Reviews

What a gorgeous, stunning, heartbreaking, beautiful book this was. It tells us about a family in Vietnam. We see various times pass by. Before the war, during all sorts of wars, famine, scary situations, and much more. We read about the lives of the family members. We see things through the eyes of the grandmother and her granddaughter. It was a slow start at first, but then I really got into it and flew through the book. It was just so interesting and I wanted to know everything about this family and was also hoping that all of Hương's family would come back. Her mother and her father especially. I loved seeing Hương grow up. From a young girl to a woman and love how she made her own path. How she found something to do and love. Plus, I just love a character who loves to read and tries to get her hands on books even when things are dire.
The ending was a sad one but also a happy one. I won't spoil anything, but I really loved that ending.
I probably could talk more, but I would just that I recommend this one to everyone. What a read!

xaileymonet's review

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad

4.5

darumachan's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

moony77wolfy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

pmrichard1's review

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3.0

This book was an amazing story which will stick with me for how informative it is about the painful and complex history of Vietnam. I think unfortunately the writing suffered in translation (or the lack of translator) and I can see how it would have been much better in Vietnamese. I appreciate how they wanted to use this to cover everything but also think it did mean the book was just plot plot plot and could’ve benefited from a bit more interior life.

bethannie18's review

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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