Emma Goto
Really liked the contrast between Bebe - a Chinese immigrant who wants her biological child back from her new adoptive (white) parents, and Mia, who has essentially stolen and raised a child that she gave birth to, but was not biologically hers.
I was rooting for both of these mothers, and they both come out on top - but who should a child belong to? The parents most equipped to care for them? The biological mother? The woman that physically gives birth to the child? I wanted Bebe to get her child back but at the same time I didn't see Mia as a “bad” character even though she's stolen a child from her biological parents.
The fact that the author grew up where the novel was set, Shaker Heights, makes the subtle racism you encounter throughout the book even more impactful since it probably comes from direct experience.
Originally posted at www.emgoto.com.
Really liked the contrast between Bebe - a Chinese immigrant who wants her biological child back from her new adoptive (white) parents, and Mia, who has essentially stolen and raised a child that she gave birth to, but was not biologically hers.
I was rooting for both of these mothers, and they both come out on top - but who should a child belong to? The parents most equipped to care for them? The biological mother? The woman that physically gives birth to the child? I wanted Bebe to get her child back but at the same time I didn't see Mia as a “bad” character even though she's stolen a child from her biological parents.
The fact that the author grew up where the novel was set, Shaker Heights, makes the subtle racism you encounter throughout the book even more impactful since it probably comes from direct experience.
Originally posted at www.emgoto.com.