Searching for Sylvie Lee: A Read with Jenna Pick

I found this book to be such an interesting read. It held my interest from the first sentence. As for the ending I really enjoyed it and it came as a complete shock to me. The complete book from start to finish kept my interest and I found all the characters enjoyable in their own way. I was so Happy with Jean Kwok that I bought "The Leftover Women" and intend to read it next.

Loved this story by Jean Kwok. A tale of Chinese immigrants, love and family, with drama. Sylvia returns to the Netherlands where she lived with her Grandma and extended family for her 1st 9 years of life. Grandma is ill and Sylvia must come to terms with the feeling of being an outcast.

This book is one of a genre of the mysterious disappearance of a loved one that brings the realization that we don’t know our loved ones as well as we think we do. Sylvia has disappeared and her Ma Pa and sister Amy are struggling to understand. Amy braces herself against her fears and goes in search of her sister. The story is told from the perspectives of Sylvia, Amy and Ma.A couple of things help this novel stand out from others if it’s type. One is the multicultural aspect of a hard-working immigrant family in the US and the immigrant experience in The Netherlands. There are also some interesting turns of phrase both from Chinese culture and Dutch culture.The characters of Amy and Sylvia are well-defined. Ma is less so, but that is because she keeps herself so controlled that any feeling are carefully hidden. As often in this type of story, the reader knows more about everyone than the characters do.Amy’s investigation does eventually discover the truth. The big reveal did not surprise me. I was not a fan of it as it seemed melodramatic but it makes sense within the story.The moral is clear. Secrets do not stay secret.

"Searching for Sylvie Lee" by Jean Kwok was the book that led me back to being a dedicated reader! I loved this book!This is a mystery because Sylvie is missing, but also reads like a family drama for it's deep dive into Sylvie's Chinese-American family dynamics. It's not about beautiful, successful Sylvie so much as it's about shy, stuttering younger sister, Amy hunting for her missing older sister, Sylvie. But it's definitely a "sister story"!Because of so little money when Sylvie's parents first came to America from China, she spent the first nine years of her life living with extended family in the Netherlands. Her maternal grandmother was one of the relatives who cared for her during this time. Upon hearing that her grandmother was gravely ill, Sylvie immediately flew to the Netherlands to be at her beside to help care for her. Shortly after her grandmother's death Sylvie mysteriously disappears. Amy is chosen by her parents as the one to travel to the Netherlands to search for her sister.What I loved about the writing of this novel were the chapters narrated in the first person through alternating perspectives of Sylvie before she disappeared, Amy while she is searching for her sister and Ma as she saw her life before and after coming to America.We hear the deep bond between the two sisters, how deeply they loved one another, often only having each other. But there is so much they don't tell each other - each of the sisters holds the other in high regard while thinking very little of themselves - each wants to be more like the other - each one feels the other sister is more loved. All remains hidden, never spoken about, never shared with the other sister.As Amy searches the family secrets continue to surface, the suspicious characters pile up and the mystery about Sylvie's disappearance continues to mount.....I highly recommend this book!

When Amy Lee's older sister Sylvie disappears after traveling to the Netherlands to visit family, Amy quickly begins to understand just how much she didn't know about her sister's personal life. She always thought they shared everything. Now, Amy wonders exactly how many problems Sylvie kept from her - and more importantly, if they are relevant to discovering what happened to her.The story of the Lee family is told in alternating POV - Amy, Sylvie, and their mother, who married their father shortly before emigrating from China to the US.Each of the women have their secret regrets and dreams; and even more painfully, each easily believes the best about the others, yet continues to feel guilty and unworthy despite her best efforts.As the story progresses, readers will relate to these three women, all struggling to survive in a world that doesn't always make it easy, especially when you're female and poor.The reason I gave it four stars instead of five, however, is because of the ending. About 80% of the book is skillfully written; then, it's like the author either didn't know how to conclude, or was trying to wrap things up "neatly" with a big impact. Either way, her choice is not terribly believable, given the characters she's developed until that point, and it comes off as incredibly soap opera-y, which takes away from the rest of the book.While I'm still overall glad I read this story, I was left disappointed.