Welcome to Litsy!

A quirky book, but I liked it

Magical pencils that unlock memory? I was all in. Loved the family legacy, the historical Shanghai storyline, and the bond between Monica and her grandmother. But the romance subplot lost me—too quick a reconciliation after a betrayal that left a bad taste. Still, a creative debut that mixes historical fiction, speculative magic, and family drama in an original way. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

SO good. I‘m really looking forward to my book club‘s discussion! This book was very readable and centered on a Chinese American college student and her grandmother. They are part of a legacy of women who made elite pencils and… there is some magical realism about how they use the pencils. It‘s so original and memorable. Themes of memory, war/loyalty, communication, privacy, queer love. Great relationships of all types. Well written. Read it!

Loved this story of two Chinese grandmothers and their story through magic that is in their blood. Granddaughters that live in Boston and want to learn about their grandmothers past. Fantasy mixed with history and technology of today. So good. First novel by this author. Excellent. Power of the written word and the loss of people talking to each other.

I wasn‘t too sure about this because magical realism usually just annoys me but there was so much more going on - the relationship between Monica and her grandparents, her friendship and blossoming romance with Louise, the relationship between Meng and Yun, the Chinese history… so much to take in, hard to believe it‘s a debut.

I didn‘t love the audio narration so give it a preview before committing.

My July #BookSpin

Finished today by the pool. Not my usual type of book. 📖 📝

Well, that was a new book and whilst some of it irritated me, I liked the overall theme of love, family and belonging.

This is historical fiction with elements of magical realism. I really enjoyed the historical story set in Shanghai during the war with Japan, WWII and then the escape of people to Taiwan after WWII. I also liked the present-day timeline, and the coming-of-age story complete with some very chaste romance. I would have, however, preferred a more realistic spying method instead of the magical realism. Thanks to Edelweiss+ for the ARC. 3.5/5 stars

⭐️⭐️💫

This book had a cool juxtaposition of traditional and modern elements and I liked how it explored stories - how to preserve them, who can share them, and when to consider a reframe of our well-trodden personal narratives. However, it felt slow to me and I just couldn‘t really get into it. #reesesbookclub🎧

I really enjoyed this. The audio was great.