OZYA Reviews Archives

Book Review: The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim

May 4, 2020

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim

Pages: 392
Publish date: August 5th 2019
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781760631581
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

Anna Chiu has her hands pretty full looking after her brother and sister and helping out at her dad’s restaurant, all while her mum stays in bed. Dad’s new delivery boy, Rory, is a welcome distraction and even though she knows that things aren’t right at home, she’s starting to feel like she could just be a normal teen.

But when Mum finally gets out of bed, things go from bad to worse. And as Mum’s condition worsens, Anna and her family question everything they understand about themselves and each other.

A nourishing tale about the crevices of culture, mental wellness and family, and the surprising power of a good dumpling.

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling:

I’ve been wanting to pick up a Wai Chim book for some time now. Not only is she a lovely human being, but she writes about things that matter, that not many other people do. And I love that. When I first read the synopsis of The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling I nearly jumped out of my seat. This book was for me. And let me tell you it’s just as amazing as it sounds. And of course, this was one of my picks for the CBCA Clayton’s Night.

Anna Chiu has a lot going on in her life. She is looking after her younger brother and sister, helping in her dad’s restaurant and trying to make it through school. While this all happens, her mother hasn’t moved from her bed. Anna simply doesn’t know what to do. And then she meets Rory, the new driver for her dad’s restaurant and as they begin to get closer, Anna finds something that truly makes her happy. But when her mum finally gets out of bed, things go from bad to worse.

Yuxiang Zhang

I thought that Anna was the perfect protagonist for The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling. From the very first page, I was able to feel everything that she felt. I was able to connect with her and that only grew as the novel went on. Anna goes through a lot throughout the novel and most of it is hard to read at times. But I loved that she was able to show weakness. It made her character feel very much real. I also loved that she wanted to help her father, that she felt that is where she needed it to be.

Wai Chim explores Anna’s characters just so well. Her character arc is amazing and the reader gets to see Anna go on a journey throughout the novel. And they want to go on this journey with her. I admired that Anna second-guessed herself and everything that was happening around her. She didn’t let it just slide by.

Rory oh my sweet Rory. I just want to give him the biggest heart imaginable. He caught my eye as soon as he came into the novel. Rory stands on his own but he also didn’t take over the novel either. Rory is this full character that adds something more to Anna’s life and that was amazing. But Rory’s life isn’t easy and I loved that this was explored. I adored that he pushed Anna to do new things and see things from different perspectives. While also honouring everything about Anna and the way she lives.

The romance in The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling was amazing. I loved it. Anna and Rory are adorable and they melted my heart. I loved how much they respected one another and took the time to understand why others live the lives they do. While Anna and Rory to have different dynamics they were able to find solace in one another and find this happy medium. One of the main reasons why I loved the romance in the novel was that it didn’t overpower the book, but also it was there and so beautiful.

Priscilla Du Preez

The notion of mental health is a major theme throughout The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim. It is explored in many different ways and through different characters. I think that is one of the main reasons why I loved this book so much. It showed that mental illness isn’t just this one thing. It comes in many different shapes, forms and be experienced by anyone. Anna’s family goes through a lot through the book, especially with her mother. Her mental health is very unstable and this leads to many ups and downs. This puts a lot of pressure on Anna, as she tries to keep her family afloat.

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling explores the dark side of mental illness through the novel and sometimes that was hard to read. The struggles that Anna’s mum goes through and how it affects the whole family was devastated and how Anna tried to manage it all. Especially regarding the relationship between mental illness and culture. But I also loved that this was looked at it. On the other side, we have Rory, who not only has his mental health to deal with, but also mangers to help Anna understand her mothers. I loved this and it made me admired Rory even more,

I adored the writing style of Wai Chim so much. It’s captivating and powerful. The reader goes on this journey with all the characters, through many ups and downs. Most of the time it isn’t easy but Wai Chim writes it in a way that captures everything about it. I think this is one of the best books I’ve read regarding mental illness and everything that comes with it. Especially when it’s one of the parents that do suffer. I also think that Wai Chim writes all types of relationships exceptionally well. From family dynamics to romance. It was all done so fantastic.

Charles Postiaux

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling truly captures what it’s like trying to live with mental illness. And while it explores the very dark times of living with a mental illness, it also shows that there is light in the darkness. There are ways to heal, but it’s not easy, it’s not instant. And sometimes it only takes a few small steps to get the ball rolling.

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim is an empowering novel that explores family, mental health and trying to find your own feet. While there is darkness in this novel and sometimes you feel like there is no hope. There is also warmth. It has one of the cutest romances ever. Anna and Rory were adorable together. They made my heart scream it was so beautiful.

Have you read The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? What are other #LoveOzYA’s that you have loved this year? Let’s Chat!

Blog Tour | Trust by Kylie Scott #LoveOzYA

Jul 21, 2017

Trust by Kylie Scott

Pages: 383
Publish date: July 18, 2017
Publisher: –
ISBN: 1546768092
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.

After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen-year-old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers.

While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.

An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.

Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.

Trust:

I received an e-arc of Trust by Kylie Scott from Inkslinger PR as part of their blog tour in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I hadn’t read any Kylie Scott books before I picked up Trust and now I cannot wait to read more. If you didn’t know before I started blogging, I never really read much contemporary, it was all fantasy. But, now I love reading it and while I do love it contemporary romances can feel quite the same. However, Trust was such a refreshing read that really stood out to me.

Trust follows protagonist Edie as she recovers after being held hostage during a terrifying robbery. With everything going on, she decides that she can’t deal with the snobbery of her private school and moves to a local public high school. It’s there she meets, John, the guy that saved her life. And let’s just say that things are about to get interesting.

What I loved most about Trust was how refreshing it was. It’s very rare to see a bigger girl in YA, especially as a love interest. That first drew me into Trust and I loved it so much. At times Edie was hard to get along with. You wanted to yell at her and give her a little shake. But, then at other times, you wanted to wrap your arms around her.

Edie has been a hell of a lot and I think nearly all the things she does or tries to do is so she could feel something. Something other being scared. I really liked the concept of PTSD or along those lines being presented in Trust. Edie had a gun to her head and that doesn’t just go away.

John was an interesting character in himself and it did take me a while to warm up to him. I really don’t know what it was, but it didn’t take me long to find out who he was. I did at times feel that it was too hard to connect with him and maybe it was because Edie and John both had walls up that needed to be cracked. John has a tough past, so I wasn’t expecting him to easy to get to know.

The romance in Trust was quite sweet at times. When you normally think ‘bad boys’ it’s the opposite, but John was really sweet with Edie. And as the novel went on you could see that they were starting to fall for each other. I also felt that Trust was very sex positive, especially for teens. Again something nice to see.

I didn’t like that there weren’t any amazing family relationships. It’s missed a lot in YA and I would have really enjoyed Trust more if there was. In saying that Edie relationship with her mum wasn’t horrible, just I wanted something more.

Overall, I really enjoyed Trust. Was it perfect? No. But it was still a refreshing YA contemporary that had a protagonist that isn’t typical for YA. She is flawed and is also on the larger side. And I was able to connect with her insecurities and some of the ways she looked at things. I enjoyed the romance and while I did want to see more, it was still very enjoyable. Trust explores the notion of finding yourself, falling in love and learning to breathe again.

Have you read Trust? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it. Have you read any other books by Kylie Scott. Let’s Chat!

Blog Tour: Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde | Review

May 31, 2017

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Pages: 288
Publish date: 26 April 2017
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781250111395
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

When BFFs Charlie, Taylor and Jamie go to SupaCon, they know it’s going to be a blast. What they don’t expect is for it to change their lives forever.

Charlie likes to stand out. SupaCon is her chance to show fans she’s over her public breakup with co-star, Reese Ryan. When Alyssa Huntington arrives as a surprise guest, it seems Charlie’s long-time crush on her isn’t as one-sided as she thought.

While Charlie dodges questions about her personal life, Taylor starts asking questions about her own.

Taylor likes to blend in. Her brain is wired differently, making her fear change. And there’s one thing in her life she knows will never change: her friendship with Jamie—no matter how much she may secretly want it to. But when she hears about the Queen Firestone SupaFan Contest, she starts to rethink her rules on playing it safe.

Queens of Geek:

I received an arc of Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde from Pan Macmillian in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

As soon as I read the synopsis for this one, I knew needed to get my hands on it. Queens of Geek is right up my alley. It’s geeky, nerdy and pop cultural to the max. It incorporates so much that I love into one book – and it was pretty great.

Queens of Geek follows protagonists Charlie and Taylor along with Jamie as they explore SupaCon. Best friends that seem different, but just click so well.

Charlie stands out in the crowd, YouTuber turned movie star, she adores doing what she loves. And her mission for SupaCon – to show her fans that she is over her ex-Reese. Then Alyssa Huntington shows up and everything is thrown out the window.

Taylor likes to blend in, she likes to move with the crowd. But SupaCon is ready to bust the bubble that Taylor has built around her. With her feelings for Jamie coming to the surface and a contest that she desperately wants to enter – Taylor’s life is about to change.

I loved reading Queens of Geek. It hit all the right places; it was full of romance, friendship and believing in yourself. It’s diverse and puts a very normal pop cultural aspects into a book and it was great.

I really enjoyed Charlie overall as a protagonist. She was strong, but she had her flaws that made her such an easy character to get along with. I loved that she not only stood up for herself but her friends as well. Throughout Queens of Geek the reader is able to see Charlie grow as a person and believe in herself even more. We see her struggle with past relationships and the pressure of being in front of a camera, with your whole life on display.

I feel like Taylor. I could connect with her on so many different levels it was crazy, but I loved it so much. Her passion for everything that she loved, including her friends was so great to see. I adored that she wasn’t ashamed to share her love for books, TV shows, movies. She is that fandom queen and it worked so well.

Another thing that hit the right spot for me was the diversity elements in Queens of Geek. Espiecally with anxiety and panic attacks. I connected on so many levels with Taylor because of this. With my experience, the representation of anxiety and panic attacks was so well done. I also like how it was normalized and how everyone around them didn’t hate it, or put the characters down for it.

Now the romance elements. One of my favourite tropes is ‘Friends to Lovers’, so you have no idea how excited I was about Taylor and Jamie. They were adorable together. I was squealing and couldn’t keep myself contained. I loved how much Jamie understood Taylor and knew when to step back. But he also knew when to push her and try and get her out of her bubble.

Charlie and Alyssa, while I really did enjoy it, a lot. It felt to insta-lovey for me. I really wanted to love it so much, because they were very cute together. But, it was hard getting passed that it had only been a few days. In saying that, I did like how Jen Wilde did portray them and how they connected over things in such ways.

Overall, I loved Queens of Geek. It’s a fun but emotional read that is for every pop cultural fan. It explores the notion of friendship and relationships. It’s about falling in love and letting yourself love. It’s about stepping out of that bubble and letting yourself be free. With beautiful friendships and romance, this book is one for everyone.

Have you read Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat!