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Recent Reviews
Kathryn Ma
Positive The Boston Globe While The Chinese Groove is satisfyingly Dickensian in its plot twists and intriguing characters...as an immigrant narrative it doesn’t always get beyond the usual clichés about language barriers and cultural differences ... Shelley’s character feels inconsistent ... An otherwise thoughtfully crafted bildungsroman full of twists and turns.
Bolu Babalola
Rave Boston Globe ... playful ... The social dynamics can make the book feel like a high school rom-com at times—the drive to get into a program at NYU is reminiscent of many high school protagonists’ attempts to get into selective colleges. But it’s a good reminder that the instability and grind of seeking out the next big opportunity that one experiences in high school doesn’t stop when people get to college ... Fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before will appreciate the way Babalola deftly manipulates familiar romance tropes into an expertly crafted story that offers a glimpse into the British Nigerian college experience. Through Babalola’s careful writing, high school-esque cliques meet the complexity of Blackwell Society politics ... Even without the romance driving the plot, Honey and Spice would be a rich text full of incisive social commentary, but I’d be remiss not to mention that Kiki and Malakai are a couple you’ll want to root for. Babalola captures the messiness of falling in love for the first time. Both of them have baggage to work through, and they help each other do that over plantain waffles and parties. The dating might start out fake, but the chemistry is real.
Simu Liu
Rave Boston Globe Delightful ... Liu manages to tell a familiar story about growing up in an immigrant family without relying on stereotypes. He portrays his parents with empathy and complexity, focusing on their stories to help the reader understand their motivations. He addresses with thoughtful generosity the hard conversations he’s had with his parents about their (unfortunately not uncommon) abuse and how it affected him ... Liu insists on sympathizing with the challenges his parents faced without excusing their actions ... But We Were Dreamers is also deeply funny ... Liu is candid about his shortcomings and early career flops ... Lest readers be skeptical of its genre, this book is a genuine memoir and not just a Hollywood autobiography ... Fans of Liu will enjoy the intimate look into his life, but the memoir’s real strength is its ability to resonate even with those who are unfamiliar with his work.
Quan Barry
Positive The Boston Globe Engrossing ... Its unconventional storytelling and fantastical elements will appeal to fans of Barry’s other books ... Barry showcases the diversity of cultures and traditions within Mongolia and weaves in relevant historical context...to help readers understand their significance ... But at times, this material feels inorganic — expository insertions for the benefit of a Western audience more fitting for a memoir than the narration of a novel ... These explanatory moments are somewhat distracting and make it difficult to settle into the story ... Barry clearly devoted a lot of time to researching Mongolia and Buddhism in the process of drafting this novel. She sprinkles Mongolian words throughout...and sometimes the words aren’t translated, but they can usually be deduced by the context.... The pacing, explanations, and setup of the book make readers feel as if they are taking a whirlwind tour of Mongolia complete with introductions to traditional food and dress, elucidations of modern-day regional politics, and even commentary on how tourists shift traditions. Readers will come away with perspectives on issues such as Chinese involvement in Buddhism that they may not have considered, and the novel raises interesting questions about faith, doubt, and who we believe ourselves to be. But, as is the case with tourism, it is unclear how much this perspective is itself distorted by the fact that it was written with an English-speaking, Western audience in mind ... Still, how many novels set in contemporary Mongolia are available to English-speaking readers? At its heart, When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East asks questions fundamental to the human experience that will resonate regardless of the reader’s familiarity with Mongolia.