Wiz Wharton - Ghost Girl, Banana

Wiz Wharton - Ghost Girl, Banana 

5⭐

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Asian Literature, China, Literary Fiction 

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback Proof 

Publisher:  Hodder & Stoughton 

Date Published: 18th May 2023

Huge thank you to the author, Wiz Wharton and Hodder Books for sending me this book to read and review.

 

Book Blurb: 

Set between the last years of the "Chinese Windrush" in 1966 and Hong Kong's Handover to China in 1997, a mysterious inheritance sees a young woman from London uncovering buried secrets in her late mother's homeland in this captivating, wry debut about family, identity, and the price of belonging.

Hong Kong, 1966. Sook-Yin is exiled from Kowloon to London with orders to restore honor to her family. But as she trains to become a nurse in cold and wet England, Sook-Yin realizes that, like so many transplants, she must carve out a destiny of her own to survive.

Thirty years later in London, having lost her mother as a small child, biracial misfit Lily can only remember what Maya, her preternaturally perfect older sister, has told her about Sook-Yin. Unexpectedly named in the will of a powerful Chinese stranger, Lily embarks on a secret pilgrimage across the world to discover the lost side of her identity and claim the reward. But just as change is coming to Hong Kong, so Lily learns Maya's secrecy about their past has deep roots, and that good fortune comes at a price.

Heartfelt, wry and achingly real, Ghost Girl, Banana marks the stunning debut of a writer-to-watch.

My Review: 

Ghost Girl, Banana is my new favourite book, being one of my top 5 books ever and the only book that I ever related to so much. Such a beautifully written story about family, belonging, heritage and finding yourself. I loved Wiz Wharton’s poetic writing, detailed descriptions and complex yet, relatable characters. I also adored the alternative POVs, as it allowed us to get a glimpse into both Lily’s and Sook-Yin’s lives, the similarities and differences between them. This book also kept me on my toes, as I wanted to know what happened to Sook-Yin and loved the strong development of all the characters throughout the book.

The story is split between two timelines. One follows Lily in 1997 and one follows her mum Sook-Yin in 1966 onwards. In Sook-Yin’s timeline, we follow her coming to the UK from Hong Kong, her struggles, her adapting and her fighting for her family. In Lily’s timeline, we follow her trying to find herself and where she belongs, whilst finding out more about her mother and her heritage.

I adored both Lily and Sook-Yin. Reading this book, I just wanted to hug them both and hated people that hurt them or made them feel less than enough. Also, I found so much of myself in both Lily and Sook-Yin, especially the want to belong in a culture that isn’t yours but at the same time hiding parts of your true self just to belong. I was also inspired by how both heroines are so strong and brave and I loved them for that so much.

Overall: Without spoiling anything and rambling about how amazing this book is and how everyone should read it…If you love historical fiction, complicated family relationships, beautiful descriptions of Hong Kong, suspense, complicated yet so relatable characters and brilliant writing then you should read this book. For me, it will always hold a special place in my heart as it made me cry and laugh, poked my heartstrings, and then put all that back together and taught me so much too. I cannot wait to see what Wiz Wharton will write next and can’t wait to read it! 

About the Author:

Wiz Wharton was born in London of Chinese-European heritage. She is a prize-winning graduate of the National Film and Television school, where she studied screenwriting under the filmmakers Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears and Kenith Trodd. Her debut novel Ghost Girl, Banana - a dual narrative set in 1960s London and 1990s Hong Kong on the cusp of its handover to China - will be published by Hodder and Stoughton (UK) and HarperVia (US) in May 2023 with translated editions to follow. Adaptation rights have also been optioned by a leading UK production company. She lives in the Scottish Highlands.

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