Chasing China: A Review

Hi friends!

Today I'll be reviewing Kay Bratt's brand new release Chasing China, a story about a young girl who returns to her native China to search for information about her birth parents. It's a journey that pulls from Bratt's own experiences working in a Chinese orphanage, which she details in her memoir Silent Tears, and details the incredible complexities of the human experience.

So here we go...

Chasing China: A Summary

After an episode of prejudice rocks her usually secure world, Mia hops a plane back to the country of her birth to search for details about her birth parents and confront the feelings of abandonment she has kept buried throughout her life. What begins as a simple tour of the Chinese orphanage where she spent her first few years quickly becomes complicated as Mia fights to untangle a web of lies. As she follows the red thread back through her motherland, she is enamored by the history and culture of her heritage, strengthening her resolve to find the truth even as Chinese officials struggle to keep it buried. With her unwavering spirit of determination, Mia battles the forces stacked against her and faces mystery, danger, a dash of romance, and finally a conclusion that will change her life. 

Chasing China: What I Think

Chasing China was meticulously detailed, and it's clear that the author is not only familiar with the bureaucracy that is the Chinese government, she is fully acquainted with it. Mia's search to discover the truth about her birth parents could have been cathartic and revealing. Her journey into self-awareness and the intimate descriptions of Chinese culture, not to mention the landscapes, could have served as a catalyst for readers to do some digging of their own. It's an interesting story, to say the least.

Unfortunately, it was not well-written or fully contained. From the very first page, I found myself correcting the author's grammatical and syntactic errors. Personally, I feel I shouldn't have to stumble through a story to get to the good parts. Pushing through a rather slow beginning is one thing; having to wade through a mess of inconsistent points of view and grammar issues is a completely different story. In addition, Bratt's exposition came across as pretentious rather than sincere and I can't help but be curious as to why she felt the need to overindulge in phrases that sounded far removed from contemporary language.

 I have to wonder if Chasing China was prematurely released and why the editor allowed such glaring errors to be printed. It's really unfortunate because Chasing China touches on deeply rooted cultural misunderstandings and really makes an effort to provide insight into how our perception of the world impacts our choices. I really wanted to like this book, but considering how many times I had to stop reading, I can't really be sure if my own perception of this novel is relevant. Your guess is as good as mine. 

If you want to read more about Kay Bratt and her other works, please visit her official website here!

As always, thank you, Samantha, for including me on this blog tour!

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