One Sentence Summary: When Jess and her family move back to Malaysia, Jess finds herself haunted by her estranged late grandmother on behalf of a god so both woman and god can take revenge on the businessman encroaching on the god's temple.

I don't actually know much about Malaysia, but have been trying to read more Asian-inspired fantasy, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review Black Water Sister. It turned out to be quite a surprise since the main character, Jess, and her family are Chinese Malaysian. There's a bit of a language barrier both for Jess and the reader as Malaysian words and an Asian manner of speech are used delightfully unapologetically, but it quickly grew on me and I discovered that reading the dialogue quickly actually made it make more sense in my head. But this was actually a really fascinating read with ghosts, gods, gangs, powerful businessmen, dead women seeking revenge, and the obligatory overly involved Asian elders.

The Plot

After her father's cancer goes into remission, Jess and her parents pack up and leave the States for Malaysia. Recently graduated from college and now separated by space from her girlfriend, Jess flounders when they arrive at her aunt's house, where they will be staying. Caught between family expectations and her girlfriend pushing for her to come out, Jess unexpectedly begins to hear her dead grandmother's voice.

Ah Ma has a score to settle, and has selected Jess as the one to house her spirit so she can finish her unfinished business. But, as Ah Ma slowly brings Jess into the world she inhabited while alive, full of ghosts and gods and a bloodthirsty goddess, Jess becomes caught up in it, stuck in the battle between the goddess, Ah Ma, and a wealthy businessman with surprising ties and a great deal of money and influence.

Life becomes dangerous for Jess, and she has to keep it all from her family because her mother and Ah Ma have been estranged for years. Becoming a medium is not what she wanted, but it might be the only way to lay vindictive spirits to rest.

For anyone looking for a strong Asian-inspired fantasy, Black Water Sister needs to be a contender. This book takes the reader and drops them straight into Malaysia, straight into a Chinese family living in Malaysia. It's there in every word, in the jumbled English they speak, in their beliefs, in the major and minor Asian gods sprinkled in throughout the story. There are so many different elements, but they worked really well together to form a really tight plot where nothing was extraneous.

I liked that there were a lot of clashes in this book. There are cultural clashes as Jess was brought up in America and has lost some of her Asian culture. Now she's madly trying to take up the language while also trying not to offend family and other characters. As a reader being dropped into Malaysia, Jess really is the reader's portal into the world, though it was still a little confusing at times. Then there's the religious clash. This one was fun since Jess's mother still has some dealings with the gods and Jess's aunt, the one Jess's family is currently living with, is well and truly Christian. The different ways they dealt with Jess's "possession" was equal bits fun and serious. Finally, there's something of a sexuality clash with Jess being lesbian, but her family still expecting her to marry a man. It doesn't actually create as much tension as the other two, but it's there as an undertone, as another secret Jess is keeping, one she has to struggle with the whole book. I really liked how all of it felt grounded in real life and came to life in the spaces between character interactions.

There's a lot of really good things in Black Water Sister, so I was kind of disappointed the romance subplot wasn't stronger. It's actually quite straightforward, but just seemed to be almost non-existent at the same time. Mostly, it was wrapped up in Jess struggling with coming clean to her parents, so much so that I questioned the inclusion of Jess's girlfriend since she didn't really play a plot changing role. But, at the same time, I'm kind of glad it was there. It gave Jess herself something to mull over, something that she alone had to deal with, something that could ground her to herself considering both Ah Ma and the Black Water Sister want to use her body.

But what I liked most was that Black Water Sister focuses on family. No matter how you look at it, it revolves around Jess's nutty family. Everyone plays some kind of role, whether it's to push the story forward or to highlight the world. It's all about those tight family bonds whether or not they're wanted.

The Characters

Black Water Sister revolves around Jess's family, her mother's family and her father's family. There are also some other characters who are indirectly related, but it's mostly about Jess's family. They came off as very Chinese Malaysian, an interesting mix of Chinese and Malaysian cultures that grounded each character, that gave them their direction and sense of self. At the same time, perhaps because I felt the focus was on using the culture to paint each character, most of the characters felt really one note. There wasn't much complexity to them, no real history. Jess, Ah Ma, and the Black Water Sister, though, were a fantastic trio. With two of them being dead, it was so much fun getting to know them and their histories while Jess was stuck dealing with them.

I really liked Jess. She's a blend of Chinese, Malaysian, and American and there were some threads of her struggles with figuring out how it all slotted into her life. She's continually pulled by her Asian culture, by what's expected of her from her family, but her heart really wants other things. She's gutsy, yet cautious and a little reckless because a god wants to use her as her medium. But I really loved how she truly cared about her family, how they were always a matter of concern to her. At the same time, she really starts to come into her own during the book, learning that she really is deeply loved and to find safety in it to pursue the scary.

The Setting

Black Water Sister presents a really interesting world. It's ours, but there's an overlay of the supernatural. Malaysia is modern and dripping with heat with new, hot businesses popping up and sweat stains appearing as soon as you step out the door. But there are still temples to the old gods. I really liked that it felt distinctly Asian. Most of the world was explored through the culture. It felt like a deep dive into it, and it took me some time to figure it out. On the one hand, I liked being dropped into it. On the other, I wanted a translation guide or something. But I did really love the strong Asian elements. It felt both familiar and foreign to me, as though I could use knowledge of my own background to navigate this world.

What I really enjoyed, though, were the supernatural elements. The gods were fascinating. Many of them had been people who had been lifted to godhood after death. It was fascinating and a lot of fun, though I was confused over the distinction between god and ghost since both were fully capable of using a human body.

Overall

Black Water Sister was a surprisingly fun and delightful read. There's definitely a serious streak running through it, but I was always caught off guard by just how much fun I found it to be. It's both lighthearted and serious, dealing with heavy topics, but the interactions Jess has with everyone is casual and, well, fun. I adored her relationship with Ah Ma, but did want more of her romantic relationship. Overall, though, I loved the supernatural elements, the strong Asian setting and culture, and found the characters to be a lot of fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ace for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I recently came back to Penang from America, a move between accents, languages, cultures, and names. Coming back to Malaysia—where kaypoh aunties with strong opinions about what is acceptable abound—always means taking a black marker to the ever-growing file of my life. Don’t say anything on the thorny subject of my grandmother. Don’t let slip anything gay, least of all the person I dated in college. Don’t let anyone—especially not my parents, who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much—see how much it is killing me to be the one who holds all their expectations and dreams.

If this sounds exactly like the premise of Zen Cho’s Black Water Sister, that’s because it is. Jess is closeted, unemployed, and uncertain if she really wants to move to a country she left when she was a toddler. When she starts hearing the voice of her dead Ah Ma in her head, she finds herself unexpectedly sucked into a world of hungry ghosts and hungrier gods, who use humans—in some ways, the hungriest of all—to carry out their wishes. Ah Ma is stubborn, acerbic, and determined to strike against a gang boss who offended her god. Through Jess, the will of the Black Water Sister has a conduit. But is Jess willing to be a vessel for the vengeful god?

At its heart, this book isn’t about ghosts, or queerness, or complicated relationships with family and culture (though it certainly contains all of these things). This is a book about the violence and injustice done to women who are bound by love or propriety or culture or religion to people who hurt them. From Ah Ma, who toiled in the rubber plantations only to return at dusk to an abusive husband, to Jess’s mother, who struggled for 19 years as an immigrant in America, to Jess herself, Black Water Sister provides a rare glimpse into the complexities of multiple generations in a Malaysian Chinese family. Even the minor comedic characters—most notably Jess’s Kor Kor (paternal aunt), who spends a significant chunk of time trying to convert Jess to Christianity—feel so authentically messy and well-intentioned that they take on a life of their own beyond the page.

And oh, how can I not talk about Penang as it appears in the book! Between Pak Din’s nasi dalca (which is indeed on Jalan Jelutong) and the mention of older uncles walking backwards in the Botanic Gardens (still a common sight despite the current MCO), the Penang Jess lands in is one that I immediately recognize from my own life. Cho also briefly touches on the plight of Malaysia’s migrant workforce, and, while she avoids getting too embroiled in the issue, her decision to paint them into this contemporary picture of Penang is a quiet assertion that migrant workers are an integral part of Malaysian community, and that we must uphold the basic human rights of races other than Indian, Chinese, and Malay.

I hesitate to speak of representation or authenticity when the reality is that books tagged #ownvoices and #diversereads are too often held to impossible standards in order to determine if they are “good representation.” I hesitate to even call this an “#ownvoices review,” because, though I am recently graduated, unemployed, lesbian, and spend my days sitting around in a general haze of depression, and in that regard my narrative is essentially interchangeable with Jess’s, no one review—mine or anyone else’s—should be made to represent an entire state, country, people. All I will say is that this is a book about Malaysia, written by a Malaysian, about a Malaysian, reviewed and highly recommended by a Malaysian. Qualifiers such as “raised abroad” or “love interest is tertiary to the plot” detract from the understated beauty Cho has captured in these pages: the in-betweenness of diaspora, queerness, and just how far a ghost can travel to haunt you.

I received an advanced copy of Black Water Sister through NetGalley so I could share my review with you!

Content Warnings: Black Water Sister is an intense read that includes scenes and discussions of attempted rape (on-page), violence, death, homophobia, colorism, physical abuse, organized crime and anxiety.

Jess has started hearing voices. Well, “voices” isn’t quite accurate, considering that she is exclusively hearing a voice claiming to be the spirit of her late grandmother, Ah Ma. Jess barely knew Ah Ma while she was alive, so it doesn’t seem likely that Ah Ma would choose her, of all people, to haunt. At first, Jess assumes that it's the stress getting to her. After all, she did just move across the world, and she’s been hiding her secret girlfriend from her family for months. There are plenty of things to be stressed about, so perhaps she’s just manifesting some surprising symptoms. Soon, though, Jess becomes drawn into the world of gods, spirits, and demons, until her Ah Ma’s voice is the last thing she needs to worry about.

You can get your copy of Black Water Sister on May 11th from Ace Books!

What I loved most about Black Water Sister was that it didn’t feel like any other book I’ve ever read before. Zen Cho effortlessly wove together Malaysian traditions and modern perspective, making this book extremely engaging and thrilling. Jess’s perspective was refreshing and relatable to read from, especially considering that there are very few books focusing on the “zillenial” age group. Jess went through some extraordinary situations in Black Water Sister, but she never ceased to be a character I could relate to. Though I’d not previously read any of Zen Cho’s books, after reading Black Water Sister, I know that I’ve been missing out! I will definitely want to catch up on her previous works, starting with The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water!

My Recommendation-
If you love magical stories with strong-willed protagonists, you need to pick up a copy of Black Water Sister! I would especially recommend this book to readers who enjoy darker novels with OwnVoices representation!

It's weird feeling like I'm perfectly suited to review this book as a diaspora Malaysian but also feeling inadequate to review this book for that very same reason. The experience of reading Black Water Sister was like stepping back into old, comfy clothes and wandering around my hometown, but a small part of me was squinting at my own familiarity from the outside, wondering if my history was doing too much work filling in the gaps in this gripping urban fantasy/horror novel. "What gaps?" the happy part of me argues, to which the critical part responds, "Exactly!" Can I even find any flaws -- any incongruencies, anything an intelligent person might not be able to reasonably infer -- when my own background autofills any missing details before I can even register them?

So I'm going to lean into my Malaysian heritage instead when reviewing this book, with apologies to anyone who might find the culture or language difficult to relate to or comprehend. I want to believe that this is an accessible book to all readers, but the fact that I'm even having this internal argument gives me pause. What I can confirm is that this book is 100% authentic Malaysian, from the Manglish to the weather to the mores, good and bad. The cadences of the language are both correct and, when translated to English in the text from the original languages, elegant. The attitudes towards race and religion and sexuality map perfectly with Malaysia in the 21st century, showing off my mother country respectfully but honestly. Zen Cho does a brilliant job of presenting Malaysia as it is, a country of many influences jostling together in search of harmony, an imperfect union that keeps striving towards respect and coexistence.

Which also makes it the perfect setting for this tale of a young woman trying to find herself while beset by supernatural forces. Jessamyn Teoh grew up in America but moved back to Penang as an adult with her aging parents. Closeted and unemployed, she's still trying to find her footing in an unfamiliar country where the weather alone can drain the unaccustomed into lassitude. Her girlfriend wants her to get a job in and move to Singapore where they can be together, but Jess is worried that her parents are too fragile for her to move that far away. The last thing Jess expects or needs is to suddenly start hearing a voice that claims to be the spirit of her recently deceased, estranged grandmother.

Ah Ma is not the kindly sort of grandma. Jess' mom had discouraged any sort of relationship between Jess and her own mother, which is why it comes as a surprise to Jess to learn that Ah Ma was a spirit medium in life, and kind of an awful person. Worse, Ah Ma expects Jess to follow in her footsteps, with regard to religion at least. While Jess has been feeling pretty rudderless since moving to Malaysia, she's pretty sure that that's not the life she wants, especially when Ah Ma's post-mortal machinations involve seeking revenge against a local tycoon and invoking the considerable power of the malevolent Black Water Sister. Jess' life is complicated enough without becoming the vessel for vengeful spirits, with the constant threat of losing her own life in the process.

I can't explain how wonderful it was to read this book, a contemporary, polished repackaging of the Malaysian horror pulps I read as a teenager eager for everything supernatural. It is, quite frankly, a perfect framing. Jess has always felt like an immigrant, whether in the US or Malaysia, and her "outsider" point of view lends itself well to a story of alienation and rage, as she grapples with Ah Ma and Black Water Sister breaching the bonds of mortality itself to make sure they are remembered, and if not understood then at least respected or feared. Jess' POV is also great for subtly critiquing the worst of Malaysian excesses, whether it be corruption or exploitation, while also appreciating the unique spirit of multiculturalism that has Bangladeshi Muslim construction workers praying to a Malay spirit in a Chinese cosmology for protection. BWS is a perfectly Malaysian book, portraying the eternal tension between then and now, between development and superstition, between being your own person and caring for your family, and I felt so at home reading it. But also, it is a universal book about growing up and finding out what's important to you and learning and modeling empathy and kindness, while overcoming your fears and learning how to use your righteous anger to stand up for yourself. Frankly, I loved it, and I hope you will too.

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho was published today May 11 2021 by Ace Books and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9780425283431">Bookshop!</a>

This was my first Zen Cho read even though Sorcerer to the Crown has been languishing on my shelves since forever. So, I was hoping this one was going to be really good. Like most books, it was and wasn’t.

What I Liked

The cover. It is just and made me want to pick up the book immediately.

The setting. Malaysia came alive in the hands of the author. Since it’s literally a jumble of cultures, you can see that richness reflected in its cuisine, religion, and culture. I walked the busy streets of Malaysia with Jess as I read the book because that’s how well it’s described in the book.

The writing. All of Jess’s relatives speak English with a decidedly Malaysian twist. Most of the time, an author’s attempt to convey that can quickly become irritating to readers. Whether it was the way it was written or something else, I didn’t find that to be the case with Black Water Sister.

The humor. Ah Ma had a strong, overbearing personality. Some of her lines were real zingers. The way her son surrenders and goes with her kooky plans was funny and familiar to see too. I have been raised by such women, so I could totally get why he found it easier to just go along lol

What I Didn’t Like

The history. Black Water Sister’s backstory (the character, not the book). Without giving away anything, why did it have to be so run-of-the-mill? And why was what happened to her the only way she could turn into a vengeful and highly powerful spirit?

The protagonist. Jess was a very bland character! She’s like every other teenager you’d meet. I would have put up with that if it hadn’t been for the way she tackled the supernatural problem she had on her hands. Most of the time, things happened to her and Jess reacted to them. If a goddess who looks like the main character from the movie, Ring, followed me home, the least I can do is be proactive in getting rid of her. Right?

The gloss-over. Ah Ma’s a problematic character. Most millennials with grandparents will immediately get what I’m saying. So, that didn’t bother me as much. What did irk me was the glossing over of some not-so-nice things that Ah Ma did.

All in all, a good read. Also, yay, that I found another new-to-me-author that I like!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for access to this arc.


I felt as if I had just stepped off the plane into a new world and culture. Malaysia isn’t just a vague setting but almost another character in the book. The various languages, the mix of cultures, the familial relationships and obligations, and the religions are definitely key parts of the plot. At first I had to pay close attention to the names of each character as Jess thinks of them in terms of how they are related to her. The language also took me a little while to get used to as it represents the multilingual residents of Penang. But all of this made me feel I was there.

Jess initially knows little of the both the gods who become involved or the reason why her grandmother is in her head. Even when Jess lays down the law and works a deal with Ah Ma in which her grandmother must answer all of Jess’s questions and be honest when doing so, there are still things that Jess has to painfully learn along the way. There are lots of characters involved and many have their own agendas that don’t match what Jess needs. Jess ends up making mistakes in what she does and who she trusts but honestly, with all she has going on in her life, she does the best she can.

A couple of things frustrated me. Jess is desperately trying not to stress her parents because of the situation they are all in and her dad’s recent cancer. She not only keeps herself in the closet but basically wears a straightjacket while she’s in there. She also avoids telling almost everyone about the fact that Ah Ma is in her head and anything about the dark god for whom Ah Ma was a medium. Jess also doesn’t tell her girlfriend much of what is happening to her and refuses to come out as Sharanya has done to her family. Jess offers valid reasons why she has done most of this and it relates to her family’s culture and her love of her parents despite how she can be frustrated with them. Jess is also experiencing her parents in a new way as she sees them in their home culture instead of as immigrants in the US. Now it is Jess who is having to adapt to a wrenching social change.

The scenes of Jess and her relatives interacting with the supernatural are amazing. Exposition is avoided – which is nice – but it takes a while to discover exactly what is going on. This keeps the reader poised and mentally on their feet but it also, a few times, leaves you a little bit lost and floundering. Perhaps just a touch more explanation could have avoided this.

What I really enjoyed are the exchanges between Jess and (usually grouchy, tough, and single minded) Ah Ma, the clear delineations between the different generations (when Jess’s parents tell her they emigrated for her to have a better life, they meant it), the effortless inclusion of and immersion in Penang culture, seeing a world in which gods are real, and Jess’s determination to find a solution to her problems including one vengeful god who was getting used to using Jess’s body. There are parts of the book I found difficult to read due to violence as well as the hard life Ah Ma had led but I’m not at all sorry I read it. B

I had never read this author before, but I thought why not even though I don’t need any new authors to follow. LOL! I dived right in, and the beginning was a little slow. Things picked up when Jess started hearing her grandmother and everything became much more interesting. The prose was excellent throughout this book. You more than felt you were present at everything, and that was uncomfortable at times (trigger warnings). I must admit that I never warmed up to Jess. She was a little blah and didn’t have much of a personality, but to be fair, her grandmother had more than enough for both of them. This was an interesting story, and some will really like this, and I think there will some that don’t. I recommend this to those who like exotic locales, great writing, and a haunting plot. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Admittedly, this book took me a little while to get into, but if you find yourself reading it and struggling with the pacing, I encourage you to keep reading. This was also different from what I usually read in that there is really very little romance in it, but I actually didn't mind that. This was also my first foray into urban fantasy, and I have to say I really enjoyed it.

First thing's first, I absolutely adored Jess as a main character. Give me a leading lady who will tell a god to fuck off to their face, and I'm happy. I loved her fire, and her internal dialogue was everything (my new favorite book quote is "Lord, grant me the confidence of a mediocre white man").

I will say that this book pleasantly surprised me, especially in the way the story goes from 0 to 100 in terms of intensity. One second we're being haunted by our grandmother, the next we're dealing with gang wars and bloodthirsty gods. I love it and I am here for it (although if I'm being perfectly honest, the Black Water Sister scared the sh*t outta me at first and she still kinda does).

The family dynamics in this book were wildly entertaining, and I loved Ah Ma. I mean, I wouldn't want to be haunted by her, but she was snarky and annoying in all the best ways. My only wish is that Jess's sexuality and coming out was explored a little bit more. Overall, this was a great book, and absolutely worth the read if you're in the mood for a good urban fantasy.

This review can also be found on my blog, Where the Words Take Me.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Contemporary fiction is not a genre I usually pick up because most of it simply doesn’t interest me. Contemporary fantasy, however, is an entirely different matter, and Zen Cho’s Black Water Sister struck gold with me from the very first chapter.

If you’ve read and loved either Yangsze Choo’s The Ghost Bride or The Night Tiger, then the setting, tone, and mythology of Black Water Sister may come across as familiar to you, to say nothing of someone who already has a Malaysian background. I only mention Yangsze Choo because 1) I love her works and 2) she started this love for Malaysian contemporary fantasy that I possess now, and I am beyond delighted that Zen Cho has contributed to that love. I cannot wait to check out Cho’s other books now.

Black Water Sister opens with jobless Harvard graduate Jessamyn Teoh moving back with her family to Malaysia after her father loses his job in America. Between hiding her lesbian relationship from her traditional parents, attempting to re-assimilate to a country and culture she hasn’t been a part of in decades, and adjust to the sudden swarm of relatives, Jess is understandably stressed. Hearing voices should come as no surprise—except the voice she hears is the ghost of her estranged, opinionated grandmother, Ah Ma, who was a spirit medium to a god called the Black Water Sister. Now, Ah Ma wants Jess to help her exact vengeance on a gang boss and businessman who has offended the god, or she won’t be able to pass on to the afterlife. However, the more Jess becomes entrenched in the supernatural, the more her own life and destiny are thrown into jeopardy.

From the start, I loved Jess as a protagonist. Her voice came through crystal clear even as her future was impossibly murky with indecision. I loved her commentary on everything along with her acerbic attitude and rare moments of softness. Her care for her mother’s feelings and her dad’s health balanced understandably with her exasperation with them. This book obviously highlights the struggles of Asian youth trying to make their own life decisions while trying to please, respect, and be loyal to their families. Being Southern American, this struggle is familiar to me—as are the guilt trips from Mom—but it’s not one that is as culturally damning as what Jess must contend with. As such, she was incredibly easy to root for and for a whole host of reasons.

Then, of course, there was Ah Ma, who delighted me so much. She and Jess had such an entertainingly antagonistic relationship the way only a stubborn granddaughter and a vengeful ghost of a grandmother can have, both of them cut from the same cloth. The book could’ve been them just trying to shop for groceries together and arguing the whole time, and I would’ve loved it. Fortunately, Cho gave me a good plot and mystery to chew on as well.

Aside from Jess and Ah Ma, Cho couldn’t seem to stop giving me interesting characters who were fun to read on the page. Jess’s parents, Kor Kor, Ah Ku, Ng Chee Hin, Ng Wei Sherng, the Datuk Kong, and the Black Water Sister herself—each contributed to the novel and Jess’s plight in both large and subtle ways. I also greatly enjoyed the Manglish dialogue with which most of these characters spoke; it represented so much of Malaysian culture, which is such a blend as is between East and West, for better or for worse.

Because as fun as the plot and characters of Black Water Sister are, this is still a contemporary fiction novel, which means it brings up a lot of social commentary and examines it through Jess’s lens as a Southeast Asian woman who grew up in America but then watched that very country beat down her immigrant parents. Jess, a Harvard graduate whose parents sacrificed so she could have a better life, but then had no job prospects post-Ivy League school. Jess, a lesbian who is trying to be true to herself but has to hide because of her traditional family’s homophobia.

There’s so much readers can ponder on with this novel: the explorations of superstition vs. faith vs. logic—whether this is about insulting a god, praying to one’s ancestors, converting to Christianity, or embracing secularism—and the effect each has on Malaysian culture; individualism vs. family/community; gentrification (and simultaneously, the view of the West as offering opportunity, advancement, and modernity while in the same breath the West exploits immigrants for their labor and makes their culture more palatable to the masses). There’s more, but I don’t want to give away the book’s finer story beats.

No matter what you latch onto the most, Zen Cho’s excellent writing in setting a scene, striking a tone, and delivering superb imagery will guide you through it all. She truly brought a contemporary novel to vivid life using mystical elements, wonderful characters, and a rich atmosphere. I could feel the Malaysian heat beating down on me as I read even in a well air-conditioned home. Her writing is immersive, and that can make all the difference.

Finally, it’s a simple thing, but I loved how this entire plot played out as well as the note of hopefulness with which the novel left off. How Jess learned exactly what she could live through and survive facing, how she gained the confidence to move on with her life. Black Water Sister works incredibly well as both a standalone and as a character exploration piece, and I’m so excited for other readers to get their hands on it.

This book has one of the best author blurbs I’ve heard in a while: “A stressed zillennial lesbian fights gods, ghosts, gangsters, and grandmas in 21st century Penang.”⁣
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I mean... what more could you ask for in a one sentence blurb?!
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Going into this book, I think I had the wrong expectations. Between the summary and the art style of the cover I was expecting the style and tone to be more fantasy, when in fact I would actually say this is a contemporary book that happens to have fantasy elements. At first this was very jarring, but I adjusted pretty quickly.⁣
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Jess is a recent Harvard grad with a secret long distance girlfriend who is navigating finding a new job in a new country when her family moves from the US to Malaysia, where her parents were born. On top of having to adjust to a country she hasn’t been to since she was small, she is suddenly hearing the voice of her maternal grandmother in her head, asking her for help dealing with a modern gangster, and to do the deeds of a literal God. ⁣
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This was a really unique read and I really enjoyed it. You get some fantasy elements, complicated family dynamics, relatable zillennial struggles, and lots of Malaysian culture. Jess’s mom and grandma were probably my favorite characters. Mom is perpetually cranky about the fact that no one ever tells her anything, but also can’t keep a secret to save her life, and grandma holds grudges literally into the afterlife and judges everyone. ⁣
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I also loved the depictions of Malaysian culture, but also Chinese culture in Malaysia and how the two were intertwined. ⁣
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My two biggest complaints are that the writing sometimes did a lot of telling rather than showing and also the tone just didn’t feel like it lined up with the maturity of the story. The writing felt very young YA, but the story itself wanted to be New Adult. There is also a big trigger warning for a fairly graphic near-sexual assault scene that felt unnecessary to me. ⁣
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Overall, I enjoyed this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley for providing me a copy to review honestly. ⁣

I enjoyed this one. I have not been having the best reading lucky lately so it was really nice to read a solid, good story. Cho is completely new to me, but I have wanted to read her for a while. I found her writing style quite engaging and I will absolutely be reading more of her.

I have not read many books that take place in Malaysia but I just loved the setting. Cho makes you feel so immersed in the sights, people, and culture, that it really made me feel like I was there. I’m also a huge urban fantasy fan so I loved the mix of the two. In a place filled with gods and ghosts –that “normal” humans can’t see- our main character, Jess, realizes there is more going on in the word when her grandmother starts speaking to her, her grandmother who died a year ago.

While the pace is a little slow at times, there is a ton of stuff that happens in this book and many pages fly by at warp speed. While I liked that there was so much going on, I think it was a little too much. I’m not going to sit here and list the bigger storylines –because of spoilers-, but trust me it’s a lot. I think Cho was trying to squeeze too much in so that certain things didn’t get the attention they needed to make a bigger impact.

One storyline that didn’t quite work was around Jess’ relationship. Jess is having trouble coming out to her folks and she often lets down a very patient girlfriend. The problem is not the storyline, but that it never really went anywhere. The girlfriend character does not have a lot of depth, and they don’t seem to have a great connection, so it’s hard to root for them. Plus there are a few other things that remain unresolved, under this storyline, so it made me wonder why have Jess spend so much time agonizing over it? I think the storyline needed more time to develop, or maybe spend this time on something else instead.

While I didn’t think the girlfriend character was developed enough, I thought Grandma and Mom stole the show. These characters were so well written and even had a few funny lines which helped since this book had some darker moments. I have to give a trigger warning for violence and attempted rape. The book as a whole doesn’t feel too dark, but there are some tough moments and quite a few physical fights.

There is a little bit of a ghost and family mystery that I found to be quite compelling. There are two twists in this book that I did not see coming and I love when an author surprises me. The last third of the book especially just hooks you right in and you can’t stop reading.

In the end I enjoyed this. It’s not perfect, there are a few bumps, but I needed a good book like this. Hopefully this is the start of some good book luck and I hope I get to read more of Cho soon. I would recommend this to urban fantasy fans, especially if you are looking for an interesting new setting that isn’t just America or the UK.

I was really intrigued by this novel when I heard about it. How can I resist ghosts, Malaysia and the mention of Gods? I must say I was really curious to discover the author’s universe.

Jessamyn Teoh comes back to Malaysia that she discovers. Her life is disrupted, and on top of that, she hears voices in her head claiming to be her grandmother. But can she really believe it?

I thought it was a nice idea, but I don’t know why, I didn’t manage to hang on the story. I’m sure the novel will appeal to many readers, but unfortunately it was not for me.

But oooooooh boy that kinda slapped.

Jess is a closeted college graduate who has to move with her parents back to Malaysia, a country she has only known from family vacations where the culture is terribly unfamiliar to her. However, she starts to get haunted by the ghost of her maternal grandmother, which ushers her into a world of hungry ghosts and restless gods fixed on a path of vengeance.

I could go off on a long tangent about how rich and fascinating ghosts in Asian culture are (I've written two research papers about it in college lol). Every culture has ghosts, but, in particular, Eastern Asian countries are haunted by murdered women who, while powerless in life, are only able to exact vengeance after death via supernatural means. For example, the Japanese term "urami" is specifically tied to female malice born of helplessness and bottomless despair. It's part of what makes Japanese horror so terrifying. Beyond that, the perpetuity of these stories is only strengthened by the repressed rage that Asian women feel to this very day at being trapped in this vortex of filial piety and a facade of demurity.

(What I'm trying to say is that the Confucians who exclaimed that women must bow to men because they have too much "yin" and the Buddhists who claimed that women were fundamentally unclean and "deformed" versions of men? Y'all created so much generational trauma)

This book perfectly embodies that. This book has two central themes: the struggle of being Asian-American when you're cut off from your parents' culture and the generational trauma of Asian women. The central figures in this story are victims of the patriarchy in some way: Ah Ma with her past lovers, Jess with Ng Chee Hin's thugs, and the Black Water Sister with her husband. It is no coincidence that Jess, when she allows herself to be possessed by female spirits, is able to become ten times stronger and more vicious than any man trying to hurt her. And when she has power, she scares these men absolutely sh*tless. And it is also no coincidence that at the end of the story, Jess rejects Sherng's olive branch because she does not owe him anything.

Anyway, I might have shed a tear after all that generational trauma.

Jess's fish-out-of-water feelings were perfectly nuanced and fascinating. As a sapphic woman with a girlfriend (I hesitate to say lesbian because at one point she says that she's not quite straight but not quite gay, but she also says that her inability to be interested in men has made her life difficult, so I'm not too sure), she can't come out to her Asian parents. As an Asian woman raised in America, she doesn't speak her family tongues of Malay or Hokkien and she doesn't understand the superstitious culture of her relatives. Watching her struggle to fit in while trying to decide her future and connect with her family created a deep emotional investment in me as I read.

Tbh, the most relatable part of this book was the fact that even though she graduated from Harvard she still couldn't find a job. That's a 2020 mood tbh.

My main gripes with this book would be the fact that her maternal family isn't fleshed out enough as a concept (with the gang violence) even if I appreciated the bonds she was creating with her Ah Ma and uncle. I also felt that there could have been more added to flesh out the themes of her family's experience of "failure" in America. And I would have liked to see more to do with her queer identity as well, outside of her being afraid to come out. Her relationship with Sharanya seemed like an after-thought. The first half of the story also takes quite a while to really get going, so I had some trouble staying interested for a bit.

Still. Tales of Asian female rage always get me so so pumped and this was a fantastic portrayal. Now I HAVE to try Zen Cho's other works.

I honestly can’t beat Zen Cho’s synopsis on Twitter: “A stressed zillennial lesbian fights gods, ghosts, gangsters, & grandmas in 21st century Penang”. I can verify that she delivers on all these fronts. Our protagonist, Jessamyn Teoh, begins hearing the voice of her deceased Ah Ma, who was a spirit medium to a deity called the Black Water Sister. Ah Ma enlists her help, albeit involuntarily, to help resolve a long-running feud with a business magnate who has offended the god. Meanwhile, Jess is confronting post-grad unemployment, a family move to Malaysia, and a secret long-distance relationship with her girlfriend.

BLACK WATER SISTER wove between the supernatural and physical realms with ease—it’s a paranormal fantasy with deeply human characters and family dynamics. Jess bore the weight that I’ve observed in many of my friends who are either only children or children of immigrants; I’ve read some reviews that comment negatively on her lone-wolf mentality and secrecy, but that only made her more relatable for me. In addition, I saw overlap between Jess’ Ah Ma and my own deeply superstitious, insistent grandma, which made me chuckle at their interactions with a sense of familiarity. Though it did begin slowly, Cho integrated elements of horror and suspense into her narrative and I enjoyed her integration of Hokkien and Malay terms. I was hesitant about my ability to get invested in the plot, since there’s definitely… a lot…going on, but I was easily transported to the streets and hipsters cafes of Penang through Cho’s writing.

While BLACK WATER SISTER is technically a ghost story, I love that Cho pointedly demonstrates that not all ghosts are paranormal. Our parents and grandparents were once young too, and sometimes it’s hard to remember that they had lives before they assumed their respective roles to us. And sometimes those lives are vastly incongruent with the persona they show to us, lives that harbor their own share of secrets. Not only is BLACK WATER SISTER about finding yourself, it’s about navigating generational gaps and determining with confidence where you fit in.

Black Water Sister is a Contemporary Fantasy featuring a modern-day twist on traditional Chinese folklore. Through the main character, author Zen Cho looks into how actions and self-perception are closely bound to our culture and family bonds— plus, there are ghosts. The novel is set against a tropical Malaysian backdrop of filial piety and socioeconomic disparity and follows our main character, Jess, as she struggles to find her footing in a country that’s simultaneously hers yet oh-so-foreign.

Jess’ character undergoes a lot of transformation throughout this fast-paced, folklore-imbued fantasy novel. Her growth is in no small part due to Ah Ma, and the story kicks off when the ghost of Ah Ma, her recently departed grandmother, shows up and decides to live rent-free in her head. Literally. (Yes, our main character does indeed become fully possessed by her maternal grandmother’s spirit.)

Not everyone can commune with spirits, but being Ah Ma’s granddaughter, Jess can. Ah Ma is on a mission, and she’s decided that there’s only one person who can help her— and that’s her granddaughter, who’s going to be her medium whether she likes it or not. Though resistant at first, Jess finds herself drawn into the world of spirits, ghosts, and gods. Cue: long-buried family secrets, vengeful deities, crooked businessmen, and troublesome gangsters.

Beyond the fantastical and supernatural, our heroine also has other things on her plate: her increasingly fraught relationship with her long-distance girlfriend, a halfhearted (nearly nonexistent) job search, and continuous worry about her parents’ well-being. The latter is particularly significant because— well, remember the girlfriend? Yeah, Jess isn’t exactly out of the closet yet. Though she’s managed to wave away comments and suggestions from family members about her unknown (to them) relationship status, she knows she won’t be able to hide her sexual orientation for long— not if she really, truly wants to live a life of her own. And therein lies the rub.

The Teoh family’s move from America to Malaysia followed her father’s recovery from cancer and the mountain of debt that came with it. After watching her parents build a comfortable life in America only to lose it all, she grapples with balancing her dreams with her sense of duty and loyalty. Despite her family urging her to live her life for herself, through much of the novel, she struggles with defining her independence.

Black Water sister offers a richly entertaining paranormal read, with an exceedingly relatable heroine. Jess’ authentic characterization illustrated a believably conflicted experience of a young Asian-American woman struggling to reconcile her desire to please her parents with her uncertainty about whether they’ll accept her identity as a member of the LGBTQ community.

Elements of fantasy, horror, and even dark comedy intertwined to create a thoroughly enjoyable tale, and I enjoyed Cho’s take on local Chinese and Malaysian folklore. Her deft incorporation of these elements served not only as a plot device but also as nods to their cultural significance against the backdrop of modern Malaysia. The dialogue was engaging, and Cho’s inclusion of Malaysian/Hokkien vernacular lent to an immersive reading experience.

I highly recommend Black Water Sister to those who enjoy Fantasy and Mythological/Folklore retellings, especially if East Asian folklore is your thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the early access to the digital ARC of this novel.

Content warning: scenes depicting violence, attempted kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder

Book TW: sexual assault, murder, IPV, gang violence, possession, homophobia

Please note that this is not an own voices review, so please prioritise those reviews over my own.
This book was an interesting one and my opinions on it are largely positive, but just a little mixed. I didn’t find a lot of the characters particularly likeable (though with a lot of them, that was the point), but even Jess was sometimes frustrating. I didn’t find that a lot of the characters changed to much, sometime’s just Jess’ views of them. However, I’m debating with myself how much Jess actually changed throughout the story, she of course had some forced perspective growth and change, but most of it was grudging and under pressure. She also fell into the classic trap of “I can’t tell anyone anything and must bare these burdens alone” and even when she does reveal some truth, she’s always holding back... which doesn’t usually help her. There wasn’t really a lot of the decompression to see the effects of what the plot put her through. I also felt like there was some missed opportunities for rounding out the arcs of her Mom and even Kor Kor towards the end of the story.
Speaking of plot, though, I felt that was what the book did really well. The threads were all placed and pulled expertly. The book had a well executed build of tension and dread, especially around Black Water Sister. I thought the spiritual and medium elements were the best done parts of the book and Ah Ma is one of the most interesting characters that I grew to appreciate, if not quite like, throughout the story. The parts of the story with Sherng were also extremely interesting, and I liked not quite knowing how trustworthy he was throughout the story. I also thought that the author did a lovely job plunging you headfirst into the culture of Penang/Malaysia throughout the story and while sometimes it felt a little beyond me, it was only because it was also a spot where the characters were lost or uninformed too.
Overall, I would read this more for plot and settings and tension than for the characters, which is not at all to say that the characters weren’t good, but they simply weren’t where the book’s strengths lied for me. If you’re in the mood for a Chinese mystery with ghosts, gods, rival gangs, a very small tense romance subplot, and a character who somehow manages to offend every deity and ghost she interacts with, this is the story for you!!

What a fun book! Honestly, I went in without knowing anything but it was phenomenal just learning about Malaysian culture and all of its complexity with imperialism, religion, and definitely family traditions. Black Water Sister's Ah Mah CARRIED- I found myself enjoying the story because of how sarcastic and fun the ghost was! Overally, it was a really good about finding yourself--and as someone who's also sapphic, I can totally relate.

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
Length: 382 Pages
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

"You can submit yourself to me, or you can meet an ugly death at the hands of cruel men.
You can kill, or you can die."

A special thanks to Netgalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for sending me this ARC!

Jessamyn Teoh has a lot on her plate: A secret girlfriend (plus keeping the truth of her sexuality from her traditional Chinese parents), trouble finding a job after graduating from Harvard, and who could forget the ghost of her Grandmother haunting her?

After spending the majority of her life in America, Jess's parents have decided to move back to Malaysia, and out of a growing listlessness and filial duty, Jess tags along. Little does she know, she's got even bigger problems coming in the form of family secrets, gangsters, and a dangerous God known as Black Water Sister.

I loved learning about all the Gods, especially the titular Black Water Sister, who's tragic past reminded us that she was once human, too, and experienced one of the most human emotions: Rage -- sometimes justified, oftentimes not. My favorite character of the book was Jess's Grandma, Ah Ma, whose grumpy exterior hid a long suffering hurt. She was intelligent and funny when she wasn't being downright rude. Cho's writing brought the heat and wildness of Malaysia, the bustling, crowded city streets and hipster cafes to roaring life.

Black Water Sister is a poignant story of finding where we comfortably belong, of making painful choices to get the outcomes that let us be who we truly, authentically, are, and maybe even more importantly, letting go.

Black Water Sister
by Zen Cho
Read an Excerpt
Berkley Publishing Group
You Like Them
Ace
Sci Fi & Fantasy
Pub Date 11 May 2021 | Archive Date 11 Jun 2021

This is a book I normally would not pick up, but I found it recommended on a site I use to choose books for our library. An interesting twist on ghosts as this American family moves back to her homeland. I'm sure this book will be a great read for someone, but it didn't hit the spot for me and I will not be recommending it.
Thanks to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.
3star

<i>Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this e-ARC. All thoughts are my own.</i>

A great ghostly tale that starts slow, but finishes strong. 4/5 stars.

Jess has just finished undergrad at Harvard, but is struggling to find a job when her family decides to move back to Malaysia for her father's work. She goes back with them, not knowing that her recently passed grandmother (Ah Ma) has stuck around and has chosen Jess to be her medium. Jess had never truly believed in the supernatural before, but her Ah Ma is making her believe and is also forcing Jess to handle her unfinished business.

I really enjoyed this book! The beginning was a little slow and it took some time for me to really become invested in the story, but once the ball got rolling I was hooked. I find Jess to be incredibly relatable. She was me back when I had just finished undergrad. Unclear where she wants to go with her life, but knowing that whatever decisions she makes will reflect not just on her, but on her mom and dad as well. Such is the life of a first generation Asian American. We see her consistently struggling with her identity in this book - both as someone who doesn't fit as American or Malaysian, and also as a closeted LGBTQ. This journey that she goes through helps her become more confident in herself and in those around her. Her transformation is believable because it doesn't happen all of a sudden. It's a slow process in which the Jess at the end is so incredibly different from the Jess at the beginning, but it's so seamless you don't even realize how drastic the change is until you look back at where it all began.

I found a lot of Jess' family members to be <i>too</i> relatable. There were so many moments I got annoyed with Jess' relatives. Although this is amazing on the author's part, I found myself getting pulled out of the story because I kept getting thrown into memories of my own. The Ah Ma in particular reminded me too much of one of my aunts and how frustrating it can be to communicate with someone so stubborn in their own beliefs. There's also a scene in the beginning where Jess is literally sitting with a bunch of her aunts, just listening to them talk about random bullshit (although it's not really bullshit because it's truly the catalyst for the story), and I couldn't help but think about all the times I had to sit in on my mom with her sisters going on and on about things I don't care about. It just hit a little too close to home (literally and figuratively) that I couldn't enjoy those particular sections as much as I might have otherwise.

The plot in itself is fantastic. The parallels between Jess and the Black Water Sister were so great to read through. Going back to Jess' character journey, there's a clear shift in the narrative when Jess finally decides to take action. For much of the first half, Jess is being brought along this journey due to her Ah Ma's influence. This makes sense due to Jess' own internal conflicts throughout the beginning. However, as Jess' confidence grows and as her family becomes embroiled in more and more conflict, both supernatural and physical, she realizes that things won't be fixed unless she does something about it. We love to see it.

I love the supernatural elements that are the literal backbone of the story. The generational gap between those who are older, who grew up steeped in temples and gods and idols vs those who are younger, who grew up thinking that it's all just myths and legends, is so well developed. Honestly everyone is really well developed in this. Every single character feels like a real person - dead or alive. Despite being set in one city, the history and the culture is fully realized.

Needless to say, the writing is fantastic. Without getting into too many spoilers, there are some incredibly written scenes where the POV shifts subtly and seamlessly from one character to another. One moment you're in one character's head, then you're somehow in two, and the next thing you know, you're getting an entirely different character's thoughts and feelings. These scenes truly showcase Zen Cho's writing prowess. Very interested in reading more from her.

I highly recommend this book. A great mix of plot- and character-driven action and tension. A supernaturally charged fantasy story that centers itself on the things we'd do for our family, no matter how insane they can be at times.