I was unable to download and read this book before it expired, so I'm unable to give an honest review of it.

Just felt like this was slightly too on-the-nose for the majority of the time. I understand it was trying to portray a crucial issue, but I don't think it needed to be presented as something as foreign of a concept as it was to readers.

As a fellow BBC (British Born Chinese) and with there being so little British Asian voices out there compared to Asian Americans, I was really intrigued to see what this book was about.

At first I have to admit, I wasn't so sure about which category 'The Life of a Banana' fit into. It was too serious for a children's book but seemed childish for YA or adult fiction. Another thing I wasn't too sure about was how there was a lot going on in the book. I liked how it didn't hold back and spoke out about numerous serious topics but I felt these could have been delved into a lot deeper. At the same time, I get how it's an accurate representation of how Asian people like to sweep bad things under the rug and forget about them.

I think this book represented the British Chinese communities well but I would've liked to have seen more. There were some parts that I clicked with and to have something like that meant a lot to me. I've read books before that I've connected to but to have the level of relevance that this book had really touched me. I also found the last half of the book really endearing and it got me.

Overall, although it's seems like I've been mostly picking out the negatives from this book, believe me when I say it's so empowering to British Asians out there. To hear a voice that they can relate to and mirrors theirs definitely means a lot.

The premise of this book appealed to me right off the bat, and while as a whole the book was good. I did find there were a few things that let it down for me.
Personally I felt that the characters and the story could have benefitted from a little more fleshing out. I was enjoying the book but wanted more. More depth to the characters and the story so that I could feel a little more pulled into the book.
However, that may just be personal preference.
I did enjoy the book. It was a quick read with some great moments.

I didn’t engage with the characters enough to not be bothered by the slow and predictable pace. I finished, but it was very hard.

The Life of a Banana is a young adult novel with some very adult themes. Although it took awhile to get into this after a slow start, it was worth sticking to it and got much stronger in the end.

I couldn't get into this story as much as I had hoped. It started slow and picked up just as slowly. It was also predictable.

This was a really interesting book but i had a bit of difficulty getting through it. I was having a hard time connecting to the characters in it as i found the voice of Xing Li a bit too juvenile. The theme of family being at the centre was a really strong element of the story and this was one element i think Wong did well. Overall, i would recommend this book for young adult readers as it feels like a stretch for adult readers.

I thought the ideas and themes that this book covered resonated, and provided insight to readers unfamiliar with the challenges faced by a "model minority". Sadly, the narrative voice just grated on my nerves in a way that I could only read a couple dozen pages at a time before having to put it down. I hope that tweens have a less banal life of the mind than is portrayed here. I've read plenty of books with protagonists at a similar age that seemed realistic without resorting to purposeful grammatical mistakes or misspelling famous composers' names (and after almost a year hanging out with a musician, I have to think she'd know it was 'Mozart' and not 'Mo's Art' ... it just made me roll my eyes and not like the main character who I really wanted to like). I also wanted more smooth resolution and more resolution, generally-- as the ending neared, the book felt abruptly different in style, rushed and then just didn't feel like enough.

Still, I'm glad for books that grapple with identity, bullying, and finding your allies in order to find your way as a young person of color.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ebook!

The Life of a Banana by PP Wong


One sentence plot summary:

In this book, Xing Li undergoes drastic changes after the untimely death of her mother on her twelfth birthday.

Spoilers Throughout:

I wanted to like this book.

I thought, okay. The story of a young Chinese girl who struggles to balance being British with her Chinese culture. That is a story that has endless potential.

In a lot of ways, the Life of a Banana did reach that potential. It illustrated the challenges that come from desperation to fit in, highlighted the lack of understanding between British children and immigrant parents, and really looked at what familial problems can do to a person. In addition to race and ethnicity, the book tackled issues of abuse and mental illness in a relatively honest way.

Still, I just didn't enjoy it. I didn't like Xing Li's voice and often felt that in the effort to make her sound like an adolescent, they missed all the surprising insightfulness that twelve year olds can demonstrate. I felt like the oversimplification of her character didn't do justice to the pretty gripping story that was right below the surface. A protagonist with a little more depth could have really brought those issues to the surface in a more compelling way.

As it stands, the book wasn't that interesting. Most scenes are short and lack full development. Nothing much happens and a lot is talked about. By far the most memorable scenes in the book are when Xing Li, her brother, Uncle Ho, Aunt Mei, and her grandmother share family dinners because those are the scenes that really highlight that tension between the grandmother's expectations and the kids' desires.

My biggest beef with this book is that I want more. I want to know what happened to Uncle Ho (my gut was that when grandma said he was dead, she meant it as a figurative death, but since we never see him again after he is institutionalized for suicidal thoughts, we can't be sure). I want more than three pages of the deep friendship between George Tan and Rose, a storyline that wasn't really introduced until about 95% into the book. I want more of everything. If all the plot lines were developed just a little bit more, I would recommend this book. As it is, I don't. I can't recommend something that has left me feeling so, so unsatisfied.

Thanks so much to Net Galley for the ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

3/5

I loved this touching story about growing up Chinese in London, told through a sad yet lighthearted narrative by Xing Li, who is sent with her brother to live with her grandma, her aunt and her strange uncle after her mother is killed in a freak accident. It's painful at times to read about the bullying that Xing Li is subjected to, but there is also an undercurrent of hope.

I love this book so much. The plot is excellent, with lots of twists and turns. My favourite aspect of this book was by far the characters they are amazing the protagonist, Xing Li, just felt so real to me and I loved her so much and want.to read more about her. I would highly recommend :)

I didn't like this book much. For one thing, I think Xing Li was written a bit too young for me. Perhaps a younger reader would like the way the books written better, but a lot of things just annoyed me. I would have thought a twelve year old would know what tablets look like and not have to put them in her mouth to find out they're not sweets. Also she lives in London so I don't see why she wouldn't know how to spell Trafalgar. But even if she does't know how to spell Trafalgar or Wagner, or any of the other words the author deliberately misspelled in this book, I don't think they need to be written out like that. The voice was fine without misspellings and I still can't work out who she was meaning by "Bart".

I also didn't really like the way that Uncle Ho was written. I can understand why the family would treat him like that, not knowing what to do about him and not wanting to seek advice, but the author didn't use a lot of tact when writing about him. He was constantly referred to as strange and there was rarely any sympathy for him from the narrator. I feel that authors have a responsibility to show that people shouldn't be seen in that way, regardless of how the characters act towards him.

In short, this just wasn't the book for me at all. I think younger readers could enjoy it, but the treatment of mental health (or whatever it was that Uncle Ho suffered from) was really awful.

The Life of a Banana is about a girl born and raised in London with a Chinese background. When her mother passes away her grandmother takes over her care and is appalled that the children are becoming too western. Xing Li doesn't fit in at her new posh private school where everybody refers to her by a racial slur. The main character is sweet and sympathetic. It's quite a pleasant read.

The Life of a Banana is a moving and sharp novel about identity and family. Twelve-year-old Xing Li was born in Hackney and grew up in Kilburn, but still most people just see her as 'Chinese'. When her mother dies, her and her brother move in with their rich grandmother and end up at exclusive private schools where they stand out against a sea of white people. She finds herself balancing her identity even more as her grandmother emphasises Chinese culture and food and her main solace is her new friend Jay, a mixed race boy with a love for classical music.

This is a memorable novel with interesting characters that shines a light on identity, racism, and feeling like you belong. It also looks at family and grief, bullying and trying to carve a place for yourself that might not be what other people see for you.

I really tried to get into this one because it sounded awesome, but the narrative voice was just too young and cutesy for my tastes. I'm giving it three stars because books like this - that examine the experiences of second or third generation immigrants - are really important, and I think this might work better for middle school kids than it did for me.