asianamlitfans | Aug. 1st, 2019

Aug. 1st, 2019

A Review of Cindy Pon’s Ruse (Simon & Schuster Children’s, 2019).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

This title—Cindy Pon’s Ruse—was definitely one I was anticipating because I was a big fan of the first in this series (Check out Want). Pon is also the author of a four other YA fictions, so she’s definitely one of the most prolific writers out there in this genre. The premise of this sequel is an extension of the first. But let’s let the official page give us more general insight:

“Jason Zhou, his friends, and Daiyu are still recovering from the aftermath of bombing Jin Corp headquarters. But Jin, the ruthless billionaire and Daiyu’s father, is out for blood. When Lingyi goes to Shanghai to help Jany Tsai, a childhood acquaintance in trouble, she doesn’t expect Jin to be involved. And when Jin has Jany murdered and steals the tech she had refused to sell him, Lingyi is the only one who has access to the encrypted info, putting her own life in jeopardy. Zhou doesn’t hesitate to fly to China to help Iris find Lingyi, even though he’s been estranged from his friends for months. But when Iris tells him he can’t tell Daiyu or trust her, he balks. The reunited group play a treacherous cat and mouse game in the labyrinthine streets of Shanghai, determined on taking back what Jin had stolen. When Daiyu appears in Shanghai, Zhou is uncertain if it’s to confront him or in support of her father. Jin has proudly announced Daiyu will be by his side for the opening ceremony of Jin Tower, his first ‘vertical city.’ And as hard as Zhou and his friends fight, Jin always gains the upper hand. Is this a game they can survive, much less win?”

So, Jin is the major antagonist of this novel, much like the first. In this case, Jin has now moved on to other technology that he can use to make a huge profit. In this way, though Jin is figured as a kind of “big bad,” the other, larger big bad is that of global capitalism. Pon definitely pushes herself aesthetically here, as she must incorporate more narrative perspectives. One notable addition is given to Jany, the gifted inventor—and here I will provide my requisite spoiler warning—who we soon come to find out has been killed off by Jin’s henchman. Lingyi is still alive, but her association to Jany makes it so that she must reach out to the entire team (including Zhou) in order to find a way to save Jany’s technology from exploitation. The surviving members of the team (Vic dies in the blast targeting Jin Corporation) band together to find a way to take Jin down, but they need someone on the inside. Who better than Daiyu? The problem is that Jin must convince the team that Daiyu is trustworthy. Given the romance plot of the first book, I found it hard to believe that Daiyu could ever really betray Zhou, so I found—at least in my humble opinion—that narrative tension not to be so compelling. In likewise fashion, Jin’s hard to root for, so there’s a level of complexity that I sort of wished he had more of… there’s almost no single redeemable quality about this guy, which makes the plot a little bit too straightforward for my taste. But, despite my personal critiques, there’s so much to laud about this work. Pon’s especially gifted at world building: the Taiwan and Shanghai of the future traffic in a complex and enriching mix of dystopian/utopian elements. You’ll marvel at the descriptions of the vertical city but find yourself dismayed by the fact that there is such a large schism in class dynamics. Certainly, Pon’s working within the framework of the ever widening gap between the rich and poor, and this divide is where the novel achieves its most exciting, political textures.

For more on this book, go here!

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Ruse/Cindy-Pon/9781534419926

Review Author: Stephen Hong Sohn
Review Editor: Xiomara Forbez

If you have any questions or want us to consider your book for review, please don't hesitate to contact us via email!
Prof. Stephen Hong Sohn at sohnucr@gmail.com
Xiomara Forbez, PhD Candidate in Critical Dance Studies, at xforb001@ucr.edu

xiomara

A Review of Daniel Nieh’s Beijing Payback (Ecco, 2019).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

Let me just say: Daniel Nieh’s Beijing Payback… I loved it. One of the most entertaining reads of the year, and certainly one of the strongest noirs I have ever read. It’s one of those books that stayed with me long after the last page. I went online and checked out to see if Nieh had anything else already cooking and whether or not there would be more installments with this protagonist. In any case, let’s get you some information from the HarperCollins website:

“A fresh, smart, and fast-paced revenge thriller about a college basketball player who discovers shocking truths about his family in the wake of his father’s murder. Victor Li is devastated by his father’s murder, and shocked by a confessional letter he finds among his father’s things. In it, his father admits that he was never just a restaurateur—in fact he was part of a vast international crime syndicate that formed during China’s leanest communist years. Victor travels to Beijing, where he navigates his father’s secret criminal life, confronting decades-old grudges, violent spats, and a shocking new enterprise that the organization wants to undertake. Standing up against it is likely what got his father killed, but Victor remains undeterred. He enlists his growing network of allies and friends to finish what his father started, no matter the costs.”

This rather pithy description already gets us into about one-third of the way through the novel. The opening establishes what seems to be a rather pedestrian life: Victor’s grown up in relative privilege alongside his sister Jules. Victor and Jules are both of mixed-race background; their mother dies while they are relatively young (from cancer). At some point, a shadowy, slick figure named Sun arrives giving Victor and Jules more information than they want to know. Victor is convinced that he must travel to Beijing to figure out who killed his father and enact a form of revenge. When Victor gets to China, things get pretty hairy pretty fast. He begins to learn about his father’s time as part of that crime syndicate, and the fact that there were considerable fissures within the group. While Victor’s father retained one loyal ally (a crime boss by the name of Ai), he had made at least two other significant enemies over the handling of a possible smuggling operation (purportedly or at first thought to be concerning ketamine… we discover that the smuggling involved something else entirely by the novel’s end). The reason why Nieh’s novel is so successful is that you’re totally enmeshed in Victor’s point-of-view. You generally feel as clueless as he does about who to trust, but you always believe in his earnestness and desire to find out more about his family and his background. Nieh is also devastatingly talented at character development. He brings in letters and key dialogic interplays to give us a sense of the murky world that Victor inhabits. And, of course, you’re entirely prepared for the conclusion, something that Nieh has been patiently and logically planning the entire time, but when it hits, you’ll understand the very messy dynamics that make for families and their alternative kinships. A true can’t miss summer read. Bring it with you to the pool, to the beach, on the plane, on the train…

For more on this book, go here:

https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062886644/beijing-payback/

xiomara

A Review of Justina Chen’s Lovely, Dark, and Deep (Scholastic 2018).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

So I’ve gotten into this very bad habit of writing half-reviews and then forgetting that I need to finish them. It’s the perils of having a to-do list that is about 20 pages long. Once upon a time, it was not this way, but I am digressing. Let’s get back on track with a description of Justina Chen’s Lovely, Dark, and Deep (Scholastic 2018) via the official website on Scholastic.com:

“What would you do if the sun became your enemy? That's exactly what happens to Viola Li after she returns from a trip abroad and develops a sudden and extreme case of photosensitivity — an inexplicable allergy to sunlight. Thanks to her crisis-manager parents, she doesn't just have to wear layers of clothes and a hat the size of a spaceship. She has to stay away from all hint of light. Say goodbye to windows and running outdoors. Even her phone becomes a threat when its screen burns her. Viola is determined to maintain a normal life, particularly after she meets Josh. He's a funny, talented Thor look-alike who carries his own mysterious grief. But the intensity of their romance makes her take more and more risks, and when a rebellion against her parents backfires dangerously, she must find her way to a life — and love — as deep and lovely as her dreams.”

I believe (and I need to rely upon a hazy memory here) that Viola (who is of mixed race Asian American background) suffers from a pretty bad case of solar urticaria, meaning that whenever she is exposed to sunlight and practically any light, she can develop rashes all over her body. The rashes aren’t the only problem; they’re also accompanied often by lethargy and fatigue, so much so that it takes Viola often multiple days to recover. This form of photosensitivity is difficult to diagnose but even more difficult to treat, and Viola must come to terms with the possibility that she could have to deal with this condition for quite a long time. Of course, this development throws a wrench into her growing friendship and possible romance with Josh, who happens to be immensely handsome and popular. Viola’s naturally suspicious about Josh, who has had a reputation (in the past) of being somewhat of a bad-boy. But the two begin to bond over a developing comic book that Josh has been working on, and over the course of this connection, Viola eventually discovers that Josh is still mourning the death of his twin brother. In any case, Chen has mastered the young adult form, as she’s written a number of other excellent works in the genre. There’s always some sort of central romance plot that is endangered by a considerable obstacle that will ultimately be resolved (but not without complications). Chen is consistently able to create spirited heroines, which makes this formula work in its many variations. Viola Li is no different: she’s absolutely determined to live a full life despite her photosensitivity. It’s her indomitable attitude that elevates this young adult fiction beyond its will they or won’t they teen courtship conventions.

Buy the book Here:

https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/book/lovely-dark-and-deep-by-justina-chen/

xiomara

A Review of Randy Ribay’s Patron Saints of Nothing (Kokila, 2019).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

Patron Saints of Nothing

So, this novel, Randy Ribay’s Patron Saints of Nothing, packs quite the powerful punch. Let’s let the official description give us some key details:

SEE“A powerful coming-of-age story about grief, guilt, and the risks a Filipino-American teenager takes to uncover the truth about his cousin’s murder. Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte’s war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story. Hoping to uncover more about Jun and the events that led to his death, Jay is forced to reckon with the many sides of his cousin before he can face the whole horrible truth — and the part he played in it. As gripping as it is lyrical, Patron Saints of Nothing is a page-turning portrayal of the struggle to reconcile faith, family, and immigrant identity.”

Ribay is also the author of two other YA fictions but I have not yet had a chance to read them. As I have discovered, there are always more books to read =). In any case, so the description gets us to the point that Jay has traveled to the Philippines and looks to find out more details about Jun’s untimely death. While staying with Jun’s parents and two sisters, the letters that Jun had written to Jay are stolen. He immediately assumes it’s Jun’s father, Tito Maning, who has taken those letters, especially since Tito Maning doesn’t seem to want to discuss anything related to Jun. Eventually, Jay’s desire to find out more about Jun’s death leads to familial tension, and Jay is forced to leave early. He next visits his Titas (Chato and her partner Ines); once at their home, he finds a far more welcoming atmosphere and gains some leads related to Jun and the circumstances that might have lead up to his death. Over the course of the novel, Jay is also able to make some journalistic alliances (in part related to his connection to Jun’s sister Grace), which grant him yet more context behind Jun’s life and premature death. Ultimately the novel is a coming-of-age, one in which Jay comes to realize how important the Philippines is to his identity. What is perhaps especially important to this novel is Ribay’s awareness of Jay’s privilege: as a transnational subject, he is able to go on this quest with a kind of mobility that not all the characters in the novel can claim. In this sense, Ribay’s work reminds us of the limits of most fictional narratives (and so often specifically young adult novels), as they necessarily focus on individual trajectories and in this process, open up a larger world in which so much inequity exists. Ribay’s depiction of Duterte’s policies concerning the drug war, for instance, reveal how much latitude Jay does have. He gets to return to the United States and later tells his father that he wants to take a gap year and return to the Philippines. It is thus incredibly important that Ribay includes so many other characters, especially the journalists and activists who populate the back half of the text; they remind us that representational imaginaries are still tethered to a referential reality in which significant battles remain to be waged. Ribay’s work, given its strong emphasis on the power and potential of identification, can be paired alongside other texts that, for instance, are much more suspicious of these forms of fidelity. For instance, I immediately thought that Ribay’s novel would pair incredibly well with Brian Ascalon Roley’s American Son. Both works involve protagonists of mixed-race Filipino descent but each protagonist has very different reactions and responses to identity and conceptions of the diaspora. Overall the book is a wonderful addition to the canon of Filipino/a/x American literatures, and I’m encouraged to go back through Ribay’s two previous novels.

For More on the Book Go Here:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/602453/patron-saints-of-nothing-by-randy-ribay/9780525554912/