Two sisters face the consequences of one's mental illness in Lee's insightful debut novel. With their parents dead by the time the sisters reach early adulthood, the two young immigrants from China depend on each other. Conscientious older sister Miranda and free-spirited Lucia manage well until Lucia begins exhibiting signs of what is variously diagnosed as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, for which she is hospitalized several times. Lee follows the sisters through their forties, broadening out the story to take in the points of view of the gregarious Yonah, Lucia's Israeli immigrant first husband, and hard-working Manny, the Ecuadorian father of her child. While at times the novel loses focus and momentum, it also avoids oversimplifying Lucia's life or turning into a case study, and the tense but loving relationship between the sisters provides structure when the story begins to ramble. The interaction of cultures, with the inevitable misunderstandings that accompany it, forms a vibrant subtheme, and as the novel branches out from New York to Ecuador and then Minnesota, its sense of place deepens.--Quamme, Margaret Copyright 2017 Booklist

At the opening of Lee's promising debut, Chinese-American Lucia Bok marries a coarse yet charming Russian-Israeli Jew named Yonah. The newlyweds quickly settle into a life in Manhattan's East Village, where Yonah runs a health food store and Lucy writes features for a Queens newspaper. But then, in quick succession, a mental illness Lucy thought had been cured returns and she realizes she wants a child. Those catalysts launch the rest of the novel's sprawling turbulence as characters deal with love, duty, the medical establishment, heritage, and the difficult choices that shape a life. Lee tells the story from several points of view, and the section from Lucy's perspective is the stand-out: Lucy is funny, observant, and emotionally intelligent. Her descriptions buzz with the unexpected: "They said I 'suffer' from schizoaffective disorder. That's like the sampler plate of diagnoses, Best of Everything." The other sections are staid by comparison, and the prose is occasionally marred by awkward, clipped constructions, as well as some distracting overreaches. But Lee handles a sensitive subject with empathy and courage. Readers will find much to admire and ponder throughout, and Lucy's section reveals Lee as a writer of considerable talent and power. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

The tumult of loving someone with a chronic mental illness can exhaust even the most caring person.Just ask Miranda, elder sister to Lucia, a brash, brilliant journalist whose periodic descent into severe psychosis has taxed their relationship and forced Miranda to confront the limits of family loyalty. Of course, she knows that Lucia can be attentive, charming, and kind, drawing in friends and colleaguesat least until the inevitable delusions take hold. It's scary stuff. To Lee's credit, Lucia, the more compellingly drawn of the two siblings, never seems like a psychological case study. Instead, we get inside her headperhaps even inside her soulto grapple with the challenges she faces. Her loving first marriage, to an older Israeli East Village shop owner named Yonah, begins and ends abruptly, revealing the magnitude of Lucia's impetuous nature. Later, she hooks up with Manuel, an undocumented Ecuadoran immigrant working odd jobs in Westchester Country, New York, and has a baby. A move to Ecuador, where Lucia, Manuel, and baby Esperanza live in close proximity to Manuel's family, is both comforting and stifling and raises questions about the cultural assumptions governing gender, parenting, and assimilation. In addition, what it means to live outside one's country of origin is explored from both Manuel's and Lucia's perspectives. The book also exposes the helplessness of family members wishing to fix a fraught situation; the class dimension of health care delivery; and the rampant misinformation surrounding the treatment and diagnosis of illnesses like schizoaffective disorder. Lastly, vivid descriptions of the gentrifying Lower East Side of 1990s New York City, the heavily immigrant towns along the Hudson River, and several communities in Ecuador ground the characters in distinct locations.An evocative and beautifully written debut. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Lee's impressive debut-both a celebration and mourning of the bond between two sisters, the younger afflicted with mental illness, the elder desperate to save her-deserves better aural interpretation. The full cast (in rare recognition, a who-was-who is added at recording's end) includes Emily Woo Zeller as older sister Miranda, Kim Mai Guest as younger sister Lucia, Ozzie Rodriquez as Lucia's lover Manuel, and Paul Boehner as Lucia's husband, Yonah. Cassandra Campbell serves as omniscient narrator for the prolog and Part 2, when Lee's narrative switches from first to third person. The usual challenges of a multireader production are present here, especially with inconsistent characterizations among performers: Lucia's Pakistani American friend Nipa's accent varies noticeably; the word jie (older sister) changes its syllable-count. The most jarring transition happens when Lucia boards the flight from New York City in Guest's youthful voice as Part 1 concludes and seems to age suddenly decades with a turn of a page as she lands in Ecuador as Campbell continues the narrative in Part 2. VERDICT For multitasking readers satisfied with words read aloud, this production will surely appease; audio aficionados used to affecting performances should consider choosing the page. ["First novelist Lee's story of mental illness and its effects on Lucia and those who love her alternates points of view from among various characters. The portrayal of sisterly love and its limits is visceral. A solid choice for general fiction readers": LJ 9/1/17 review of the Pamela Dorman: -Viking hc.]-Terry Hong, Smithsonian -BookDragon, -Washington, DC © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.