Hello, everyone! Welcome to my stop on The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling blog tour, which is organized by The Book Terminal! I'm so excited to share with you today, my favorite quotes from The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim, which is out now! Follow along the tour to celebrate the U.S. release of this heartfelt and heart wrenching novel that will pull at your heartstrings in various ways. Thank you, The Book Terminal, for having me on the tour, and Scholastic for the review copy!
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
Young Adult Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Mental Health
November 10, 2020 from Scholastic Press
An authentic novel about growing up in a migrant Asian family with a mother who is suffering from a debilitating mental illness.Anna Chiu has her hands full. When she's not looking after her brother and sister or helping out at her father's restaurant, she's taking care of her mother, whose debilitating mental illness keeps her in bed most days. Her father's new delivery boy, Rory, is a welcome distraction and even though she knows that things aren't right at home, she's starting to feel like she could be a normal teen.But when her mother finally gets out of bed, things go from bad to worse. And as her mother's condition worsens, Anna and her family question everything they understand about themselves and each other.The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling is a heart-wrenching, true-to-life exploration through the often neglected crevices of culture, mental illness, and family. Its strong themes are balanced by a beautiful romance making it a feel-good, yet important read.
★ Praises for The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling ★
"This is a book with a huge heartbeat and so much love infused in every page. The stoic resilience of the Chiu family is inspiring." -- Alice Pung, award-winning author of Lucy and Linh
"A heartwarming tale of family, food, and first love that captures the pain and confusion of grappling with a parent's mental illness. Wai Chim will make you cry both happy and sad tears." -- Justine Larbalestier, author of My Sister Rosa
"I adored this heartfelt story. Anna truly won my heart: at sixteen she's caught at the crossroads of responsibility and restriction, laboring under heavy expectations that come from others and herself. Wai Chim has employed a deeply immersive storytelling style to explore the unspoken truths within families, trust, cross-cultural relationships, first love, and forgiveness with sophistication and unfailing empathy." -- Leanne Hall, author of Iris and the Tiger
⮞ Content/Trigger Warnings: parent with mental illness; microaggression; racism; bullying; animal cruelty; delusions; familial emotional abuse; portrayals of depression; suicidal ideation + attempt; forced psychiatric hospitalization
Rep
☀ Mental Illness
☀ Queer + neurodivergent Chinese characters
Look how cute these dumpling cloth patches from author Wai Chim, paired with
--Wai Chim, The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling
--Wai Chim, The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling
--Wai Chim, The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling
a super adorable dumpling postcard and a sweet message. I'm- 🥺👉👈
Favorite Quotes
"I'll never cease to be amazed by the power of a good dumpling."
"Everyone thinks therapy is for when things get too bad, but really we all
could use someone to talk to."
"No matter what you hear, no matter what bad things they say. Remember that we
love you and we are here to fight for you. We will fight the bad things, we
will fight the shadows together. We are your family."
[Quotes are from an unedited advanced review copy and is subject to change in the final publication]
Song Dedication
OK Not To Be OK -- Marshmello x Demi Lovato
Book Trailer
Meet Wai Chim
Wai Chim is a first-generation Chinese-American from New York City. Growing up speaking Cantonese around the house, she absorbed as much Western culture as she could through books, TV, and school. She spent some time living in Japan before making Sydney, Australia, her permanent home. In addition to her writing, Wai works as a digital producer/web developer for The Starlight Children's Foundation, whose programs offer entertainment, education, and technology to critically, chronically, and terminally ill children. Learn more about her at waichim.com.
Purchase The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Google Play | Target | Half Price Books | Indiebound | Bookshop | Sribd | Libro.fm | Kepler's | Books Inc. | Face In a Book | Books A Million | Chapters Indigo | Blackwell's | Booktopia | Wordery | Better World Books | Book Depository
Follow the Tour!
I want to bring attention to what's currently happening in the Philippines. Philippines has been devastated by multiple typhoons in the span of two months and more recently in the last two weeks that has left Filipinos stranded awaiting rescue, without electricity or homes, and for some, worse. Please kindly consider donating to local relief efforts to help with rescue and relief for those who lost everything. No donations are too small. Even $5 USD would help a lot. Book community is holding book drives and giveaways in exchange for proof of donations, so if you're in the market for some books, definitely check it out. If you are unable to donate, you can watch/play these YouTube video ads.
Resources of where to safely donate + help Philippines from wherever you are:
Note: do NOT donate to the PH government, as they are not helping their citizens.
Have you read The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling?
What did you think of it? Let me know below!
Thanks for stopping by!
Social Icons