2020-02-11

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A Review of Alice Stephens’s Famous Adopted People (Unnamed Press, 2018).

A Review of Alice Stephens’s Famous Adopted People (Unnamed Press, 2018).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

This crazy, unexpected debut novel, Alice Stephens’s Famous Adopted People (Unnamed Press, 2018), is the kind where I am SO glad I did not read any sort of synopsis before beginning it. That being said, let’s let B&N provide YOU with some context (that I did not have): “Lisa Pearl is an American teaching English in Japan and the situation there—thanks mostly to her spontaneous, hard-partying ways—has become problematic. Now she’s in Seoul, South Korea, with her childhood best-friend Mindy. The young women share a special bond: they are both Korean-born adoptees into white American families. Mindy is in Seoul to track down her birth mom, and wants Lisa to do the same. Trouble is, Lisa isn’t convinced she needs to know about her past, much less meet her biological mother. She’d much rather spend time with Harrison, an almost supernaturally handsome local who works for the MotherFinder’s agency. When Lisa wakes up inside a palatial mountain compound, the captive of a glamorous, surgically-enhanced blonde named Honey, she soon realizes she is going to learn about her past whether she likes it or not. What happens next only could in one place: North Korea.”

Now, I’m going to delay for a second to give you your moment of the requisite PLOT SPOILERS warning, because I need to reveal some confusion about what goes on after Lisa wakes up in a “palatial mountain compound.” Look away now or forever be spoiled! The location of that compound is North Korea, and we discover that Honey is none other than Mindy’s biological mother. At this point, I’m going to be a little bit more vague because I’m not quite sure I understood everything as this story moves into the surreal from this point forward. While in that compound, Mindy is essentially forced to play by Honey’s rules in order to “earn” certain small privileges, but she is ultimately a prisoner. Also, Mindy’s genealogical ties extend in unexpected ways that potentially cast her into North Korea’s national spotlight. What is perhaps the most intriguing thing about Stephens’s novel is that it signals a move away from some of the memoir/ autobiographical approaches that have dominated the work of overseas adopted Koreans. In this sense, I was perhaps most interested in this novel as a kind of expansion of what the adoptee narrative might look like. At various points, Mindy is encouraged to write a novel that would explore her identity specifically as an adoptee, but she doesn’t necessarily want to be limited to this story. The satirical nature of the larger narrative going on in relation to Mindy, Honey LeBaron, and North Korea is an extension of this metacritique of the adoptee story.

Everything that Mindy thought about herself is put into question, but as the novel hurtles toward its crazy denouement, you begin to understand that not everything is so farcical. Indeed, as Mindy gets to know the people who live inside her compound, the novel considers the very “real” possibility of the lives existing under duress within the North Korean regime. In this sense, the novel has much in common with a work like Krys Lee’s How I Became a North Korean in emphasizing the importance of engaging in Korean American literature as one that is always haunted by the unending Korean War and that it is a nation that is still ultimately divided.

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Review Author: Stephen Hong Sohn
Review Editor: Leslie J. Fernandez

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 ssohnucr@gmail.com
Leslie J. Fernandez, PhD Student in English, at lfern010@ucr.edu

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A Review of Bryan Lee O’Malley (writer) and Leslie Hung’s (artist) Snotgirl Vol. 2

A Review of Bryan Lee O’Malley (writer) and Leslie Hung’s (artist) Snotgirl Vol. 2: California Screaming.
By Stephen Hong Sohn

Bryan Lee O’Malley (writer) and Leslie Hung (artist) are back with another set of Lottie Person’s escapades in Snotgirl Vol. 2: California Screaming. B&N provides us with this pithy description: “From the creator of SCOTT PILGRIM! Lottie Person is a glamorous fashion blogger living her best life in L.A. - at least that's what she wants you to think. CALIFORNIA SCREAMING finds Lottie putting the past behind her and trying to make the best of a bad situation - her life! Lottie's new bestie is an emotional roller coaster: first she died, and then she killed someone. Who will Caroline hurt next, and what is her brother Virgil doing here? What secret is Detective John Cho seeking in the desert? Why did Cutegirl ghost her sister? Is Normgirl really going to marry Ashley? And what in god's name did Sunny ever see in Charlene? These questions and many others may possibly be answered in SNOTGIRL, VOL. 2: CALIFORNIA SCREAMING!”

Much of the success of California Screaming depends upon a subjective response to Lottie Person: do you give her much room to be so fixated upon her image? The answer ends up being quite important, especially because we see how often she hides her insecurities in order to present herself as an absolutely put-together “fashion blogger,” who does not have to worry about such unrefined things as excessive mucous, the likes of which continually plague her due to her allergies. Her frenemies—as we cannot necessarily call them friends—are equally problematic in what might be considered superficial fixations, so we’re left continually grasping at the next level of depth in this installment. O’Malley does give us that level when addressing what’s gone on with Charlene, who had previously been pushed off a building (by Caroline, one of Lottie’s complicated, obsessive relationships). Hung’s manga-like drawings are absolutely effective in drawing out the spectacular surfaces necessary for characters like these. And there are enough loose ends still left at the end of this volume to let us know we’re still due for more hijinks from Lottie and her fellow denizens.

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wildcard

A Review of Marie Lu’s Wildcard (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2018).

A Review of Marie Lu’s Wildcard (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2018).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

Marie Lu returns with her follow-up to Warcross! In Wildcard (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2018), our hacker-cyberpunk-ish protagonist Emika Chen is back, trying to save the world from the dastardly effects of the Neurolink technology. As you might recall—here is your spoilers warning—at the end of Warcross, Emika’s love interest, none other than the CEO of Henta Games Hideo Tanaka, has initiated the newest Neurolink technology, which has effectively rendered every citizen connected to that interface subject to an internal monitoring system. Those individuals who committed crimes in the past are forced to confront feelings of guilt and responsibility, leading many to turn themselves in; others have purportedly committed suicide rather than suffer the consequences of their actions. But, there are some questions about the technology, especially as it cannot be established why it is certain people are resorting to suicide. Hideo and his corporate henchpeople are convinced that the suicides are the result of guilty feelings, but Emika and others are not necessarily assured and wonder about whether or not there are faults to the Neurolink technology. At the end of the day, the power that Hideo has through the Neurolink technology is the larger problem, as he can establish certain protocols that could force people to engage in actions that they would not initiate on their own. But, of course, there’s a larger reason for Hideo’s choice: he wants to find out who might have kidnapped his younger brother Sasuke many years earlier. He believes that the culprit may be unveiled through the Neurolink, but what Hideo doesn’t realize is that the folks behind Sasuke’s kidnapping have their own designs upon this virtual interface technology.

Indeed, as readers discover, Emika has been approached by someone named Zero, who is later unmasked as Sasuke himself. Sasuke is working with an assassin (named Jax) and a doctor (named Taylor) to stop Hideo; they attempt to recruit Emika so that they can disrupt the Neurolink. While Emika is already suspicious of Hideo’s communal interface apparatus, she doesn’t necessarily trust Sasuke, Jax or Taylor, so she’s stuck in between two competing entities. Fortunately, Emika does have some allies; most of her companions from her warcross playing team in the first book reappear (such as Roshan, Hammie, and Tremaine). Complicating matters further is the fact that Hideo doesn’t realize that Zero is Sasuke. In any case, the plot’s quite complicated, and it ONLY gets twistier from this point forward.

In fact, my biggest “beef” about the novel was the extent to which Lu goes all in with betrayals, reversals, and reveals throughout the plotting. At some point, I was suspecting that Emika herself might simply be a figment of my imagination, as one revelation piled on top of the next. My other critique was the primary romance plot. At some point, because I had already invested in Emika as a heroine, I just did not believe she would fall for someone like Hideo after all of his questionable actions. There didn’t seem to be enough redeemable things about this guy for someone as smart as Emika to fall for, so I found myself distracted by her pining of this guy, who (whether or not he meant for so many people to commit suicide) may have ended up killing people who were innocent (a fact that Emika herself admits). In any case, the challenge of the YA fiction is so much related to the issue of plotting momentum, which can override other elements such as character development/ arc and the texture/ complexity of the fictional world. There is so much put into the stakes of the primary antagonistic forces that pit Zero/ Sasuke against Hideo/ Neurolink that I found myself a little bit unmoored. But, of course, this opinion is really coming from one reader, and I will admit I finished the novel expeditiously.

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A Review of Monstress Volume 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu (writer) and Sana Takeda’s (illustrator)

A Review of Monstress Volume 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu (writer) and Sana Takeda’s (illustrator) (Image Comics, 2017).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

So, last year I actually taught the first graphic novel volume from the Monstress series for my course on trauma theory and Asian American fiction. This new volume adds to the already complex mythology outlined in the earlier publication. Mara Danoff’s review over at ComicsVerse gives us a useful background of this work: “MONSTRESS VOL. 2 continues Maika Halfwolf’s story in discovering her family’s history and the power that lies within her. To complete this mission, Maika must travel across the harrowing sea to the Isle of Bone. Years ago, her mother completed this very same journey. Thus, she hopes to discover why an ancient monstrum dwells within her, and her mother’s secrets. The monstrum, of course, is this ancient, other-worldly force that practically acts as a god of the realm. The monstrum and the Shaman Empress, an ancient arcanic female who wielded immense power that both humans and arcanics covet, appear as key elements in Maika’s quest in discovering more about her mother. The authors unveil bits of the deeper narrative, as the relationship of this monstrum and the elusive Shaman Empress starts revealing itself. It appears nothing is quite as simple as it first seemed, and Maika and her companions still have much to learn about the world they inhabit” (https://comicsverse.com/monstress-vol-2-review-secrets-high-seas/).

This quest brings back a bunch of Maika’s allies, who include a catform necromancer and a cute little foxgirl named Kippa. Kippa has always been one of those characters I am strongly ambivalent about. On the one hand, she’s obviously there as a way to provide relief because this fictional world is so full of dark forces and dark events. On the other, she almost seems out of place given the severity of the story itself, so I could not help but feel occasionally emotionally manipulated. What I appreciated most about the second volume is that Liu is providing Kippa with a more complicated background, one that suggests that she is evolving as a character and coming to understand that her choices are not necessarily as innocent as they seem.

The other element that this novel is now fully engaging is the problems of the mother-daughter genealogical plot. In this specific case, Maika begins to see that her mother may have had flawed intentions in going upon the original quest to the Isle. What becomes further apparent is the Maika is simply trying to find a way to figure out how she can actually deal with a life in which the monster inside of her constantly needs to feed. If there is an ethic at all being represented by this monster’s predatory hunger, it is that Maika does attempt to assert a form of control by trying to evade the people she cares about whenever the monster is looking to feed. Nevertheless, this insatiable need must find a target, so this problem will no doubt continue to telescope the war that is being waged inside of her. The last volume, much like this one, is sumptuous in illustrations and the world building is still first rate. The concluding panels suggest the genealogical quest remains, so we’ll see if Liu and Takeda can strike gold for a third time.

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A Review of Monstress Volume 3: Haven by Marjorie Liu (writer) and Sana Takeda (illustrator)

A Review of Monstress Volume 3: Haven by Marjorie Liu (writer) and Sana Takeda (illustrator) (Image Comics, 2018).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

As the series has moved on, I’ve been enjoying it more and more. Monstress Volume 3: Haven by Marjorie Liu (writer) and Sana Takeda (illustrator) (Image Comics, 2018) has now finally come out, drawing out the complicated world in which Maika Halfwolf resides. My favorite character remains Kippa, the little fox girl, who is so instrumental to this particular fictional world precisely because she’s the rain of sunshine we really need. Here, I provide the requisite spoiler warning because, well, I’m going to tell you that this volume is also the most heartbreaking. Liu and Takeda must have known that Kippa was the breakout star of the series and the one that provides the most emotional stability to this narrative because of her utter desire to remain ethical in a world of literal and metaphorical monsters hellbent on power grabs and apocalyptic consumption. So, of course, they decide to put her in danger.

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves a bit. The major storyline involves Maika and her allies finding a refuge in a coastal city, but they also need to help repair a shield that keeps that location safe from enemies. Maika’s attempt to fix the shield doesn’t necessarily work out, but she transforms the device in such a way as to generate a catastrophic blast that not only decimates foes but also results in some collateral damage. In the meantime, Kippa has been busy. She’s found her people, many of whom are refugees. She wants to help them escape because they are under siege, but while she is doing some humanitarian good, it becomes apparent that Ren, our wily little feline companion, has a side quest that requires him basically to kidnap Kippa. We’re instructed to understand that something bad may be in store for the little fox girl, so we’re worried. At the same time, we wonder: will Ren really turn in Kippa to the cat-Ancients? Eventually, our faith is restored in Ren when he tries to defend Kippa from being taken, but he is seriously wounded, and this volume ends with Kippa having been taken.

On Maika’s front, her relationship with the God inside of her seems to be evolving. Whereas the God’s initial presence was clearly seen as an affront, they seem to be moving closer and closer to an uneasy alliance, somehow brokered in part because Maika isn’t having her own identity subsumed by this figure. But, Liu doesn’t want to give us much of a reprieve, as we’re absolutely devastated to discover what’s happened with Kippa. Marjorie: don’t do it! Save Kippa! In any case, Takeda’s visuals are stunning, as always. I definitely am at the edge of my seat for the next volume, anticipating that Kippa will (and must be) saved, however dire the situation!

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A Review of S.L. Huang’s Zero Sum Game (Tor Books, 2018).

A Review of S.L. Huang’s Zero Sum Game (Tor Books, 2018).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

Let me be frank: I wanted to like S.L. Huang’s debut Zero Sum Game more than I did. To be sure, it has quite a lot going for it: a very likeable protagonist, an intriguing mystery plot, and engages in an interesting meld of noir and speculative fiction. But the denouement was definitely not of my personal preference; it left me feeling a dejected. In any case, let’s get B&N to pave a little bit of the story path for us, as per usual: “A blockbuster, near-future science fiction thriller, S.L. Huang's Zero Sum Game introduces a math-genius mercenary who finds herself being manipulated by someone possessing unimaginable power… Cas Russell is good at math. Scary good. The vector calculus blazing through her head lets her smash through armed men twice her size and dodge every bullet in a gunfight, and she'll take any job for the right price. As far as Cas knows, she’s the only person around with a superpower...until she discovers someone with a power even more dangerous than her own. Someone who can reach directly into people’s minds and twist their brains into Moebius strips. Someone intent on becoming the world’s puppet master. Cas should run, like she usually does, but for once she's involved. There’s only one problem... She doesn’t know which of her thoughts are her own anymore.”

I sometimes wonder who writes these descriptions, just because they can be so indirectly inaccurate, but perhaps that’s what a marketing team might want. In this case, the opening of the novel sees Cas Russell on a mission to help rescue Courtney Polk, who seems to have gotten into some trouble with drug denizens. But, things get immediately very complicated when Courtney Polk disappears, two of her closest allies are killed off, a fellow mercenary Rio emerges with some key information, and something related to a thing called Pithica seems to be behind everything going from bad to worse. Cas Russell strikes up a tentative alliance with a detective named Tresting, who seems to be on a similar path, but a figure who Cas originally thought was Courtney Polk’s sister (a character named Dawna Polk) ends up being someone else entirely. If I’ve confused you, it’s only because Huang’s novel is quite the complicated plot, with a number of twists and turns.

Here’s where I provide my plot spoiler warning, so look away or be blinded by all of the reveals! The reason why the description ends up stating that Cas “doesn’t know which of her thoughts are her own anymore” is because, as the readers soon also discover, Dawna Polk is something of a telepath. With her ability to read people’s minds, she can also use psychological sleights of hand to make them do whatever she wants. Some people are able to resist more effectively than others, but the strain of this resistance causes severe headaches. Cas is one such resistant person, but she too eventually succumbs. Why this plot device is SO interesting is that Huang uses a first person narrative perspective. Thus, when Cas is under the control of Dawna, the narrative can get confusing because she does not seem always to be acting logically. Even once she becomes aware of Dawna’s power, the readers are left a little bit in the dark, as Cas is, about which thoughts are hers and which are really Dawna’s commands. In this sense, this novel is the acme of the unreliable narrator, one which is especially intriguing because the narrator is made unreliable against her own will.

In any case, one of my constructive critiques of the work is that I really wanted more of the mathematical elements in this text. Diagrams, pictures, etc. would have all worked really well to get a sense of how Cas’s mathematical mind works. Instead, Huang resorts to descriptions and terms that many simply won’t be fully familiar with, so the impact of what Cas is able to do with her mind is somewhat lost. Finally, as I mentioned at the outset of the review, I found the conclusion really lacking. It’s basically a détente, with the battle between Cas and Pithica forces coming to a standstill, which is in some sense where the novel really began, so… I’ll leave it there. Rest assured, dear readers of these reviews, I’ll still read whatever else comes my way from S.L. Huang!

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