This book was truly excellent on a sentence level, but my god the book dragged. There was an emotional intensity that was almost like a thriller - what will happen to these sisters that makes them estranged? - but the plot was so meandering it really took away from the effect. This book depicts the high stress, high stakes of Singaporean academic life, and I appreciated the strong sense of place, but I cannot say I enjoyed the book. It felt like it could not make up its mind if it wanted to be plot-driven or character-driven and thus became neither.

3.5 Stars ⭐️

Enjoyed this book. I had a hard time reading this as the Mom is Terminally Ill and you this causes a Rift between the Sisters. Yet, it is also quite relatable. Genevieve was originally an only child, but comes to realize she has a sister Arin. The need for success and achievement twists Genevieve to a point that causes you to think if she really has gone too far.

Liked the writing, but at some parts just felt it dragged out for pages with nothing much happening. Had a hard time relating to the MC.

Overall, good read and compelling storyline. Definitely made me think.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for a copy of this book. I always leave reviews of books I read.

I was so looking forward to this one, especially once it was chosen for the GMA book club. But at only 10% in I had to put it down. it didn't capture my attention, something I need in my books right now. And judging from the reviews of others, I wasn't alone. It could have been a case of right book, wrong time, but I'm in a period of needing to move on if a book hasn't grabbed me, so I put this one down.

Wow.

I’ll be honest with you: I went in expecting to hate this, or at least feel indifferent about it. I only made it two chapters into the e-ARC, but really disliked the characters. So when the audiobook became available on Libby, I thought to myself, “Look, Steph, just give it one more chance… one more chance to attempt to know enough about the story to write a review about it.” I came away with total respect for Jemimah Wei, and my fangirling for Eunice Wong as an audiobook narrator has reached stratospheric proportions.

The interesting thing is, I can’t say that I LIKED the book. Certainly the characters themselves are not very likable, realistic though they were. Everyone–and I mean everyone, from our first-person narrator, Genevieve, to Gen’s sister Erin, to their mother and father–make poor choices that hurt themselves and others. You’ll end up spending most of the book either wanting to wring their necks or to comfort them.

And yet, Wei helped me to understand exactly how and why each character came to be the way they are. This is a really nuanced, Tolstoyian picture of the ways in which family hurt and shape us. Even secondary characters introduced later on are given a similar level of character development as the main characters. I was impressed.

Finally, I want to dedicate a whole paragraph solely to Eunice Wong, audiobook narrator extraordinaire of Asian lit. Usually a slow-paced book such as this one would have me checking out much earlier, but Wong held my attention spectacularly using her signature distinction between voices and emotional delivery. If you are considering reading this and like audiobooks even a little bit, I would actually recommend that you give the audiobook a try. You might be as blown away as I was.

Despite my initial reservations (there is only so much litfic I can take), THE ORIGINAL DAUGHTER is a tremendous debut, and I can see this being a strong contender for this awards season. In addition, Eunice Wong’s audiobook narration pairs perfectly and enhances/elevates the experience by circumventing an otherwise slow pace. I can wholeheartedly recommend this story (with the caveat that you check trigger warnings beforehand).

I always struggle to express my opinion when I've read a book that is incredibly well written and makes me think, but I don't like the main character. My heart breaks for Arin, who has been abandoned twice; once by her parents and again by her new family. Yet we are never in Arin's head. We are privy only to her sister Genevieve's thoughts and feelings. Genevieve's life is not turning out the way she hoped and she is angry and vindictive and blames others. The struggle of this poor family in Singapore and the ways they fail to meet each others' expectations is heartbreaking. I will think about this book for a long time to come.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ecopy. My opinion is my own.

The Original Daughter is set in Singapore and revolves around a Genevieve, the daughter of a middle class family who gets a shock when they find out her Grandfather, who they thought was long dead, has only recently died and was harboring a second family. He has another granddaughter, a year younger than Gen, who comes to live with Gen's family as her sister. You find out in the beginning that as adults, the two have had a falling out and Arin is now a famous actress, but for most of the book, the two girls are very close, with Arin quietly living in Gen's shadow. I enjoyed learning about modern culture in Singapore, and a part of the book set in New Zealand, but be aware, Gen is not always the most likable or relatable character, and her decisions are frustrating.

An epic, long sweeping drama between two sisters. This book was heavy. It was heartbreaking & emotional. Spanning years but leaving chunks of time out. There were powerful and tender moments but a lot of the book felt drawn out, full of too much prose. This is a character driven book where all the characters are flawed and unlikable. I never fully understood the motivations and choices of our main character. The whole thing was painful to read at times but that speaks to the power of the author in getting me to feel the emotions of the story. I never fully connected with the story but it did have a lot of strengths.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book. All thoughts shared are completely my own.

I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thoroughly enjoyed this book! Characters were so well developed and the family drama very authentic. Highly recommend !

Thank you to NetGalley for this free reader in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book. It is very different from books I typically read, so I appreciated a new perspective and learning about a new family, new relationship and new culture (new to me anyway). And I think I walked away learning that resentment and anguish cross every language and every relationship. I especially enjoyed the mother daughter relationships as well and that family is often more than blood and it's about the families we create.

The prose blew me away, and I loved the Ferrantean vibes in this novel set in early 2000s Singapore. It made me think of the deep betrayals within a family, and what we owe ourselves and others in a world of increasing competition.

“𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘴, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱. 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”

Thank you Doubleday Books for the advanced readers copy via NetGalley as this has been a highly anticipated release for me! I had hoped to finish before pub day but I’m just glad I got to read it!

This is a stunning debut that is raw, emotional, and deeply reflective. I felt like I was right there in the middle of the story, amongst the complex characters, the entire time. I took my time reading for a handful of reasons but mostly to savor the story. To take in, reflect on, the nuance and complicated dynamics that can be mixed families, rigid and cutthroat academia environments, support and rivalry between siblings, low income vs privilege, shame/honor culture, and sense of identity.

“𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.”

While Gen is certainly not without her faults (several times I wanted to shake her to act differently!) perhaps as an eldest daughter myself I related to her in a lot of ways, probably most significantly the pressure that others and we ourselves put on ourself to perform the best, to achieve the success we’ve worked tirelessly hard for, to be someone worth being proud of, as well as our sense of duty, only to feel like we’ve failed and the shame we feel as a result. How deep familial betrayals cut us. And Arin - sigh - she annoyed me from the start. ALL of her antics, her self-absorbed nature, the manipulations… isn’t this how sibling relationships can be? Such a difference in personalities, motives, desires, that can clash over anything, big or small; that our perceptions of each other may not always be the most clear, the most accurate?

Content includes a parent with a terminal diagnosis, familial abandonment, assaults, and an intimate scene (more from a woman’s mental perspective than the act itself). I found this compelling, moody, heartbreaking, frustrating, tense, relatable, and lingers after you’ve finished. I’ll gladly read future works from Wei!

“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.”

Honestly heartwrenching.

I felt I understood Gen so well. Arin not so much. And their mom? A puzzle still.

"Who was I to say anything when I, too, had become a cog in the production line of academic success?"

(me too, Gen)

I had to keep reminding myself this was a debut. Good writing, character driven with one I started liking and ended up hating. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed this story about complex relationships. The story begins during the main character's childhood, when she gets a sister. This relationship is then followed through the years, along with the relationships between her parents and grandmothers. These depictions were compelling and thought-provoking. I found the main character's downward spiral to be extremely relatable. While both she and her sister made bad decisions over the courses of their lives, weighing what brought them together and kept them apart was an interesting consideration, especially given the open ending. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an emotional, reflective read about complicated families and what we owe to one another.

3.5 —What an intriguing novel—I was invested start to finish. I found this to be an original story, one that went in a different direction that I expected (I love to be surprised by novels!). I found Gen to be a flawed and perplexing protagonist, and enjoyed puzzling through her thought process, decisions, and insecurities. With gratitude to NetGalley for the ARC!

I had hoped this book would be more about the tension between sisters, but I found it focused mostly on the narrator -- who was largely unlikable. The writing was good, but the pacing was a bit too slow for me. All in all, a slow paced character-driven novel which may be suited for readers who don't mind not exactly liking the central character.

Thank you to Net Galley and Doubleday for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I am always looking for book written by Asian and Asian American authors, especially debuts. Although a bit long in parts, this was a wonderful story of two sisters that stars in Singapore. Genevieve was an only child until Arin shows up one day, the grandchild of a grandfather thought long dead who has a shameful legacy. They are obliged to take Arin in and the two girls grow close. Genevieve watches over Arin as she gets used to this new home and feels a bit of ownership for her little sister. Yet, as they grow and Arin starts to excel past Genevieve, even for the affections of Genevieve's harsh mother. There is a betrayal and the girls move through life separate from one another one finding success and the other struggling in mediocrity. The book looks at family and sisterly bonds and the complexity of these relationships - how they shape us, what causes those bonds to break, and if they can possibly be repaired. The book covers about 20 years although the book starts with where the two sisters are as adults so the reader is wondering how they got there. Long in some parts but overall a good read.

This was a GMA Book Club pick, so I was really curious to try it. The sister story was interesting. The setting in Singapore was unique to me, and I liked all the storyline about A-level exams and how university admissions work—apparently private universities are seen as second-rate!

But the story just moved too slowly for me, and I couldn’t get into it. I ended up quitting at 47% completed.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

@doubledaybooks | #gifted I generally love books about sister relationships and I’m always up for reading debut authors, which are just two reasons why I was excited about 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗘𝗥 by Jemimah Wei. The Singapore setting and turn of the century era were also appealing. Then the book was chosen as May’s @gmabookclub selection, so what more could I want? That’s a difficult question to answer, but I definitely wanted something more.⁣
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At the center of this story is Genevieve, the only daughter of a struggling working class family living in a small Singapore apartment with her parents and grandmother. While she’s still in primary school, a cousin, Arin, joins their family. Though both girls are at first unhappy about this, they quickly become the closest of friends. The story proceeds with A LOT of emphasis on the pressures of school, getting good grades, taking tests, and progressing onward. It eventually moves into competition between the “sisters” and then to estrangement (where the book actually begins).⁣
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All this was accomplished VERY slowly. I found it difficult to keep going less than halfway through this book. It felt so much like the same things were happening over and over with slight variations and it was so depressing, truly unrelenting. That might have been okay if I could have rallied something other than pity for the characters. Sadly, I just never cared much about any of them and all too soon, I only wanted to be done. Obviously, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 wasn’t a book for me, but I really wish it had been!🤷🏻‍♀️

Jemimah Wei’s debut novel, The Original Daughter, is a compelling exploration of sisterhood, ambition, and the intricate bonds of family set against the backdrop of modernizing Singapore. With emotional depth and cultural nuance, Wei crafts a narrative that resonates with universal themes of identity and belonging.

The story centers on Genevieve Yang, who, at eight years old, discovers that her grandfather—previously thought deceased—has passed away, leaving behind a second family in Malaysia. This revelation brings Arin, a seven-year-old girl from that family, into Genevieve's life as her adopted sister. As the two girls grow up in Singapore's competitive environment, their bond is tested by personal ambitions and a profound betrayal that leads to estrangement. Years later, with their mother terminally ill, Genevieve grapples with the decision to reconnect with Arin, now a successful actress, to fulfill their mother's dying wish.

Wei delves into the complexities of familial relationships, particularly the dynamics between sisters who are bound not just by blood but by shared experiences and secrets. The novel examines how societal pressures and personal aspirations can both unite and divide, highlighting the sacrifices made in pursuit of success. Set in the turn-of-the-millennium Singapore, the narrative captures the tension between tradition and modernity, and the personal costs of navigating these forces.

I enjoyed The Original Daughter's insightful portrayal of complex characters and relationships. I walked away feeling very satisfied with this poignant and thought-provoking novel that offers a deep dive into the complexities of family ties and personal identity. Jemimah Wei's storytelling is both intimate and expansive, making this debut a noteworthy addition to contemporary literature