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A review by laurensilva
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
As far as its story, Dial A for Aunties is funny and charming as it chronicles the antics - and immense love and loyalty - of our protagonist and her Chinese-Indonesian family. I see so much of my Filipino titas in Meddy's Aunties and my culture throughout the book and that will always bring a thrill of recognition.
On the other hand, I wish I liked the writing style more so I could give more stars to this otherwise fun read. My main peeve here is the overly twee, conversational style. Especially in the first few chapters, the writing was so cringey (ex. the excessive use of "Argh." and "I'm down for platonic friendship, yeah. I'm chill. Totes chillax.") to the point where it became distracting from the scene I was trying to read. There’s so much of it so early on - before we even reach the murder - that I barely even have the encouragement of “what happens next???” to keep reading. Still, I held on (skimmed) so I could get to the meat of the book.
I was also disappointed by all the “I’m so tiny I can be picked up so easily!!! Oh men think I’m so tinyyyy.” There were three references to this in as many pages!!! We get it, Asian girls can be small, but let's move on from hitting us over the head with this physical description as a character trait.
On the other hand, I wish I liked the writing style more so I could give more stars to this otherwise fun read. My main peeve here is the overly twee, conversational style. Especially in the first few chapters, the writing was so cringey (ex. the excessive use of "Argh." and "I'm down for platonic friendship, yeah. I'm chill. Totes chillax.") to the point where it became distracting from the scene I was trying to read. There’s so much of it so early on - before we even reach the murder - that I barely even have the encouragement of “what happens next???” to keep reading. Still, I held on (skimmed) so I could get to the meat of the book.
I was also disappointed by all the “I’m so tiny I can be picked up so easily!!! Oh men think I’m so tinyyyy.” There were three references to this in as many pages!!! We get it, Asian girls can be small, but let's move on from hitting us over the head with this physical description as a character trait.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Car accident
Minor: Racism and Vomit