Transplant is a solid listen, though not particularly gripping. I found it hard to fully connect with either of the main characters—their emotional journey felt distant at times, making it tough to truly empathize. I would have preferred more interaction between Lin and Liz at the end of the novel.

One notable drawback was the pandemic setting. The plot’s handling of that period, especially moments like Lin’s trip to Yellowstone didn't feel realistic.

What kept me engaged, though, was Natalie Naudus’s exceptional narration. Naudus is one of my absolute favorite narrators (this was book #16 for me). Her tone, pacing, and emotional delivery elevated the novel. Honestly, I’m not sure I would have finished reading a physical copy of the book.

Overall, while Transplant didn’t quite hit the mark for me in terms of plot and character depth, the audiobook version is worth a try for Naudus’s performance alone.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone publishing for free access to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent book for narration by a professional reader.
Quiet and reclusive Lin, from a rural town in China, promises her mother to make at least one friend at her new university. Liz, who longs to be seen for who she really is, comes to China to teach English as a Second Language and to find out why her parents migrated to Ohio in the U.S. years ago.

They become friends and soon find what they are looking for when they decide to swap places - Lin to study at a college in Ohio and to travel by car to Yellowstone Park on the west coast, and Liz to travel to Shanghai with friends, where she visits her estranged father and meets a young man, Stephen.

Lin becomes more outgoing, and Liz feels seen for the first time in this new world and place, finding someone to become her partner. Both women are constrained in different ways by their pasts and the expectations of family and culture but find ways to find the freedom they search for.

The excellent character delineation of both women and the men they fall in love with, for bad or for good, carries much of the story.

a little bit torn on my rating. For huge chunks of this book I thought I’d rate it four or five stars but something nagged at the back of my mind, I can’t quite put my finger on it, it lacked authenticity. I actually initially thought I’d dnf but I went back to the beginning and tried again, I’m glad I did, as I think I’d have been sorry to miss out.

There were lots of really interesting moments, about the meaning of belonging, how finding your place in the world varies greatly from person to person and experience to experience. Lin is a Chinese student in America struggling to fit in. Liz is a Chinese American teacher in China struggling to fit in, while their paths do cross the main points of the story are of their lives separately.

Glad I didn’t miss this. But I wasn’t hooked either.

The narration was nice!

Huge thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook which is available now 🎧

4.5 stars.

This is an incredible story about the resilience of two young women: one an English-speaking college student in China, and the other an American-Chinese teacher teaching English in China. They're both essentially shunned and excluded by their peers, both have baggage about their mothers, and both are alone and craving connection. They become friends due to some lies and bad behavior, which catapults each in different directions, one a Chinese woman in the US during Covid, and the other an American in China during Covid. It's a fascinating and lovely story of generosity, cruelty, self-reliance, sacrifice, grief, belonging, forgiveness, and connection. I loved both of these women and would have read more had this followed them to their deaths.

“To migrate is to disappear and then to be reborn. To migrate is to be reborn and then never to disappear.”
—Sami Nair and Juan Goytisolo

Transplants opens with this quote and it perfectly sets the tone for a novel that is searching, layered, and deeply humane. I listen to it all in one sitting on a quiet Sunday, completely captivated from start to finish.

This poignant and thought provoking story follows two characters: Lin, a Chinese student navigating isolation and cultural tension in both rural China and later in small-town Ohio, and Liz, a Chinese American teacher grieving her mother while seeking connection in a homeland she’s never truly known. Their stories span continents, crises, and internal reckonings, exploring migration, race, belonging, and what it means to live between worlds.

Natalie Naudus, an Audie and Earphones Award-winning narrator I know for One Last Stop and She Who Became the Sun, delivers an exquisite performance. Her voice is perfectly suited to this story, capturing both Liz’s emotional introspection and Lin’s quiet resilience. She conveys every nuance with empathy and precision, bringing the characters’ pain, joy, and uncertainty to life in a way that made the listening experience deeply immersive and affecting.

Tam-Claiborne’s prose is observant and tender, drawing out the complexities of identity with care and clarity. Lin’s journey from China to America is filled with disillusionment, and yet, moments of quiet grace: “In every river, there are small fish and big fish. But they swim just the same.” He doesn’t shy away from the sting of cultural alienation: “You’re not one of us anymore. Maybe you never were.” “She decided to embrace her foreigner status: a person who belonged nowhere.” Yet, there is hope—in connection, in shared struggle: “We may never fully be accepted,” Ruth said, “but we’re something, aren’t we? This is our home, too.”Liz and Lin’s chapters are equally powerful. So many quotes I have noted down. I’m grabbing a hardcopy of the novel next.

Transplants is a lyrical, thought-provoking meditation on identity, loss, and survival. It resonated deeply with me as someone who have/lives between cultures; it will also speak to anyone looking to expand their understanding of experiences beyond their own. This is a beautiful, necessary novel, stunningly narrated by Natalie Naudus. and I highly recommend it.

Huge thanks to Blackstone Publishing – Audiobooks and NetGalley for the advance listening copy. #pudseyrecommends

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.