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kry_yang's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Just finished reading this book, and honestly, I have so many mixed feelings about this story.
Things I loved:
- The overarching murder mystery story. I've never seen ASAM lit combined with the mystery genre before, so that made for a thrilling and exciting read.
- The commentary on being a POC immigrant, particularly in relation to deportation, policing, trauma, and "assimilation."
- Mina's entire character arc was really fascinating. I thought we could have spent a little more time with Mina's childhood, particularly because it seemed to play a significant role throughout Mina's POV. But overall, really enjoyed reading about Mina's backstory and getting to know her as a character.
Things I didn't really love:
- Margot's character. I honestly thought she fell really flat, especially compared to her mother and her character development.
- Similar to other reviews about this book, I felt that there needed to be more chapters specifically dedicated to exploring Margot's childhood, and her relationship with her mother. I felt that some descriptions of Margot's life with her mother were a bit... Too on-the-nose for me? As an avid consumer of ASAM lit, I felt that Margot's childhood was written with an almost "stereotypical" flair. Like Margot hating her mother's cooking and only wanting to eat American food... Like Margot refusing to learn Korean... Like Margot wanting to watch American TV... I also just finished reading "Crying in H-mart" which is also about a Korean-American girl grappling with her mother's death, so maybe I'm a bit biased here.
- Margot's friend, who takes up a weird amount of word count in this story? I feel like Margot's character development would have been so much more impactful if she had explored the implications of her mother's death on her own, rather than exploring the whole situation with a friend who didn't feel relevant to the story at all. I get that the author was trying to create parallels between Margot's life and Mina's--and perhaps Miguel's character was supposed to relate to Mrs. Baek's. However, Mrs. Baek ended up being such a key character in the story, in a way that Miguel just... was not.
I'm leaving this book with very mixed emotions (clearly). On one hand, I enjoyed the murder mystery element. I liked the overarching commentary on the "American" immigrant narrative. Some characters and descriptions didn't quite hit the mark for me. I think if the book had been just a bit longer--and if we had gotten more pages of adequate character development--then this book would have been a really incredible, tense, and fast-paced investigation into the Korean-American experience. But as it is, the book is only "good" and not "great," in my opinion.
Things I loved:
- The overarching murder mystery story. I've never seen ASAM lit combined with the mystery genre before, so that made for a thrilling and exciting read.
- The commentary on being a POC immigrant, particularly in relation to deportation, policing, trauma, and "assimilation."
- Mina's entire character arc was really fascinating. I thought we could have spent a little more time with Mina's childhood, particularly because it seemed to play a significant role throughout Mina's POV. But overall, really enjoyed reading about Mina's backstory and getting to know her as a character.
Things I didn't really love:
- Margot's character. I honestly thought she fell really flat, especially compared to her mother and her character development.
- Similar to other reviews about this book, I felt that there needed to be more chapters specifically dedicated to exploring Margot's childhood, and her relationship with her mother. I felt that some descriptions of Margot's life with her mother were a bit... Too on-the-nose for me? As an avid consumer of ASAM lit, I felt that Margot's childhood was written with an almost "stereotypical" flair.
- Margot's friend, who takes up a weird amount of word count in this story? I feel like Margot's character development would have been so much more impactful if she had explored the implications of her mother's death on her own, rather than exploring the whole situation with a friend who didn't feel relevant to the story at all.
I'm leaving this book with very mixed emotions (clearly). On one hand, I enjoyed the murder mystery element. I liked the overarching commentary on the "American" immigrant narrative. Some characters and descriptions didn't quite hit the mark for me. I think if the book had been just a bit longer--and if we had gotten more pages of adequate character development--then this book would have been a really incredible, tense, and fast-paced investigation into the Korean-American experience. But as it is, the book is only "good" and not "great," in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape and Gore
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