Reviews

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

remembrallbooks's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.5

i wish i would’ve stopped reading once i started realizing i wasn’t going to like the book (which was fairly early). plot is dull, think the characters were developed enough and tbh they weren’t very likeable so it didn’t make me care for them, but i think it’s also because i was busy being grossed out by the incest, which no one seems to talk about. 

miisjess's review

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

mollyhee's review

2.0

Soap opera. Not a fan of the plot at all.

kimham_bookstagram's review

3.0

Another one of my picks during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month was Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok, a tale of two sisters and their family history. 
I love a good mystery and was excited to jump into this one, but unfortunately I found the mystery aspect very disappointing. 
Told from three POVs (Sylvie, her sister Amy, and their mother), the book was well-written and started off promising with an interesting plot and intriguing characters. 
The second half just fell flat. Way too cheesy, felt like a soap opera, and seemed like a cop out.  
I did like that most of it was set in the Netherlands, as I don't read many books set here.   
Extremely disappointing. I don’t recommend. 

cm524's review

4.0

Very good but punched me in the gut. Her life is so tragic!

zinatakara's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

Initially the book was very gripping, even causing me to put down another book I was reading. But about 50% through it just got extremely boring and predictable to me. I also didn’t understand the character motivations.

The cousin thing also disgusted me not endeared me because even prior to the reveal they were socialized as siblings so what was that about?

jesspsps's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

jenhurst's review

3.0

I think this was a decent enough mystery. Nothing crazy memorable but a good mystery thriller that I think most people will enjoy.

reillya's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.25

sarahhbeth_reads's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Told through multiple POVs, Searching for Sylvie Lee follows the title character's family after she abruptly goes missing, and the events preceding her disappearance.

 

The daughter of Chinese immigrants living in New York, Sylvie spent the first nine years of her life raised by her grandmother in Holland as her parents struggled to start a life in the U.S. Now an adult, Sylvie has returned to her childhood home to be with her dying grandmother. However, when Sylvie's younger sister Amy receives a concerned phone call from a cousin saying he has been unable to reach Sylvie, Amy and her parents are shocked. Responsible, disciplined Sylvie would have told them if she was back in the U.S. As her family searches for their missing daughter, they begin to question how well they really knew Sylvie.

Language and identity are central to this story. Narration alternates between Amy and Ma seeking Sylvie in the present and Sylvie prior to her disappearance. Through these POVs and language, Kwok explores how others perceive someone and who that person truly is. For example, Amy speaks limited Chinese, Ma speaks limited English, while Sylvie is multilingual. In Amy's chapters, Ma speaks in short, basic sentences, whereas Ma's chapters, (written in English, though she is clearly expressing herself here in Chinese) Ma is eloquent. It is clear the Amy is missing a large part of who her mother is due to the language gap. Sylvie, meanwhile, must bridge cultures. She is often forced to mother Amy where English bars their parents' participation, like attending teacher conferences. In addition to language, there is simply a lot that is unspoken between these women, further dividing them. 

Searching for Sylvie Lee is about both the literal search for a missing person, as well as efforts to discover who that person is. This novel will appeal to thriller lovers as well as anyone who enjoys literary fiction examining topics like race, translation, and immigration.