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superborbA historical YA, set in 1950s San Francisco, that tells the story of Lily Hu, a second generation Chinese American teenager, who begins to realize she is a lesbian.
I enjoyed this very much and only regret that it wasn't around when I was a teenager, as I think I'd have absolutely loved it then.
It absolutely hits on worldbuilding: you can really tell the care and research that went into richly developing the world. (I so regret that I wasn't able to make it to the talk Lo gave last year on the research she did for the book!) The sense of place is so strong. In some ways, this does hold back the novel, as it's so tied to a real world background;douqi points out that the queer community as depicted is very white. Lo stuffs every historical mention of queer Asians she could find in, but ultimately, she is telling a story of the queer Chinese American women whose queer spaces were nearly completely white and black. (This didn't bother me, but may bother others.) Both the small town insularity of Chinatown and the world of the lesbian nightclub feel real.
I also really believed in the central romantic relationship! It portrayed that awkward, nervous first love jitter, the slow slide of friendship into more, so well! The tension of her friendships with her best friend was also slowly and subtly developed. The only other characters we really get insight into are the parents because they have their own chapters, but that did work for me because of how self-centered teenagers can be haha. You could tell that the side characters probably were unique and had their own interior life, but Lily is wrapped up in her own problems.
The only major flaw was the dialog. It was stilted and often veered into overly formal. Especially contrasted with the very technically sound narrative voice, it stood out badly. Still, since it wasn't an especially dialog heavy book, it was bearable.
Anyway, I'd strongly recommend this if you like YA or for any teenagers in your life. (There is a bit of non-graphic sex and period typical racism/sexism, if you actually give it to a teen.)
I enjoyed this very much and only regret that it wasn't around when I was a teenager, as I think I'd have absolutely loved it then.
It absolutely hits on worldbuilding: you can really tell the care and research that went into richly developing the world. (I so regret that I wasn't able to make it to the talk Lo gave last year on the research she did for the book!) The sense of place is so strong. In some ways, this does hold back the novel, as it's so tied to a real world background;
douqi points out that the queer community as depicted is very white. Lo stuffs every historical mention of queer Asians she could find in, but ultimately, she is telling a story of the queer Chinese American women whose queer spaces were nearly completely white and black. (This didn't bother me, but may bother others.) Both the small town insularity of Chinatown and the world of the lesbian nightclub feel real.I also really believed in the central romantic relationship! It portrayed that awkward, nervous first love jitter, the slow slide of friendship into more, so well! The tension of her friendships with her best friend was also slowly and subtly developed. The only other characters we really get insight into are the parents because they have their own chapters, but that did work for me because of how self-centered teenagers can be haha. You could tell that the side characters probably were unique and had their own interior life, but Lily is wrapped up in her own problems.
The only major flaw was the dialog. It was stilted and often veered into overly formal. Especially contrasted with the very technically sound narrative voice, it stood out badly. Still, since it wasn't an especially dialog heavy book, it was bearable.
Anyway, I'd strongly recommend this if you like YA or for any teenagers in your life. (There is a bit of non-graphic sex and period typical racism/sexism, if you actually give it to a teen.)
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Date: 2022-01-05 18:50 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-05 21:36 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-05 21:32 (UTC)The only major flaw was the dialog. It was stilted and often veered into overly formal. Especially contrasted with the very technically sound narrative voice, it stood out badly. Still, since it wasn't an especially dialog heavy book, it was bearable.
What a shame!
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Date: 2022-01-05 21:51 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-05 21:52 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-05 22:18 (UTC)I tried a bit of YA last year and it was never quite right, but I was never quite sure if it was because it was YA or because I just didn't vibe with the author and the subject wasn't for me after all. This sounds RMTI in a way that might make it a good test case for YA, too.
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Date: 2022-01-06 01:05 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-06 00:57 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-06 01:05 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-06 16:39 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-06 19:14 (UTC)