Banyan Moon: A Read with Jenna Pick

ehhh i finished it? the plot had some interesting parts but overall the prose irritated me (way too much metaphor). the writing felt very contrived. didnt love any of the characters or their logic. not great

I love alternate timelines coming together to give character motivations concurrently. Also love when the setting feels like it's a character itself. Would read more from this author. This one gets 4.5/5 from me.

Picked this up during a reading challenge held by a local library branch. I walked into this not fully knowing what to expect but really enjoyed what I ended up reading. Certain parts regarding grief really resonated with me and reading about 3 generations of women was so interesting. The prose was so elegant too. This book was tough and there were times I felt like I was reading more than I actually was due to the subject matter it contained. This wasn't a complaint, it needed to be like that given the story Thao Thai was telling. 4 ⭐️

This was a pleasant read following the 3 generations of Vietnamese women and their current day relationship to the back story on how they became the strong independent single parent. Following the inheritance of the family home and the death of the matriarch, the main characters are forced to face their multi generational trauma. I found this book to not be too heavy nor triggering. As all female lead character book and with quite a few interesting debate topics, I would suggest this for a reading book club.