cherreadssharereads's reviews
752 reviews
What We Kept to Ourselves by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
2.75
This book was messy and ambitious with all the territory it wanted to cover. I don’t think it was done particularly well but I also do not hate it! The cast of characters were interesting and being able to see into their head was nice but also stylistically strange — some of the pronouns really tripped me up bc I couldn’t figure out who was talking about whom. I am not a fan of how everything wrapped up but I guess I can understand how that was convenient. So many convenient tie-offs. On a positive note, I did resonate with Sunhee’s feelings as a stay-at-home parent and her resentment. While reading this book, I also contemplated running away from my two kids bc it’s just so goddamn not-life-giving sometimes.
Spoiler
I did not like that all of the tension dissipated with the two men dying at the end — they took all of the blame and then everything was hunky-dory for the rest of the characters. Yes, john was a haunted man who had a lot of trouble with PTSD and rage — but it was just convenient to hide all of it until it was time to pin murder on him. Like the letters that Sunhee wrote home but we don’t find out that John intercepted until all the way at the end was just a nice wrap up in order to bring Sunhee home.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
5.0
The way Verghese took me on a roller coaster ride I did not ask to be on… this book was like a magician’s hat that only kept giving and there was truly no end to all the surprising twists. I didn’t like the Digby character and how the plot panned out but I did love all the different/moving parts. I love how beautifully this story came together, how beautiful the prose is… this is a work of art. I also loved the medical knowledge and the references to Indian-Christian history that opened my eyes. Book covers so many things but definitely the highlight was that we can all be better at not letting our prejudice taint how we see other people and how we just whether/not they are worth living.
Straw Dogs of the Universe by Ye Chun
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
I like the way Chun writes; looking forward to picking up HAO. I like the history embedded into this story of a woman longing for home. I absolutely abhor the history of Chinese laborers in Truckee and Northern California especially bc there are so many Chinese here now and there are very few mentions of all the discrimination they faced when tasked with doing all the menial labor all the while getting killed, raped, and being recipients of hate-crimes!!!! Pacing at the beginning could have been tightened up a bit. I didn’t care for all the mention of Dao and wuwai — I didn’t feel the connection there. I didn’t like that several scenes were revisited multiple times but by different POVs…I feel like that slows down the story significantly and I do not need 3 (albeit, different) regurgitations of the same scene; one or 2 less POVs would have been nice.
Lush Lives by J. Vanessa Lyon
3.0
This was an alright story! It really takes it’s sweet time getting to the conflict, denouement, and conclusion. The romance was just ok — I didn’t feel like I knew the characters other than what they looked like and what made them attracted to each other beyond physical looks. I get that they are both HOT and the sex scenes were lovely but I wish there was a little more to HOW they actually fell in love with one another. The unveiling of the mystery of Aunt Lucille was definitely fun to read and I would have been much happier with this book if that was the main plot (and also if it came together a little quicker)!
“But if good people continue to do what bad people ask of them, I simply cannot see things changing. Not fast enough to make a difference for your generation. We make them richer and more powerful, and then they use that to take what they want from us.”
“But if good people continue to do what bad people ask of them, I simply cannot see things changing. Not fast enough to make a difference for your generation. We make them richer and more powerful, and then they use that to take what they want from us.”
Aloha Vietnam by Elizabeth Nguyen, Elizabeth Nguyen
2.5
Thanks to Book Publicity Services for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!
I think this book is most helpful for families looking to understand & accept their children’s mental health diagnoses. I can also see this book helping bridge the cultural understanding between first and second generation immigrants. I appreciated Nguyen calling out sadness as something that can be passed down from generation to generation. That made a lot of sense for me.
I thought the editing for this book could have been tighter— there were some repetitive sentences and chapters. Some scenes could have been eliminated (convo with neighbor on flight, what they ordered at a restaurant, etc.) and instead that space could have been used to fill in the gap between 1993 and 1996 because the ending came too rushed. I really wish we got to hear more from Xuan.
I think this book is most helpful for families looking to understand & accept their children’s mental health diagnoses. I can also see this book helping bridge the cultural understanding between first and second generation immigrants. I appreciated Nguyen calling out sadness as something that can be passed down from generation to generation. That made a lot of sense for me.
I thought the editing for this book could have been tighter— there were some repetitive sentences and chapters. Some scenes could have been eliminated (convo with neighbor on flight, what they ordered at a restaurant, etc.) and instead that space could have been used to fill in the gap between 1993 and 1996 because the ending came too rushed. I really wish we got to hear more from Xuan.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham
Lovely memoir. I loved how each section was named according to food Pham was most influenced by at each stage of life.
Happy Place by Emily Henry
4.0
It was a delightful binge read but also too optimistic at the end and it was wrapped up too neatly with a bow and a cherry and all the nice things. All of the feelings Henry worked up to describe in the beginning felt so real but then it felt like she glossed over all those parts to tie up all the ends.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
5.0
All things said about humanity and withholding judgment is absolutely heartwarming. Also very funny, I love.
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
5.0
Title is reminiscent of Lion, Witch, & Wardrobe but v different. What a marvelous story of love, adventure, and more love. I love the Sea’s portrayal as a protective mother. This was a wonderful fantasy that didn’t take much to embrace and didn’t take too much imagination to enter.
Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
4.5
Speculative fiction is not my jam; however, this book was so beautiful crafted that I have warmed to the genre. Zhang truly has a way with making me feel all the things. The anxiety ran so strong and encompassed the range of concern, worry, and anxiousness that I felt during the pandemic. Zhang claims that she’s not a poet but this book proves otherwise.