Very mixed feelings about this novel. Beautifully written but I felt it needed more editing as some parts went on far too long after the point being made was made. Most of the characters were not very likeable or admirable, especially the main character, Genevieve, who was her own worst enemy. I understand her anger at her younger half-sister, Arin, who appropriated something terrible as if it had happened to her and profited off of that story. However, sisters often do terrible things to each other and forgiveness is essential to going forward with your life. The fact that Genevieve envied so many others and resented their succeeding at things more than she did, did not make her a particularly likeable character. The only I disliked more was her grandfather who deserted his wife and created another family and her father who also ended up deserting his family. Lots of potential but possibly giving the characters some redeeming qualities that would make the reader like them more? Although I received an Advanced Review Copy, my opinions are my own and freely shared. 3.5 rounded up to a 4 as this was a debut novel.

A novel about sisterhood, family, ambition and communication. The Original Daughter is the story of an only child, Genevieve, whose life is toppled when a previously unknown half-sibling, Arin, unexpectedly joins the family. Arin’s arrival changes the family’s dynamics. The sisters navigate this new relationship from childhood to adulthood. Their relationship goes through various stages from friendship to rivalry from support to estrangement from achievement to disappointment. The book is set in Singapore and provides interesting background on the pressures of growing up in that country. While I enjoyed the writing and the story, I wanted Genevieve to gain more confidence in herself and be more of a risk-taker. She was a little too self-defeating to be sympathetic. Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for an advanced readers copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Original Daughter is a gorgeously written debut that blends sharp wit with emotional depth. Jemimah Wei crafts a layered story about family, expectations, and the complicated ties that both define and confine us. The novel follows a young woman grappling with her place in a family where perfection is the unspoken currency—and where love and loyalty are not always easy to untangle.

Wei’s prose is luminous, often balancing humor and heartbreak in the same breath. The characters feel authentic, particularly the nuanced portrayal of the mother-daughter relationship, which shifts between tenderness, resentment, and longing. The themes of cultural expectation and personal rebellion are handled with both sensitivity and bite.

At times, the pacing slowed a little too much in the second act, and a few plot turns felt slightly predictable. Still, the emotional truths at the heart of the story—and the voice Wei brings to the page—make this a standout debut.

If you enjoy character-driven novels that feel both intimate and expansive, The Original Daughter is well worth your time.

Compelling characters, a turbulent relationship, and family drama, this story has it all. Plus I learned more about colorful Singapore.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The original daughter is Genevieve. She lives with her parents and her grandmother in Singapore. One day, a man shows up with Arin, the progeny of the grandfather long thought dead. The novel tells the story of how the family functions, how Arin and Genevieve get through tests within the Singapore school system. Toss in deaths, betrayals, and job loss. The plot is punctuated by side stories that make it hard to follow what is going on.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an eARC of this book via NetGalley and Doubleday Books/Doubleday. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“The Original Daughter” by Jemimah Wei, new author to this reader was a very well-written story that was captivating and had me glued to the pages. The novel is comprised of betrayals, failures and jealousy rolled up in a host of family dynamics…love included in it all. Page by page draws you into heartbreak with a mother’s illness and wanting her daughter to reach out to an adopted sister that is now famous but has been estranged from the family for quite some years.

The story is set in Singapore, and the main character leaves your heart in a mixture of unexpected turns and sadness. Although this is told from Genevieve’s POV, I would have loved that Arin’s would have been incorporated into the novel more. The character development is strong although each character has their flaws and insecurities.

If I had a drawback with this story, it would be the main character coming off as unlikeable over and over but the author not sharing much of why. This book was okay read for a debut by this author. A 3-star recommended read.

Thank you to the publisher (Doubleday) and author for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy. I loved the way this was written - it was literary, but some of the metaphors and comparisons really made the story jump off the page.

Character wise, the main character drove me nuts as she grew older and held on to things that split her family apart, and kept splitting her family apart. I got frustrated at her tunnel vision a lot of times. I love a good family drama, though, and this seemed to be a great depiction of the themes in Asian families.

I can see someone in their early 20's relating to the main character, and her feeling of being stunted in growth by family, duty, values, etc. Someone like me, a mom in their 40's, really related to the parents in this story, especially the main character's mother, who worked hard to make things "right" and always felt like she was failing and didn't know how to give her daughter what she wanted most.

All in all, I recommend this book and loved learning about this new author and seeing what's next for her!

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei is a story of family dynamics and dysfunction,love,betrayal,jealousy,and failure to forgive.Genevieve is eight years old and an only child living with her parents and grandmother in Singapore.Her life changes when her family takes in her cousin as an adopted daughter.The characters of Su Ying ,the mother and the daughters, Gen and Arin are well written.The book has lovely writing and shows the sadness of unforgiveness..Gen could make her own drama and chaos ad showed how peoples choices lead to their own unhappiness.You will enjoy reading this debut novel.Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday boos for allowing me to read this ARC.

One of my favorite types of novels is family saga and when it takes place in a country not well known to me, that adds a layer of enjoyment as I get to experience a different culture. The Original Daughter explores the relationships between two sisters and between mother and daughter. Told through the first person narrative of Genevieve, the titular character, and taking place primarily in Singapore, the novel is an engrossing, heartbreaking story.

The novel begins at the end, as Genevieve’s mother is terminally ill and wants Genevieve to reach out to Arin, the adopted daughter/sister, now a famous actress that has been estranged from the family for several years. We are then taken back in time to the arrival of Arin and the development of the relationship between Arin and Genevieve. The character development is very strong as is the narrative. The characters are flawed and Genevieve tends to get in her own way, hung up by insecurities and jealousy. This is the author’s debut novel and I can’t wait to read more from her.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Doubleday Books for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I think that this book has several beautiful overarching meaning behind it that deal with family, sisterhood, relationships, being afraid of change, embracing change, etc., but I found myself never really excited to pick it up. I am not sure what it was that caused that for me. The writing was solid, the characters were enjoyable, and overall, I did enjoy the story and was very happy with how it ended. I think perhaps the book was just too long. It opened strongly and caught my attention, but once we moved into the past timeline and the sisters get introduced, I felt it started to lag a bit. SO much of the book was the sisters' conflict and being apart, and so little of it was of the resolution, I guess you could say. Although I did like the ending, I would've liked to see their relationship come back together even more at the end. It is left pretty open-ended so you could draw your own conclusions, but it would've been nice to have them actually speak to one another after their mother's death and start to re-form their bond to give you that true resolution. The book was a great representation of how we shouldn't let conflict come between us because life is fragile and you never know what's going to happen; life can change so quickly.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book left me feeling sad because Gen had so much wasted potential. I found myself saying out loud, “What are we doing?” more times than I can count. Gen was constantly getting in her way, and it was frustrating to watch her create so much of her chaos.

I would’ve loved Arin’s POV, especially since she felt like the emotional center in contrast to Gen’s spirals.

I enjoyed the exploration of how ambition can lead to isolation and resentment

Set in Singapore, this thought provoking story follows Genevieve as her life shifts from being an only child to sharing a bond with her younger sister, Arin—a product of her grandfather's secret family. Together they take on the heavy pressures of academic achievement but adulthood drives them apart, fracturing their relationship with jealousy and resentment as Genevieve's life takes unexpected turns. My heart went out to her and I also got frustrated with her life decisions.
The richly layered characters of both sisters and their mother made it emotional and impossible not to get caught up in the drama. A must-read that I’ll be recommending widely. 4.5

The Original Daughter is universal in scope as it delves into the darker corners of sibling rivalry and family dynamics. Genevieve was secure in her role as the high-achieving only child of her hard-working mother and father, until her unknown cousin Arin joins the family and is raised alongside herself. At the same time, the novel is highly specific in its setting, the culturally diverse but always enterprising nation of Singapore. I found Jemimah Wei's writing to be extremely artful and found myself highlighting many of her beautiful descriptions. There are humorous moments in the book especially around Gen and Arin's zesty mom; however, much of the book has a heavy mood as the reader sees life through Gen's resentful perspective. She presents legitimate grievances about her celebrity sibling which will readily lend themselves to book discussion groups. This is a thoughtful and well-written book and I am certain it will resonate with many readers.

Thank you Netgalley & Doubleday for this eARC.

Genevieve Yang was an only child. Living with her parents and grandmother in a single-room flat in a working class neighborhood in Singapore. Enter Arin, the shameful legacy of a grandfather long believed to be dead. As the two "sisters" grow closer, they must navigate the intensity of life in a place where the urgent insistence on achievement demands constant sacrifice.

There are quite a few themes that the novel explores: family bonds, parental estrangement, jealousy, manipulation, pride, cruelty, and sacrifice---with an undercurrent of love. I found the three main characters Genevieve, Arin, and Su Yang (mother) very believable in navagating their changing relationships through the years. There are a few sad parts, but what is love and life without them.

Singapore, 1996: Genevieve is 8 years old living with her parents and grandmother in her grandmothers small apartment. She had believed she was an only child when Arin, 6 years old, is dropped off to live with them and Genevieve is informed that this is her half-sister. Genevieve tries to connect with Arin but it’s a struggle. Eventually, their friendship becomes so strong that they make a blood bond of Till Death Us Do Part. They are inseparable until their late teens when a events occur that brings a new understanding of their relationship.

This novel involves a dysfunctional family, friendship, emotional abuse, betrayal and reconciliation.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books

This book made me feel a lot of things. I was almost ready to DNF at the start because it was so slow and felt mundane despite the very unconventional life the characters were living. I'm glad I stuck with it though because the writing is beautiful and I love a story that can make me feel such a wide range of emotions. I've never really known that much about Singapore, not even that their national language is English despite being in Asia. And just now I learned that the entire country is only the size of Atlanta which is hard to grasp in my little mind.

This story made me grateful that I don't have a painful relationship with my sister, even though I definitely wish we were closer than we are. I find that historical fiction books hit a lot harder for me these days than learning history in school ever did which is why I will always love reading them for the perspective they give me on the wider world while also helping me understand myself and the others around me.

It's even more enjoyable when the writer's words are beautiful and ethereal in a way that makes you want to go back to get more of it, but also to make sure you understand what she was actually saying. Though I was nervous at the start of this book that it would be a slog, I'm glad to say now that I'm happy to have read it and can't wait to read more from this author.

⭐️⭐️½

The Original Daughter begins with a slew of run-on sentences that made it hard to stay engaged. The writing feels clunky at first, and the pacing really drags through much of the book. While things do improve slightly as the story goes on, it still struggles to hold interest overall. Not the worst read, but far from a standout.

I found it overall depressing and sad.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I DNF at 70%. The main character was extremely unlikeable and growing more so. Maybe the sister did something terrible, but I never found out what it was.

This book was just okay. I feel bad for Genevieve and Arin. Arin is abandoned by her family and forced to move in with Genevieve and her family. Both girls then must navigate this new family dynamic along with just how messy families can get in general. Neither character really felt like they were written in a way that the reader truly got to know either of them. We spend way more time with Genevieve who for the most part runs away from all the family turmoil and ends up feeling so misplaced from her family that she runs away. I understand her feeling like she no longer is good enough and that this is a reality in many families, but it just made me feel bad.
Thank you to Doubleday Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

This is a very complex story about sisters and family set against a backdrop of Singapore. While beautifully written, I just struggled to connect to the characters. I think that this may be a cultural thing. While I really enjoyed reading about these characters and how they interact, I could not relate nor find myself rooting for or angry with them, I just didn't connect.

This is book has an audience and I believe will do well, just wasn't my favorite.