Wow! I picked this book solely on cover and it’s easily one of the most beautiful books I’ve read all year. The story centers around two women who are feeling lost in their cultural identity, and then between them something shocking happens and it changes the course of things for Lin.

3.5
I did enjoy this advanced copy of "Transplants", thanks so much for the advanced copy Net Gallery. Lin and Liz are two women who are just trying to figure out who they are. Both struggle with loss, identity and place in the world. Liz travels to China to teach English, but also is on a bit of a journey, after the loss of her mother.
Liz is first generation American, and both her parents are Chinese, but she has never been. Her father left, her mother is dead, her brother is ignoring that he is Chinese, all of this help make the decision for Liz to go to China, maybe to try to find out more about her history. Lin is a Chinese college student, who excels at English and taking care of her animals, but not much else. Her mother is overbearing and concerned. She has always felt out of place, and uses college to connect with her English teachers from America. After a startling betrayal from Liz, that results in Lin’s expulsion, Lin moves to America to go to college and ends up on a real adventure. A journey of discovery and racism and the endless expanse and greed of America.

Liz stays in China and tries to learn who she is and how to stand on her own.

Set just before and then during the COVID era, this adds another layer of place and identity.
I enjoyed listening to the audio recording. The narrator did a great job, and as someone who lived in Taiwan for a while teaching English, I could relate to a lot of this and I loved hearing the Mandarin bits.

An American of Chinese descent takes a job teaching English in China, and a Chinese student of English travels overseas to study in America. These are the primary Transplants of the novel, their stories intertwine yet their experiences are vastly different.
I found the novel well written but not compelling. An interesting comparison of expectations, prejudices, and values. A well-narrated audiobook. 3.6 rounded up.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @BlackstoneAudio, and #NetGalley for access to the audiobook of #Transplants for review purposes. The book and audiobook are now available.

This was an interesting and intense look into two friends. I found the writing style beautiful and intimate and honest.
I really dig books set in an academia setting too, it makes secrets feel like high stakes. I also really liked reading the difference of culture rep. Both are Asian yet have their own set of experiences.

Will be recommending to my friends.

This one helped me understand what "literary fiction" means. Listeners of the audiobook version need to pay close attention. Liz and Lin are distinct characters with many overlapping patterns to their hearts and stories. It's easy to get lost in the narrative ... in both senses. There's much to love here about the immigrant and racialized experiences in two major nations ... but something felt inauthentic. Maybe because the author is not a Chinese/American woman. The narration by Natalie Naudus was superb.

I have a soft spot for anyone who would hide animals in her dorm...Lin is a college student who has been bribed by her mom to do well in school with animals and is considered a bit off by everyone else... Liz is also going thru it, they decide, you know what sounds like a good idea? Let's swap places...
Lin moves to middle-of-nowhere Ohio (poor girl), and Liz heads back to China to dig through her family’s generational trauma like it’s a clearance rack at TJ Maxx.
The prose is lyrical without being indulgent, and the alternating perspectives lend a sense of intimacy and nuance that would be lost in a more linear narrative. It captures the painful in-between feeling of not fitting in while trying to make sense of two cultures that claim and reject you equally.
I really enjoyed it, and I think if you liked Central Places, you would like this!

Transplants is an amazing and eye-opening story about two women whose paths cross as they search for belonging, identity, and family. The characters felt so real and their journeys so heartfelt that I did not want it to end. It is a deeply moving read.

The narrator, Natalie, brought the characters to life!

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the chance to review this title.