I've enjoyed Jean Kwok's books since I received an advanced copy of Girl in Translation years ago. It earned a rightful place on my top 10 favorites of all time. Obviously, I have to always read her latest.

In The Leftover Woman, two women's lives intertwine over one child. Rebecca is a powerful New York publishing executive, raising her adopted Chinese daughter in New York City. Jasmine, a poor rural Chinese woman, has come to New York illegally in search of the daughter she had to give up for adoption. As the women's stories intersect, the connection to the child that binds them could tear everything apart.

As usual, I loved Jean Kwok's writing. Her books are always a one night read for me, not because of the length, but because I have to stay up until I have finished. With The Leftover Woman, I kept thinking, "I'll put it down next character switch," but each time I just had to read one more chapter. While the reader assumes that Fifi, the adopted daughter of Rebecca, is likely Jasmine's biological child, the story in how they relate keeps you interested.

Rounded up from 3.5 stars.

The Leftover Woman goes back and forth between the points of view of two vastly different women - Rebecca and Jasmine. Rebecca is a white woman who has adopted a Chinese daughter and is incredibly wealthy, facing nearly unrelatable problems in life. Jasmine has no documents in a foreign country and is forced to do what is necessary to survive after escaping a bad marriage in China.

Their lives collide, and there are explosions abound.

Overall, the book was slightly disappointing after chapters and chapters of build-up, but the writing was well-done. I didn't struggle to read this book and I read it quite quickly.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review!

The Leftover Woman is not exactly a thriller in the true sense of the genre , but it IS mysterious, especially the way it is told. The first few parts lay out the story from 2 POV's, Jasmine and Rebecca. You KNOW somehow their paths will cross but just not where or when. This is a family drama with elements of mystery and influence of outside factions to create a story that indeed had be riveted

Story told through two perspectives, a Chinese woman whose baby girl was stolen at birth and the American woman who adopts the stolen child. The author does a good job making both characters sympathetic.

Poignant, excellently written, and heart wrenching. A story that gives a glimpse into aspects of Chinese culture, immigrant struggles, and a fighting spirit.

I had the highest hopes for this book; the subject matter and synopsis sounded exactly like the kind of work I enjoy. But unfortunately, after multiple attempts at reading this one, I had to stop around 30%. I do not finish books I’m not enjoying. The dialogue felt forced and ruined my ability to get into the story.

An engrossing read that examines what it means to be a mother and how far you'd go for your children. I vacillated between rooting for one character over another, which made for a compelling story.

Sadly, this one did not live up to expectations. I was really looking forward to this book, but I think it would have been stronger if it weren't framed as a thriller. I found the "thriller" aspects to be too predictable and distracted from what could have been a stronger novel about mother/daughter relationships, power and privilege. (And also, I thought those themes were described too explicitly toward the end of the book. Readers should be able to get there on their own.) But I recognize those are problems with what *I* wanted out of the book, so maybe you will feel differently!

Jean Kwok's The Leftover Woman weaves a compelling story of two women from vastly different worlds whose lives become unexpectedly intertwined. Jasmine, a resourceful Chinese immigrant struggling to find her stolen daughter in New York City, and Fiona, a privileged American housewife grappling with loneliness and family secrets, both face challenges that push them to their limits.

Strengths:

Dual Narratives: Kwok's decision to narrate the story from both Jasmine and Fiona's perspectives is a masterstroke. It allows for nuanced character development and deepens the reader's empathy for both women. Each character's struggles feel distinct and authentic, offering contrasting glimpses into the immigrant experience and the complexities of wealth and privilege.
Engaging Plot: The mystery surrounding Jasmine's daughter and Fiona's family secrets keeps the pages turning. Twists and turns unfold steadily, maintaining suspense and intrigue throughout the novel.
Rich Themes: The Leftover Woman tackles diverse themes such as cultural clash, motherhood, the human cost of ambition, and the resilience of the human spirit. These themes are woven into the narrative seamlessly, prompting reflection without feeling heavy-handed.
Areas for Improvement:

Pacing: At times, the pacing can feel a bit slow, particularly in the beginning chapters. While establishing the characters and their situations is essential, a tighter opening would have further bolstered the story's momentum.
Plot Predictability: Some of the plot twists, while initially surprising, may feel predictable for seasoned readers of thrillers and mysteries.
Characterization: While both Jasmine and Fiona are well-developed and relatable, some supporting characters could have benefited from deeper exploration. Their motivations and roles in the story sometimes feel ambiguous.
Overall:

Despite its minor shortcomings, The Leftover Woman is a thoroughly engrossing read. Kwok's captivating prose, vivid character portraits, and timely themes make it a compelling exploration of identity, resilience, and the enduring power of family. While seasoned thriller readers might find the plot twists somewhat familiar, the emotional depth and complex tapestry of characters will reward readers seeking a thought-provoking and captivating story.

Final Verdict: A gripping narrative with well-developed characters and thought-provoking themes, The Leftover Woman earns a solid 4-star rating. Recommended for fans of character-driven dramas, mysteries with a touch of suspense, and stories that explore the immigrant experience and the complexities of modern womanhood.

I really enjoyed this book! Dual PoV with a lot of twists and turns that kept me getting back to it asap. Interesting to read different cultural perspectives as well. Recommend!!

An overwhelmingly emotional book that I could not put down! I felt so many emotions with this amazing story of resilience. It explores adoption, identity, devotion and motherhood by telling a story based on the controversial One Child Policy in China and the struggles of those gaining illegal entrance to the United States.

The characters of Jasmine and Rebecca portray strong women who know what they want in life and are not afraid to go after their goals, no matter the cost. I was very inverted in the emotions these women felt throughout this book, they were raw and so well described I felt the heartbreak and hope for their futures myself. These women come from different countries and even more different backgrounds, yet, even with their distinct differences, they are strongly alike. Their main concern in life, above all else, is to keep their daughter safe.

The twists in this book are well placed and fabulous! The storyline is very well-conceived and perfectly written to keep the reader wondering what will happen next. I hope you enjoy the drama and suspense in this book as much as I did!

I am voluntarily writing this review and am very grateful to William Morrow and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a complimentary digital copy of this engaging book.

I just couldn’t get into this book despite being very excited to read it. It was rather slow moving and the mystery element just wasn’t there for me. There was just not much in this novel that really left an impact with me. 2.5 stars ⭐️.

A family drama that completely overwhelmed me while I was reading Jasmine's story. An intense read but one I enjoyed and would recommend for book club readers.

A solid read, but his book would be better served if it was not classified as a mystery/thriller. Yes, there are some twists, but this book is better described as contemporary/general or women's fiction. This is an entertaining but thought-provoking story of motherhood, immigration, racism, adoption, and more, and the "mystery" aspect of it is overall minimal.

In a Nutshell: A book that is mostly women’s fiction focussing on a Chinese’s mom’s quest to be reunited with her daughter. The tag of ‘mystery/thriller’ applies to it in the loosest possible sense. I liked a few things but was equally unhappy with some other points. This is an outlier review.

Story Synopsis:
2007. New York.
Fleeing from an abusive marriage in China, Jasmine arrives in New York City with hardly any support system of money or family. Her main purpose is to be reunited with her daughter, who, unknown to her, was taken away at birth and offered to an American couple for adoption. With her ex searching for her, Jasmine is running out of time to find her child and escape permanently. But how is she to do that?
Rebecca, an editor-in-chief at a publishing company, has it all – a job she loves, a talented and good-looking husband, a loveable adopted daughter Fifi, prestige, and wealth. However, her life suddenly seems to be on a downswing, with first her job and then her marriage in trouble. As the world around her begins to collapse, Rebecca knows she needs to save her family and her job at any cost. But how is she to do that?
The lives of these two women, as you might have guessed, are on a collision course, which forms the crux of the novel.
The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Jasmine and the third person perspective of Rebecca.

Bookish Yays:
💐 I loved Fifi’s character – the only one to be written in an age-appropriate manner. Her love for her parents, her accepting her mother’s instructions willingly, her desperation to impress her parents – all felt realistic. She was the only loveable character in the book for me.
💐 I liked the contrast between the two main characters – an undocumented immigrant and a privileged white woman. Their disparate backgrounds allowed many social points to be raised.
💐 One revelation in the book totally caught me by surprise. Just one. But it was a good one.
💐 The repercussions of China's controversial one child policy are covered well. As a resident of China’s neighbouring country, I was already aware of this policy and its consequences, hence I wasn’t shocked at the details. But it was still a creditable inclusion in this plot.

Bookish Mixed Bags:
🌹 Rebecca character is tough to like, but I liked her representation as the ignorant “do-gooder” who can’t see her own shortcomings and her white-saviour complex. Through her arc, we get to see the systemic racism prevalent in the USA and also her ignorance of her white privilege. Admittedly, this is handled in too obtrusive a manner, but still, it was good to see the issues tackled head on. At the same time, her personal mistakes and her clumsiness sees highly exaggerated, which doesn't go with the rest of her personality. Many of her goof-ups seem forced into her arc, possibly so that we can feel sorry for her, which I didn’t.
🌹 I might have praised some aspects of Rebecca’s and her husband’s parenting techniques with Fifi, but I recently read an eye-opening anthology written by trans-racial adoptees about trans-racial experiences, and this brings into question many of the decisions taken by the couple to keep Fifi “connected to her culture.” Their heart was in the right place, but their approach was totally wrong. I don’t completely agree with the message this book sends to trans-racial adoptive parents.
🌹 The details of Rebecca's work are good at highlighting what editors actually do. But can an editor be so castigated and shunned from the industry just because an author lied in her book? The depiction seems somewhat farfetched, especially when even newspapers also call out the editor publicly in the scandal.
🌹 Jasmine’s work at the Opium club works better in comparison, representing the dark underbelly of the Asian community in NYC. I would have been very impressed by these details, had I not read a similar (and better handled) portrayal of an Asian “club” in Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s ‘Dust Child’ earlier this year. This one paled in comparison.
🌹 Unlike most readers, I liked what happened at the end, because it was the only realistic solution to the problem at hand. But the pre-climax scenes were straight from a soap opera – overly melodramatic.
🌹 The title is good (and it is explained in the book), but does it represent the story perfectly? I don’t think so. This isn’t just Jasmine’s story.

Bookish Nays:
🌵 The romance in Jasmine’s arc is so cheesy YA in style! The weird metaphors and the description of the intimacy scenes are cringeworthy.
🌵 There are multiple references to the “Beautiful Country” (USA, just in case you thought it was China), multiple references to fashion brands, multiple references to being thin, multiple references to physical beauty… Aargh! The book needs some strict editing. Moreover, nothing in the story feels 2007. Especially the technological depiction. There are even some anachronisms in the conversations.
🌵 In what world is this a mystery-thriller and how did it even get nominated as such in the Goodreads Choice Awards - Best Mystery & Thriller (2023)? The “mystery”, if I can call it that, is totally guessable, and the thrills comes only in one action-filled chapter towards the end. Most of the book is a woman’s fiction wannabe.
🌵 The representation of China per se is very stereotypical and one-noted. (Any book that depicts a country and its citizens in just one shade is doing something wrong.)
🌵 Both Jasmine’s and Rebecca’s arcs meander away form the core plot – that of Jasmine wanting to reunite with her child, who is clearly Rebecca’s adopted daughter. (Not a spoiler – only the densest of readers would fail to establish this link from the blurb.) However, there are many frivolous subplots that take up needless page space.
🌵 There are plenty of plot holes. Even till the end, we don’t know exactly how Jasmine escaped her abusive husband and reached the US, though we know whose help she took. How does Rebecca have time to go to a gun range when she doesn’t have time for her daughter and has to work till late in the night to fulfil her professional commitments? How did Jasmine locate her child? How did Jasmine bump into Anthony so conveniently in such a big city? Ignoring a couple of plot holes is easy, but this one was as holey as a colander. The entire approach is too simplistic.

At one point, I honestly thought that I was reading a debut work. To discover that this is the tenth novel by an established writer left me astounded.

A majority of reviewers have found this a great book. So don’t listen to me being the Grinch. Please read their reviews and take a call for yourself. In the meantime, I am, as usual, perched on Outlier Island, pondering over my book selection habits.

2.5 stars.

My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Leftover Woman”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Sorry this didn't work out better.

A swiftly-moving mystery, it draws me in immediately. I appreciate the critique of sexism and the page-turning quality of The Leftover Woman.

I was swept away quite easily and rather quickly by this compelling story. It follows and switches perspectives between two women: Jasmine, a Chinese woman who just arrived in New York City and Rebecca, a white, high-powered career woman who seems to have it all. I love a good domestic drama and this book is suspenseful, twisty and has strong themes of motherhood, marriage, family dynamics, immigration and survival. I did feel the ending was a little a little rushed but other than that is was a solid read!

4.25 out of 5. I had no expectations starting this book, and I was so engaged by the end. The twists and turns are amazing and the character development is very well done. It is one of those books that you really do not know who to root for - sophies choices all around and really complicated life decisions. A great family relationship mystery.

Pub date: 10/10/23
Genre: mystery, ownvoices, family drama
Quick summary: Jasmine arrives in NYC from China hoping to find the daughter who was taken from her. She becomes a nanny for the wealthy Rebecca - and that decision will change both of their lives.

Jean Kwok is a favorite author of mine - I love how she explores the immigrant experience. This book was easy to fall into from the beginning, and I enjoyed getting to know Jasmine and Rebecca. I've struggled with some slow-paced reads lately, but this one felt exciting and taut at only 288 pages. There are plenty of twists - some you may see coming, some you likely won't. If you enjoy contemporary fiction exploring family and motherhood, check this one out!

Thank you to William Morrow for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book reminded me more of a more recent book of hers (Sylvia Lee) that I read and enjoyed I think Jean Kwok's writing has only improved over time. I did read one or two of her earlier books and enjoyed the stories, but I think there is a greater sophistication to the later books. I'm so happy I could read this one. I will definitely be reading more of Kwok's books in the future.