Chinese Writers – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Lunar New Year Love Story, by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham

The Kindle cover of Lunar New Year Love Story, depicting a young Asian couple in front of a pinkwashed sunset sky, is propped up in front of a lily plant and surrounded by wooden hearts and wrapped chocolate hearts.

(Buy this book here.) Valentina Tran loves the holiday she’s named after. Every year she makes heart-decorated cards for all her classmates, and an extra special one for her dad, who’s still trying to cope years after his wife’s death. To the disgust of her realistic bestie Bernice, Val maintains a belief in romance soContinue reading “[REVIEW] Lunar New Year Love Story, by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham”

[REVIEW] I Am AI, by Ai Jiang

The Kindle cover of I Am Ai, depicting the face of an Asian woman with a blank stare and electricity coursing up her neck. The Kindle is held up in front of a old, weathered brick wall.

(Buy this book.) It’s taken me a while to write a proper review of this novelette because I really felt it in a deep and personal place that I’m not really sure how to talk about it. Sorry in advance if this gets treacly, or treaclier than usual, anyway. The city of Emit exists somewhereContinue reading “[REVIEW] I Am AI, by Ai Jiang”

[REVIEW] Chlorine, by Jade Song

The Kindle cover of Chlorine by Jade Song, which depicts a mermaid tail flashing out of view into the water. It's held up by a Black woman's hand in front of a grimy collegiate swimming pool.

(To buy this book, click here.) Ren Yu– daughter of Chinese immigrants, indifferent high school student, favorite pupil of her lecherous coach, unrequited love of teammate Cathy’s budding lesbian life — knows deep down that she’s really always been a mermaid. The Pennsylvania suburbs are a bit far from the beach, but Ren feeds herContinue reading “[REVIEW] Chlorine, by Jade Song”

[REVIEW] Yellowface, by R.F. Kuang

The hardcover edition of Yellowface--it's bright yellow and glossy with a pair of stylized Asian eyes drawn above the title in white block letters. The books lies on a red and gold "Oriental" rug.

(Buy this book here.) I got a little tired of being the last blogger on the internet who hadn’t read this book, so I finally picked up a copy and packed it in my carry-on for an overnight flight. I had to sleep. I knew I had to sleep. I still stayed up and finishedContinue reading “[REVIEW] Yellowface, by R.F. Kuang”

[REVIEW]Linghun, by Ai Jiang

(BUY THIS BOOK) Linghun is a Mandarin word that can be translated as spirit or soul. It’s also the title of Canadian-Chinese writer Ai Jiang’s new novella. Fittingly, it’s about a place called HOME, where families impoverish themselves in order to call the spirits of their beloved dead back into their lives. Wenqi’s there becauseContinue reading “[REVIEW]Linghun, by Ai Jiang”

[REVIEW] Making A Scene, by Constance Wu

The bright red book cover of Making A Scene by Constance Wu, who is depicted in black silhouette. The background is the interior of a non-descript, grimy subway car during a morning commute. A Black woman(Mel's) hand holds the book.

(Pre-order this book!) I’m not really into celebrity culture and I’m not sure I would have read this if Scribner Books hadn’t kindly sent me an ARC. But I’m SO glad they did. What I thought about Constance Wu before reading this: Um…she was good in Crazy Rich Asians I guess. She was the momContinue reading “[REVIEW] Making A Scene, by Constance Wu”

[REVIEW] White Ivy, by Susie Yang

A Black woman's hand holds the ebook of White Ivy up in front of a little island cottage in New England. The cover depicts an Asian woman with her arms wrapped around herself on a black background. The top half of her face is not in the picture.

(Buy it on Bookshop here.) I moved to Boston recently, and as a result I’ve been slurping up books set there. Most of them are not diverse, to put it mildly. White Ivy, a book about a Chinese-American immigrant in the city, was a refreshing surprise. There are a lot of reviews of this byContinue reading “[REVIEW] White Ivy, by Susie Yang”

[Review] The Dragon Republic, by R.F. Kuang

An ebook showing the black and white stylized Chinese culture-influenced cover of The Dragon Republic lays flat on a wooden table. A big black bowl of tan tan mien, or spicy pork and sesame noodles, is in the background.

(Buy it on Bookshop here.) I spent the first quarter of this Poppy War sequel trying to remember why I liked the first book. Main character Rin is probably the most despicable hero I’ve ever encountered. Sure, she’s a fire-wielding martially-trained shaman-powered genius badass who singlehandedly won a war. She’s also a genocidal maniac.(If you’veContinue reading “[Review] The Dragon Republic, by R.F. Kuang”

[REVIEW] The Duke Who Didn’t, by Courtney Milan

A tablet displays the cover of The Duke Who Didn't, depicting a Chinese couple embracing. They are half-dressed in Victorian clothing. The tablet is on a wooden table with a slice of cheesecake and a latte in the background

(Buy it from Bookshop) I usually cleanse my mental palate with romance after reading horror. A British-Chinese duke in Victorian England is a pretty big switch from depressed teenage ghost hunters–but the cover of this really caught my eye and Courtney Milan’s name was familiar due to her role in calling out anti-Asian racism inContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Duke Who Didn’t, by Courtney Milan”

[REVIEW] The Poppy War, Rebecca F Kuang

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5⠀⠀ First of all, yes, I know that’s not a poppy in the picture. There aren’t any growing in my neighborhood this year, unfortunately.⠀ Secondly, this review is a little spoiler-y. I won’t give away any major character-based plot points, but I will allude to a major event in the plot without giving any details.Continue reading “[REVIEW] The Poppy War, Rebecca F Kuang”