A
The main character of this book, Amiko, is a complete moron, too much for her own good. Some moments of her idiocy are wholesome and some are downright angering. Even though I found myself disliking the main character most of the time, I couldn't put down this book from the moment I picked it up. Hearing of each event happening to Amiko was heartbreaking, even more so for the fact that she had no clue that what was going on was so sad, which made me feel especially sorry for her. This is a real heart-wrenching read, but one that I feel is really worth it.
I find it hard to find what to say after reading this book, but one thing is for certain. It was great. Each moment of sadness or fear from the main character felt like it was my own, which made some sections feel particularly difficult to read. This feeling completely amplified my love for the book and my immersion in its story. I fully recommend this read to anyone looking for something involving adolescence and the hardships that people may face during it. Also, watch All About Lily Chou-Chou if you liked this book!!
I went into this book knowing nothing about China's class struggles and the day-to-day lives of its people and left knowing a bunch of names of audio equipment and with a love-hate (but mostly love) relationship with the story's protagonist. I liked how Ge Fei explained the world I was reading through, which made the book much more digestible than I expected it to be towards the beginning of the story. This easy-to-understand backdrop made drowning myself in the character of Mr. Cui much easier as a result, and he's a fun one to follow along with. My main gripe with this book would be that I felt some of the monologues about audio equipment went on for a bit too long, but when putting them in the context of the narrator they are right at home.
