Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

18 reviews

haley313's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

3.0

I have read most everything by Lisa See and have loved many of her books. This one is not one of my favorites by her. The writing/voices of the two main narrators felt immature. Which, for the most part, makes sense narratively, but it was distracting for me. I felt like I learned a lot about many different parts of Chinese culture and history that I have not heard about before. I almost enjoyed learning about these things more than I enjoyed the central story. I agree with others who have said that many of the twists and turns felt contrived. So many plot lines were wrapped up so easily, it almost left soapy at times. Overall though, I enjoyed this decades-spanning story of mothers and daughters and finding a place where you belong. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Pregnancy

Moderate: Infertility

Minor: Drug abuse

aharman13's review

4.0

Very detailed telling of the intertwined invisible strings of family ties and the trauma of cultural pressures and adoption. 

TW: there is a very graphic and traumatic birth scene so if you have any kind of pregnancy loss / birth trauma proceed with caution. It did serve a purpose to highlight the immense stress in these story lines but was not expected and definitely caught me off guard.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

lmfry's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

teampixie's review against another edition

relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Easy read.. but pregnancy loss and adoption feature heavily, which might effect some readers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Abandonment

moon_peach's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense 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

5.0

Another great book by Lisa See. Our poor main character suffers so much and you really want to root for her. She has so much resilience 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

cdace8's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

If you want a book that will gut you and then slowly put you back together this is it. This book is heartbreaking yet beautiful and informational. It is a little slow at times but just a great read I got past that in most places. All of the women in this book are vastly different but have such a beautifully intertwined story. Definitely check trigger warnings as there are some extremely tough parts, especially early in the book. 

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Content Warnings

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

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Cancer

daniofthewood's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

I received a copy of this book as a gift.
"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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Racism