A review by michromeu
China Dolls by Lisa See

2.0

2.5 stars - I really enjoyed the historical context, and as always, Lisa See paints a very vivid picture of the time period. However, the characters were much more difficult to enjoy - I can always get behind flawed protagonists, but the novel didn't give the characters time to breathe past Helen's "big reveal" at the end, and it was difficult to believe that these girls would stay friends or even become friends in the first place. I was also disappointed by the writing style - most of See's other novels feature beautiful prose, but the writing in this book felt stilted. Unfortunately, despite an interesting setting, the pieces just didn't come together for this one.