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michellewords'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? It's complicated
4.0
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is a pretty artsy book about mother/daughter relationships at it's core. The book initially follows a young girl named Li-yan, a member of a remote/indigenous tribe in China called the Akha. They are a poor tribe that lives off the land and grows/gathers/sells tea leaves. Li-yan has a rough start to her young life and ends up having a baby before her would-be husband is able to marry her. Akha tradition states that this baby is considered like a fake baby and she should bury it, but Li-yan and her mother decide to give her up. This is super dangerous in China at the time and she could be arrested, but she manages to do it, and her life changes drastically from that point. Enter the second POV, her daughter adopted in America under the American name Haley. Hale struggles with her identity as an adoptee from China. In a lot of ways, her mother Li-yan struggles with her own identity as she navigates modern China at a tea school and building a business in the city.
This book is my first Lisa See book and I'm blown away by her writing. The word selection and narrative is absolutely incredible. I felt like the characters were so well-written and put together I could practically see them in my mind. The plot is pretty basic/predictable in some ways, but the themes are so vast to explore any number: family relationships, growth, identity, etc.
Quick note that the audiobook for this one was A tier for sure (at least as far is Li-yan chapters), although the voice for Haley chapters sounded like a winy teen all the time and definitely not my favorite chapters to listen to.
This book may have taken me a minute to get into it, but when I was in it-I WAS IN IT.
Highly recommend (definitely an adult read). It's probably the perfect book club book selection for the discussion alone.
TW: sexual content, death of baby/children, mention of drug use, gore (tiger attack)
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Gore and Sexual content
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
lmfry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Sexism, Medical content, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Blood, and Alcohol
nikhocharm's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
moon_peach'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: Child death, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
cweeks_ng's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Child death and Grief
cdace8'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism
moriahleigh's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism
Minor: Cancer
daniofthewood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism
Minor: Cancer
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane" follows the life of Li-yan, a girl who lives in a remote village in China with her family. Li-yan's family pour all of their time and energy into growing and selling tea, but their lives have been difficult. One day a man shows up in a Jeep, and he wants to make them a deal to improve their lives, if they can help him produce tea. Told over years, "The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane" follows Li-yan as she rejects the life she came from and questions everything she was taught.
This book was incredibly written, and insightful about Chinese history in a way I have not read before. China's One Child Policy, as well as their attitude towards pregnancy, birth, and sex of their offspring is very different from the American views I have grown up with. I was fascinated to learn more about how childbirth is treated in China in a way that did not feel like I was being lectured about.
Li-yan is a strong protagonist, and a great character to read from. She was given opportunities to continue her education in ways that most people, especially woman, would not have had. It was great to not only see an intelligent and driven woman succeed academically, but to see her family support her in this dream. Li-yan's life was filled with hardship, but she embodied resilience and built a beautiful life for herself, even when she lost all hope.
This was a beautiful story that interweaves history and fiction seamlessly. Although I am not educated enough on the history of China to determine if the ideas presented in this novel are factually correct, the book felt well researched, and it felt real. The prose was eloquent and beautifully written, and it devastated me more than once.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to expand their reading with an incredible historical fiction.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Racism
mondovertigo'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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Cancer and Infertility