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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
- I mean… when she sort of fell into the stuff with Matthew I was like yeahhh ok this is plot hook so it’ll go somewhere interesting. But now the same thing is happening with Hong and Theresa and I’m like damn maybe Khong doesn’t know how to write people meeting in an organic way
- I’m like 100 pages in and I really don’t like Lily very much. Reading how much someone dislikes themself in a very boring way very 100 pages is pretty boring.
- Meeting Ping is the same diva come onnnnn
- Ok…. Now we’re getting somewhere at the end of part 1
- Never mind lol
- It’s sort of like…. She’s trying to do like a ~~generational~~ story so you have to skip but each chapter just feels like so much telling instead of showing regarding Nick’s life
- Also, that reveal of why she left was such a nothing? Like there better be some more coming because that was sort of like… the conflict point of Nick’s part and a lot of Lily’s but it was covered like it was so nothing. Very strange.
- I do like that the last section is May. That’s a fun surprise and twist on the genre
- Ohhhhhh my god Lily never gave May the letter with Ping saying he understood and everything ohhhhh my goddddd
- There is good stuff here about like… ethics of gene editing and American propaganda.
- “But it was a mistake, believing you could choose for someone else, no matter how well intentioned you might be. What did we choose, really? We were told what to want: Propaganda was universal. Especially in this country, where the propaganda was that there was none - we were free. But were we? When we were made to value certain lives more than others; when we were made, relentlessly, to want more?”
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hmmm three generations of gene selection ethics, the cultural revolution, asian-american experience, racial tensions, multiple first-loves, heartbreak, coming of age, parenting, aaand the wealth gap.... This book is munching on a lot, probably too much.
I'm most interested in the topic of the title- what does it mean to be a Real American? Somehow the theme of being "American enough" or "too American" hovered over the whole book but is never really developed.
I'm most interested in the topic of the title- what does it mean to be a Real American? Somehow the theme of being "American enough" or "too American" hovered over the whole book but is never really developed.
medium-paced