Tag: 5 out of 5 book

Jamie Chai Yun Liew’s—Dandelion

In a small mining town in eastern British Columbia, Lily and her sister Bea suffer racial slurs because of their Chinese heritage. At home, they listen to their mother’s constant moaning about how she hates Canada and nothing is as good as Brunei where she spent most of her earlier life. Just as the mine is closing down, their father discovers their mother’s clothes are gone and there’s no sign of her. The father is forced to bring up the children with the help of his sister and they move to Calgary.

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Kim Ryeo-Ryeong’s—The Trunk

Noh carts her trunk from one job to the next. Her latest is a repeat assignment with the same “husband” she spent a year with. Her parents know she works for W & L, but like her best friend, they have no idea exactly what she does. Her best friend sets her up on a blind date with Tae-seong, but Noh takes an instant dislike to him, and he begins to stalk her. How will she navigate her present assignment and deal with Tae-seong?

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Mieko Kawakami’s—Heaven *****

While Kojima observes another student in her middle school class being bullied, he observes the other girls bullying Kojima. Soon he finds a note in his desk asking to meet. Who is sending this unsigned note? Is it the boys in his class making fun of him again? He’s not sure what to do, but either way, if it’s the boys who bully him, they’ll punish him no matter what decision he makes.

This is a compelling read told through the voice of the boy the students call Eyes.

Maggie O’Farrell—The hand that first held mine *****

When Innes first spies Lexie in the 1950’s, he is enthralled. She’s desperate to escape her boring English village and her siblings. She heads to London and works in a department store, but Innes soon entices her to his office where they make an inseparable team writing articles for his magazine.

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