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amandalorianxo's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I’m bumping this to a 3.5/3.75 ~
There are a lot of novels that have been published 10+ years ago and I was either too young or unaware that they existed. Short Girls is one of those novels that caught my eye because well… I’m petite and a woman lol. We follow the lives of Van and Linny Luong, first generation American sisters whose mom & dad immigrated from Vietnam in 1975 all the way to California then settled into a small Michigan mid sized city.
We are given glimpses of their lives (during their younger years and adult.) The story is set roughly two-four years ish after 2001 but the way in which Nguyen portrayed her characters didn’t feel outdated. I wasn’t fully aware of the supposed submissive tendencies that are stereotypes into certain Asian personas but I somewhat got a feel of that in Van’s persona. I hated how Miles (her husband) treated her and I wished she had been more assertive / defend herself more when it came to his gaslighting and just general ick. Linny I could understand, wanted to escape to a city where she could escape the scrutiny of the neighbors aka Chicago. I also was on the fence about her behavior but tried to give her the benefit of the doubt.
I think the reason why I gave this 3.5/3.75 stars is because I wasn’t sure where the story was going in terms of plot. It’s definitely a slice of life type of story and we need more Asian writers and Asian rep but I just wanted a more concrete idea of what was going to happen. The dual POV’s were essential and I’m glad this wasn’t one sided.
There are a lot of novels that have been published 10+ years ago and I was either too young or unaware that they existed. Short Girls is one of those novels that caught my eye because well… I’m petite and a woman lol. We follow the lives of Van and Linny Luong, first generation American sisters whose mom & dad immigrated from Vietnam in 1975 all the way to California then settled into a small Michigan mid sized city.
We are given glimpses of their lives (during their younger years and adult.) The story is set roughly two-four years ish after 2001 but the way in which Nguyen portrayed her characters didn’t feel outdated. I wasn’t fully aware of the supposed submissive tendencies that are stereotypes into certain Asian personas but I somewhat got a feel of that in Van’s persona. I hated how Miles (her husband) treated her and I wished she had been more assertive / defend herself more when it came to his gaslighting and just general ick. Linny I could understand, wanted to escape to a city where she could escape the scrutiny of the neighbors aka Chicago. I also was on the fence about her behavior but tried to give her the benefit of the doubt.
I think the reason why I gave this 3.5/3.75 stars is because I wasn’t sure where the story was going in terms of plot. It’s definitely a slice of life type of story and we need more Asian writers and Asian rep but I just wanted a more concrete idea of what was going to happen. The dual POV’s were essential and I’m glad this wasn’t one sided.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Xenophobia, Racism, and Miscarriage
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