. OK in the way that it fitted with the story (as I said, mental health goes up/down), not OK with what happened. I hope that makes sense.
Anna was a fantastic character, though my heart broke how much she had to do for her family. Make amends with mom when she was around. Try to manage mom. Try to be there for her brother and sister who both needed someone to help them. Her younger brother is just 5/6 so he needs help with things. Do her best at school, but struggling with all the pressure. At times I wondered when things would be too much. I was happy that Anna had Rory around to help and also had an outlet (the restaurant) to make sure she didn’t implode. Anna is a strong character, at least that is what we see on the outside, but from the inside she is struggling and I really wanted to just give her a big big hug.
We also have the restaurant that Anna’s father runs (and where he hides most of the time because he just can’t handle it which had me both pissed and sad). We see that Anna is interested in the restaurant and helps out which I just loved. I mean, she knows she isn’t that good at school but she does know she can help with the restaurant. I loved seeing her get better, faster, and even help out with ideas and plans to make things run better. While her father wasn’t always open to things, especially in the beginning, I loved that later on he asked for her ideas, or gave her more room.
There is also romance. Anna meets Rory. He needs a job and Anna’s father needs a delivery boy. They connect. I really loved these two together. They made a good pair. We also read that Rory went through a lot of things, almost committed suicide. We see that he is still struggling at times, like on some days it isn’t the easiest. I loved how easily they talked, how they could talk about everything. How they were together. I was so so proud of Rory at the end! That is a big step and I love that he is taking it. Go Rory!
I love that the book was set up in months. From December/January to December/January again! It more clearly showed the time that went by and also made it clear how the mom needed help.
While we don’t see a lot of her, I have to mention Wei! Since the first time we met I was curious about her and wanted her to just talk to Anna for once. I like that, unlike her friends, she seems to be kind and sweet. Would have loved to see her break away from the pack.
The counsellor at school? LORD what a terrible person that one is. You would think she would be a bit more open instead of calling a trying week having a tantrum. WTF? Even teens can have trying weeks. Even they can have hard times. Tantrums are a totally different thing. I hated how she pushed and how she acted. I can see so many kids just give up or burn out because of this.
All in all, a book I just flew through. Heart-breaking, beautiful, and interesting to read with a great cast of characters.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
When I started this one I was immediately pulled into the story. Into Anna’s life. It was so interesting to read, but also so heart-breaking. Her mother’s mental health is not good. Not at all. At times she just lies in bed for months and months. Other times she cleans at night. She whispers and tells weird stories. She shouts and there are other things happening. We see how things slowly escalate, things slowly get worse until the moment a psychosis happens. It was quite shocking to read because things go so wrong in the end. It was also sad to see that while Anna knows that her mom has been ill for so long she still keeps protecting her mom. Whereas her little sister Lily is more than eager to tell the doctors what is going on with their mom. I could understand both sides though. And given what we read in the book I definitely could understand why Anna was so protective. We also see how things go on from that point with the family. We see that the father is trying harder to be there for his family. We see the bonds between sister/brother become closer. We see that they try their best. But this is mental health, and there are ups and downs. The ending… I was hoping for it to be different but on the other hand I am also OK with how it ended. OK in the way that it fitted with the story (as I said, mental health goes up/down), not OK with what happened. I hope that makes sense.
Anna was a fantastic character, though my heart broke how much she had to do for her family. Make amends with mom when she was around. Try to manage mom. Try to be there for her brother and sister who both needed someone to help them. Her younger brother is just 5/6 so he needs help with things. Do her best at school, but struggling with all the pressure. At times I wondered when things would be too much. I was happy that Anna had Rory around to help and also had an outlet (the restaurant) to make sure she didn’t implode. Anna is a strong character, at least that is what we see on the outside, but from the inside she is struggling and I really wanted to just give her a big big hug.
We also have the restaurant that Anna’s father runs (and where he hides most of the time because he just can’t handle it which had me both pissed and sad). We see that Anna is interested in the restaurant and helps out which I just loved. I mean, she knows she isn’t that good at school but she does know she can help with the restaurant. I loved seeing her get better, faster, and even help out with ideas and plans to make things run better. While her father wasn’t always open to things, especially in the beginning, I loved that later on he asked for her ideas, or gave her more room.
There is also romance. Anna meets Rory. He needs a job and Anna’s father needs a delivery boy. They connect. I really loved these two together. They made a good pair. We also read that Rory went through a lot of things, almost committed suicide. We see that he is still struggling at times, like on some days it isn’t the easiest. I loved how easily they talked, how they could talk about everything. How they were together. I was so so proud of Rory at the end! That is a big step and I love that he is taking it. Go Rory!
I love that the book was set up in months. From December/January to December/January again! It more clearly showed the time that went by and also made it clear how the mom needed help.
While we don’t see a lot of her, I have to mention Wei! Since the first time we met I was curious about her and wanted her to just talk to Anna for once. I like that, unlike her friends, she seems to be kind and sweet. Would have loved to see her break away from the pack.
The counsellor at school? LORD what a terrible person that one is. You would think she would be a bit more open instead of calling a trying week having a tantrum. WTF? Even teens can have trying weeks. Even they can have hard times. Tantrums are a totally different thing. I hated how she pushed and how she acted. I can see so many kids just give up or burn out because of this.
All in all, a book I just flew through. Heart-breaking, beautiful, and interesting to read with a great cast of characters.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
lovelife1008's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0