Parachutes

Honestly, I thought that when I came to review this itd be a 3 star book- simply because the middle was just so murky, in in that I wish it were longer and more flushed out so that more events made sense, because so often I was going isnt that a little soon?- which is just a personal thing. However, this book really proved itself in the last 200 pages. Lord, everyone needs to read this book because it is SO powerful. I cant even joke around, I sat in one spot for three and a half hours after a 8 hour work shift and read the whole thing. Im so glad I stuck through it, because it was such a powerful book that everyone needs to know the message of. Youll know if you read this book. Highly recommend- and dont get lost in that little bit (50~ pages or so)- and tough it out. This book is so important. Also, I am so proud of the author for the Authors Note at the end- coming out about an assault against such a big organization would be terrifying. She handled it with so much grace- I definitely would have had a few choice words for them.

This is the second book that I have read by Kelly Yang. I have also read her book Front Desk. The books switches back and forth between two main characters. We first meet Claire, who lives in Shanghai, China and comes to the US for her schooling her the rest of her junior year. Our second main character is Dani and she lives in East Covina, California. Claire comes to stay with her and her Mom and attend the same school as Dani. I think this was a great book. I think it did a good job of helping the reader to understand what its like to come to America and live with a host family while attending school. Plus, challenges that students that people of color and less privileged deal with as well. Also, how it dealt with a sensitive topic that Im sure is swept under the rug a lot. I can see readers learning many things from this book.

This was a very real and raw story. I really liked it although there wasn’t much of a plot. More like (very unfortunate) slice of life.

I am also the child of immigrants so reading other cultures stories is very interesting to me. The concept of “saving face” is not unique to Chinese culture.

I enjoyed this book a lot! It explores so many important themes, and in a sensitive way. The character are likeablemost of the time (just like real people), and their growth through the story is satisfying and inspiring.

Could NOT put this down–read cover-to-cover within 24 hours.

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