Black Water Sister

Such depth and character development all while centering cultural context and perspective. I don’t think I’ll EVER find another masterpiece like this again…

This book is extremely well written. The family dynamics are brilliant. The use of pidgin English without being confusing was satisfying and added to immersion. The supernatural elements were creepy. The gangsters were ominous. The story was full of twists and the ending resolved in a satisfying way. It was more of a thriller than is my cup of tea. But some people will think it is ten out of ten.

This novel had me hooked from the very first page! It has everything you can wish for: a fun and interesting protagonist, familiar cultural & spiritual practices (at least for me personally, being of Chinese descent), magical realism, LGBTQ+ representation, and a wonderful blend of everyday life events (moving to a new country, trying to figure out your life after college, finding a job, and all while maintaining your secret lesbian long-distance relationship and hiding this from your conservative Asian parents) juxtaposed with the horror of being haunted - even if you’re being haunted by a family member!I love how raw the emotion of this book is as well. You have Jess, who is torn between the life she wants to live (or at least, she has a loose plan for her future - and with a hopeful reconciliation with Sharanya!), her parents who are dealing with past and present worries and sorrow, and her Ah Ma who is stuck holding onto so much pain, fury, and a thirst for revenge even beyond the grave. Then you have the Black Water Sister - a tortured spirit who became a god, dealing out pain and misfortune on the victims of those who pray for her favor, but is also a reflection of her own trauma and death. This story is so multifaceted and layered in the past and present, deep emotions, with a great blending of action and mystery to boot!I loved every moment reading this novel and it is seriously one of my favorite books I’ve read all year (perhaps, of all time)! If I could rate this novel more than 5 Stars, I would in a heartbeat. Thank you Zen Cho for gifting us with such a wonderful story. I can wait to read more from this author! 🖤

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5Two things, my friends, that I need to announce.1: I am terrified of ghosts.2: I cannot resist a ghost story.Both reasons are why I was so intrigued by the blurb for this book, and pre-ordered it (side note: I do love to pre-order. It’s like a little gift for future me, and that is a great feeling.) as soon as I read it.I was not disappointed. Black Water Sister is a fantasy, and a ghost story, and a horror story, and a story about growth, all wrapped in gorgeous prose and tied with literary skill. It reminded me of my deep love for magical realism (though I’m not sure this text fits the bill for that genre) and I truly, deeply, loved it.Jessamyn joins her parents, post-Ivy graduation, in moving back to Malaysia, where a voice in her head begins a spiral into a world of gods, ghosts, and vengeance.This book was beautifully written, and what I loved about it most is the depth of character, for the people both living and dead within its pages. There is interpersonal, intrapersonal, and trans-generational tensions here, all played out within a backdrop that questions what it means to be successful, and the obligations we have to our families.You’ll like this book if you are looking for a fresh, interesting fantasy that plays on family and duty.

Well, Black Water Sister is exactly the fun paranormal read I'd hoped for. The premise promised a bunch of laughs: reluctant lesbian medium (Jess), a voice in her head that turns out to be her dead grandmother’s ghost (Ah Ma), a gangster who has offended a powerful god (Black Water Sister), all set in Malaysia—a place Jess hasn’t been since she was a kid.Needless to say, hilarity and complex hijinks ensue.I enjoyed every second of Black Water Sister, going from laughing one minute to racing through pages the next as Jess became the vessel for the opinionated Ah Ma. I will literally die for the voice speaking in the main character’s head trope. And Jess is so relatable; her feelings about coming out, not knowing what to do after graduation, her relationship with her parents, all weighing on her shoulders. Big yesses for this reviewer. As is the language and dialogue not being overexplained for the western reader. I felt truly transported to the setting of Panang, embraced the mystical connections Jess had to her country of birth. All the banter, ancestor magic, ghosts, gangs, and gods made this contemporary fantasy so fun to read and one of my favorites this year.Content warnings: attempted rape, homophobia, racist microaggressions

This is a fast movie story. I got a little lost in the characters, but only for a moment. It didn't distract from the story. Original. Creative twist.

So absorbing that by the end it is hard to put down.A good read for those who need to learn the material character of life is only part of existence in the great world.The author, Zen Cho is an accomplished and entertaining writer.

This book was a gift, and cane highly recommended. It's a marvelous ghost story, and the characters are really first rate. It's with some sadness to say I haven't finished the book and I have to set it aside. Much of the dialogue is written in dialect that I'm having problems parsing, and I have to reread a few times to figure out the meaning.

I had no idea what to expect with this book, but from the first line, I loved it and by half way through I genuinely couldn’t stop. That’s one of the cliches people spout about books, but in this case, it was entirely true. I’ve lost a lot of sleep tonight and it’s completely worth it. Jess and Ah Ma and their complex, convoluted relationship with the god make for an entirely unguessable narrative arc and Jess is so completely real that it’s impossible not to be terrified on her behalf: so much to lose, and so much potential for catastrophe. I’m not going into plots and definitely not heading into spoiler territory but safe to say this is going to the top of this year’s Books Everyone Must Read. Helps that the writing is a delight: someone whose handle on language is strong enough to break every rule beautifully. I loved this. Sincerely hope there are more to come.

A joyous, dark, hilarious, heartfelt and chilling page turner. The pacing is is a real thing of beauty, and the multilayered characterisation is wonderful. I loved Jess, such a wonderfully flawed character that brought both strength and vulnerability to the story. And Ah Mah may be my favourite person in the book. This book looks at culture, family, trauma and healing. I just loved it.

Was this book written for YA?The storyline made sense but the various supernatural creatures who appeared and made menace were completely unrealistic for me, so I was a little disappointed. That's why I wonder if the book was actually written for YA.

I'm coming back for a long ass review write up later. Good book but also very complex reactions from me!

Another great read from Zen Cho. Couldn't put it down, I read the whole book in one sitting. Five stars