skybridge

babewiththepower.bsky.social · @babewiththepower.bsky.social@bridge.neodb.net

Rated Real Americans 6/10

I went into this book blind only vaguely knowing what it was about. The slight scifi? fantastical? details were maybe a bit of a surprise. I don't remember if I'd read them mentioned anywhere before I read the book. SFF being my usual genres I think I would've wanted either more of that aspect or not have it at all. The genetics aspect didn't seem to make too huge of an impact. If anything maybe it was unintentionally almost eugenics-y without really going into it much, crazily.<br/><br/>That brings me to the division of the book into, as a review described it, 3 novellas in one book. I think that's a good way to describe it. I tend to not read novellas because they always leave me wanting more detail, more story. That's how I was left feeling with each POV story here which overall left me unsatisfied with the book overall. Either an entire book of the whole life of either May or Lily would've been more satisfying for me.<br/><br/>The weakest or least interesting to me was the middle POV from Lily's son, Nick. He just came across as an emotionless clueless? privileged boy. May's story from Maoist China up to the first couple of years in the U.S. were a bit of retread for me, a story covered countless times in various books of scientists growing up in and then leaving China during or shortly after that period. Hence why I would've found more interesting May's life after getting to the U.S. Maybe something new for me there.<br/><br/>I feel like I've had no positives to say which isn't my intention to say it's a bad book. I think it was just not that great of a book for me. The format and the stories might be much more likeable and fresh for others. It is a decent book at least even if it wasn't fully for me.

#book

Published 2026-08-18 17:59 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere