A young kindergarten teacher from Hong Kong and an American expat meet on China's southernmost island of Hainan, a paradise where the boundless sea meets the wide sky. Soon after, young Vivi and Matthew marry and set off to live out their dreams on an organic farm in Indiana. Then, an unexpected tragedy leaves Vivi devastated. Invisible Orphans delves into love and loss, capitulation and perseverance.
Harrowing ... Beautiful tale ... Le did not give the stereotypical romance story; rather, she made a unique and personalized tale just for them, one that stood out to me in quality and content. She did not shy away from adding details of their fights, disagreements, and even possible separation, adding to the authenticity ... The story of her agony is one that will have you weeping on her behalf ...
Le does an exceptional job capturing all the stages of grief ... Overall, Invisible Orphan was an exceptional read.
A moving story ... The author includes so many fascinating details and descriptions of food, travel, and family life that the story almost seems like a work of non-fiction. I loved that she was able to feel at home in Asia, give tantalizing descriptions of recipes, and also describe a typical home in middle America ... I like that the story was told from Viv’s perspective, but I wish the author had used her name more often ... The author created two characters that I cared about, and that kept me turning the pages to find out how the story would turn out. I finished Invisible Orphan knowing that I would love to read more stories by Jade Moon Le.
Unflinching...a powerful recounting ... A meditation on memory ... The descriptions of nature and geography in Invisible Orphans are vibrant and compelling ... The settings of the various scenes...are often portrayed more strongly than the characters who feature in them, particularly the numerous supporting players who pop up to relate something expositional and then quickly fade away. The structure of the story also makes it difficult to fully grasp the characters, as the sudden scene endings and frequent time shifts sometimes result in a lack of character depth and an inability to focus on key issues, even particularly poignant ones. Still, as a whole Invisible Orphans is a captivating story ... Vivi is an absorbing main character and her all-too-human struggles...draw the reader in.
