In the fifth grade, Deming’s mother disappeared. An undocumented Chinese immigrant, she went to work one day and never came home. It’s easy for us, the readers, to speculate about what happened, but for Deming, the disappearance was as shocking as it was nonsensical. Soon, he was adopted by a white family in another city and taken away from the only home he knew. These events … [Read more...]
Family Secrets and the Search for ‘Sylvie Lee’
Sylvie Lee was 9 when she returned home from the Netherlands to her parents and sister in New York City. She, like many children of Chinese immigrants, spent the first third of her life abroad while her parents got their footing in a new country. The dichotomy between her two lives - the before and after - turned Sylvie into somewhat of a loner. Smart, beautiful, and popular, … [Read more...]
The End of Loneliness and How the Past Blinds Us to the Future
When Jules was in elementary school, he lost both his parents and was shipped off to boarding school, along with his two older siblings. Awash in grief and disbelief, he folded into himself, casting off his previous self in an effort to simply survive the new life fate had thrown at him. For his siblings, coping manifested in different ways - his sister's cool detachment and … [Read more...]
Ng’s ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ A Sizzling Sophomore Novel
I first became acquainted with Celeste Ng when her debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, was a book blogger favorite but hadn’t hit the mainstream yet. It was before she won Amazon’s best book of the year in 2015 and she graciously joined in #30Authors. Since then, I’ve patiently (okay, not so patiently) awaited her sophomore novel and I’m overjoyed to report … [Read more...]
‘The Hate U Give’ by Angie Thomas Worth Every Piece of Praise
I often hear that we live in a post-racial America, that we have come a long way, and that progress has been made. For years we lived in a country where it was easier to sweep everyday racism and micro aggressions under the rug, giving the glossy veneer of a more accepting society.But those of us who pay attention know the truth: we live in a country where white … [Read more...]