The Downstairs Girl

I enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would. Really beautiful story and so well written

Overall, I enjoyed this book. What I enjoyed most though was the narrator. She was brilliant! She really brought the character of Jo Kwon to life with her southern accent and charm. I would rate a 3.5 if I could.

In terms of the story, I found it to be simultaneously realistic and unrealistic.

It was realistic in the sense that it was an ordinary story lacking tension and drama. Don't get me wrong, I love the concept of an Asian American girl growing up in the south, but the story was still quite simple. Nothing out of the ordinary happens that I wasn't expecting. I wouldn't go so far as to call it boring, but if it wasn't for the narrator, it would've taken me far longer to finish this book.

I did love the concept of her being Miss Sweetie, and I also love Nathan and his family (especially Bear the doggo).

In terms of it being unrealistic: conflict seem to resolve itself are too quickly. For example, she is fired for her job and immediately finds a job the next day, Caroline is being cruel to her but Jo conveniently gets blackmail on her soon after, her grandfather is beaten to a pulp/ her home is discovered yet the owners don't get mad, etc. these examples don't particularly bother me as I was not looking for a dark story full of death and misery. The one thing that did stick out as being far too convenient to be believable was in regards to Billy. Spoiler- Noemi is his sister and is able to help Jo out of the debt. That was just far too convenient. Instead, I would have liked to have seen Jo and Nathan resolve the issue with Billy and the debt together. And her winning the horse race is another one! No way I believe that as she has no experience with professional horse riding.

I would've liked to have seen many things, including more romance between her and Nathan, and even her opening up to him about her issues to him. We get none of that, only a tease into their future. Lastly, I would have liked for Jo to speak to her mother about her father so learn more about him.

Regardless, I enjoyed it overall and appreciated its light tone and simple story.

Captivating Story

The story of Jo and Old Gin kept me fascinated from beginning to end. It was a story of the racism that people of Chinese descent faced during that time and how they struggled to fit into society. It was also a story of perseverance, strength and the bravery to question the status quo.

I loved, the characters the setting and the themes of the book. This POV was very interesting to read and I really like how the racism and feminism were addressed. As an historical fiction it was pretty slow paced, but the author was able to keep me hooked by giving me some questions to be answered and by creating a great and solid ensemble of characters that I liked very much and a principal character that is really inspiring! Would recommend if you like historical fiction and have an interest for the subject of gender and race equality in the late 1800. I would also love to see were these characters are a few years later in a sequel or companion novel...

As someone who doesn‘t like historical fiction, I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed this a lot. The best parts are the writing style and characters. It makes me want to read more from this author. I was never bored by the plot but I did get confused by the side character at times. I have to agree with the consensus that the stakes weren‘t that high and things seemed to conveniently work out. But I‘m not mad about it lol. I enjoyed it overall.

This book set me up many times. I kept expecting things to go horribly wrong, but the situations kept working themselves out perfectly. While there are obvious struggles for the main character, and many of the side characters for that matter, this book has an overwhelmingly happy ending. Maybe it's because I'm currently watching The Handmaid's Tale that I expect everything to just be horribly wrong the whole time.

I have just recently started reading historical fiction and really love this genre as there is truth within the fiction itself. This was different than I thought it would be but I thoroughly enjoyed the perspective as it's written by Jo.

Jo is very intelligent for her age and having to be self reliant so young is heartbreaking to read. Her being an orphan (of sorts) on top of that and knowing nothing of her parents .. I couldn't imagine that type of sadness.

It was very interesting to read about the suffragist movement and the treatment of Chinese in the South. This isn't something learned in school and I had no idea that they were brought to the South in order to replace slaves. The Author's Note at the end is worth reading.

4.5 Really enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. The writing is excellent, clever and humorous, and the message of using your voice and fighting against injustice is clear but not didactically hammering readers. The characters are complex and realistic and you really care about them. You also learn more about what it was like to be Chinese in the south during Reconstruction and right before Jim Crow, which not a lot of books cover. Will definitely booktalk this and try to find this book an audience.

I was going to give this four stars but I'm bumping it up because my mum, who is sick in bed right now, was so very charmed and entertained by this book and she never likes anything.

I could not put this down! I was instantly invested in Jo Kuan and her story. She is a bright, witty, and wise character that totally makes this book worth a read even if you don't generally like historical fiction. Chinese immigrants in “Gilded Age” Atlanta is also not something I've seen explored before, so that was additionally interesting to me. The plot is intricate, fast paced, and absolutely satisfying with a stellar cast of supporting characters. Lee brings elements of danger, social justice, and humor together in a wonderful blend. Bonus points if you like stories about suffragettes and/or horses! Highly recommend.

Stacey Lee writes the best historical fiction! Great characters, interesting time periods, and usually a late book action sequence. This time it's a horse race! Great for horse girls, plucky girls, and word-loving girls.