Look, it’s clear Ng is a talented writer. But it’s a shame this was my intro to her work, because I don’t think I’ll pick up anything else by her. While the first third from Bird’s POV was intriguing and built compelling tension, once we switch to Margaret’s POV it all falls apart for me. Any sort of nuance or potential excitement was ruined by the heavy handed exposition and lackluster characters. 

But my biggest frustration? The lack of NUANCE. Especially in a politically-driven dystopian novel. Any discussion about other marginalized groups that would be most impacted by right-wing extremism are practically nonexistent. It felt bizarre to only read about Sinophobia and anti-Asian hate crimes. Yes, these are real problems, but it lacked an intersectional lens. Not only that, but the co-opting of Indigenous and Black issues and melting them into Asian American issues?? It felt icky to me for reasons it took a while to identify. 

This is a problem I think arises when Asian Americans try to have our pain recognized while lacking an intersectional understanding of oppression. We can leave behind other communities while trying to have our experiences validated. There were some side characters towards the end that I think were meant to address this, but unfortunately it’s just not handled well and still read as a poor attempt to correct plot points the author had already firmly established. So instead, these important differences between communities of color become flattened without care for how it affects them. Ultimately, Ng wrote a sanitized dystopian novel for white audiences to read, feel sad, and pat themselves on the back for reading.

ALSO THAT ENDING WAS RIDICULOUS????

What exactly did Margaret accomplish with that, huh? She finally takes a stand just to do the most ineffective gesture??UGH. That's the big achievement she's thrown away her family and years of her life for - a brief address that let her feel like a hero that only a limited number of passersby could have even heard, and which could have been EASILY printed or distributed online to a wider audience with a fraction of the risk.

Lesson learned: I should know better than to pick up something with a Reese Book Club sticker. 

1.5 stars for Sadie and the rebel librarians though, they were pretty cool.