For all her life, Frances Ching has lived by her mothers demands: she, the obedient daughter, will study hard, get straight As, go to med school, and become a doctor so that she will be able to support her mother, who has sacrificed everything for many decades for her only childs success. However, when Frances gets accidentally enrolled in her schools speech class, she discovers a heretofore-unknown passion for words, and an inspirational teacher who helps her see the power of words.
Unfortunately, speech is most definitely not a Mother-approved subject, and the more Frances plays with words, the more she realizes how her mother uses words to keep them tied tightly together. Will Frances give up her new dreams to remain obedient to her well-intentioned mother, or will she pursue what she wants at the risk of breaking her mothers heart?
You know, Im always pretty hesitant to read these books. Stories of difficult and overbearing Asian mother-daughter relationships a la The Joy Luck Club always seem to blend together for me after a while. Happily, while the premise of BITTER MELON is not unique, it presents Frances and her mothers story in a way that worms inside your heart and draws out your emotions.
Ms. Taylor, Frances speech teacher, tells her that words contain great power, and so it is with this book. We may not be able to understand Frances entirely, who seems to miss that certain sort of openness that I like most about YA protagonists, but we are very much absorbed into her painful struggle to define where her mother ends and she begins. Frances suffers verbal, physical, and emotional abuse at the hands of her mother, and while hopefully most readers will not have experienced the same level of horror, we can all relate to the tensions that arise when our desires dont match our parents expectations.
The plot escalates at an enthralling rate, and becomes practically impossible to put down at some points. No, there is nothing of the action- or adventure-novel type, but as Frances cover-ups of her speech activities continue to pile up, and her relationship with her mother becomes worse and worse, I was on the edge of my seat, nervous for her.
BITTER MELON is an incredible tale of an oppressed teenage girls blossoming, and has an ending that befits all of Frances struggles and hard-won triumphs. It is a book I would recommend to a wide range of readers, for its emotional, all-too-real portrayal of the dark side of mother-daughter relationships, and the power that one can find within oneself, with the right words and support.
Unfortunately, speech is most definitely not a Mother-approved subject, and the more Frances plays with words, the more she realizes how her mother uses words to keep them tied tightly together. Will Frances give up her new dreams to remain obedient to her well-intentioned mother, or will she pursue what she wants at the risk of breaking her mothers heart?
You know, Im always pretty hesitant to read these books. Stories of difficult and overbearing Asian mother-daughter relationships a la The Joy Luck Club always seem to blend together for me after a while. Happily, while the premise of BITTER MELON is not unique, it presents Frances and her mothers story in a way that worms inside your heart and draws out your emotions.
Ms. Taylor, Frances speech teacher, tells her that words contain great power, and so it is with this book. We may not be able to understand Frances entirely, who seems to miss that certain sort of openness that I like most about YA protagonists, but we are very much absorbed into her painful struggle to define where her mother ends and she begins. Frances suffers verbal, physical, and emotional abuse at the hands of her mother, and while hopefully most readers will not have experienced the same level of horror, we can all relate to the tensions that arise when our desires dont match our parents expectations.
The plot escalates at an enthralling rate, and becomes practically impossible to put down at some points. No, there is nothing of the action- or adventure-novel type, but as Frances cover-ups of her speech activities continue to pile up, and her relationship with her mother becomes worse and worse, I was on the edge of my seat, nervous for her.
BITTER MELON is an incredible tale of an oppressed teenage girls blossoming, and has an ending that befits all of Frances struggles and hard-won triumphs. It is a book I would recommend to a wide range of readers, for its emotional, all-too-real portrayal of the dark side of mother-daughter relationships, and the power that one can find within oneself, with the right words and support.
Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
As I turned the last page of BITTER MELON, I still couldn't decide if I should celebrate for Frances or feel sorry for her mother.... And thus is the crux of the story behind BITTER MELON.
We meet Frances, a senior at a private girl's school with the goal to gain entrance to Berkeley. As with most Asian American families in the San Francisco, California, area, Berkeley is the holy grail of colleges. Only the most worthy will gain entrance. And Frances has been groomed from an early age by her mother to excel and want nothing else but Berkeley - and ultimately a degree in medicine.
A scheduling snafu at school lands Frances in speech class instead of calculus. She tells herself she will fix her schedule before the deadline, but before she knows it, the deadline has passed and she finds she not only excels in class, but she likes it. And her teacher, Ms. Taylor, inspires her and is nothing like any other teacher she's ever had.
Of course, speech does not fit in Frances' mother's plans. But with the coaxing of Ms. Taylor and the guidance counselor from school, her mother comes around to the idea of speech being an "extra-curricular" on Frances' college applications. But as with everything else, Frances has to come in first or it's not worth her time.
BITTER MELON encompasses Frances' senior year. The reader gets to know the hardships that Frances has to endure at the hands of her mother (sometimes literally.) Frances isn't allowed any after school activities and boys are a no no. She meets Derek at an SAT prep class that her mother constantly bemoans the cost of, even though Frances did not ask to attend. As Derek shows interest in Frances, her mother becomes more and more hostile in her actions and words.
I hate to think that Frances' life as portrayed in BITTER MELON is a common occurrence. The expectations placed on Frances were unreal and at times cruel. Frances did the only thing such confinement would be expected to lead to - she rebels. Though her rebellion is not outright, the subtle tugging on her strings is enough to make France realize that she wanted nothing more than her own dreams. Nothing she would ever accomplish would satisfy her mother, and gaining her confidence as the year passes increases her need to be free.
As I turned the last page of BITTER MELON, I still couldn't decide if I should celebrate for Frances or feel sorry for her mother.... And thus is the crux of the story behind BITTER MELON.
We meet Frances, a senior at a private girl's school with the goal to gain entrance to Berkeley. As with most Asian American families in the San Francisco, California, area, Berkeley is the holy grail of colleges. Only the most worthy will gain entrance. And Frances has been groomed from an early age by her mother to excel and want nothing else but Berkeley - and ultimately a degree in medicine.
A scheduling snafu at school lands Frances in speech class instead of calculus. She tells herself she will fix her schedule before the deadline, but before she knows it, the deadline has passed and she finds she not only excels in class, but she likes it. And her teacher, Ms. Taylor, inspires her and is nothing like any other teacher she's ever had.
Of course, speech does not fit in Frances' mother's plans. But with the coaxing of Ms. Taylor and the guidance counselor from school, her mother comes around to the idea of speech being an "extra-curricular" on Frances' college applications. But as with everything else, Frances has to come in first or it's not worth her time.
BITTER MELON encompasses Frances' senior year. The reader gets to know the hardships that Frances has to endure at the hands of her mother (sometimes literally.) Frances isn't allowed any after school activities and boys are a no no. She meets Derek at an SAT prep class that her mother constantly bemoans the cost of, even though Frances did not ask to attend. As Derek shows interest in Frances, her mother becomes more and more hostile in her actions and words.
I hate to think that Frances' life as portrayed in BITTER MELON is a common occurrence. The expectations placed on Frances were unreal and at times cruel. Frances did the only thing such confinement would be expected to lead to - she rebels. Though her rebellion is not outright, the subtle tugging on her strings is enough to make France realize that she wanted nothing more than her own dreams. Nothing she would ever accomplish would satisfy her mother, and gaining her confidence as the year passes increases her need to be free.
