Being on the top on Amazon’s list of “ best books of 2014” did make me want to read it out of curiosity but I’d had my eye on it for quite sometime. Though on the outside it comes out as a thriller, this book is so much deeper than solving yet another mystery. While set in the 60s and 70s, the core of the book is relatable to everyone at some point in their lives.
High school is hard enough but being the only Chinese kid in your school doesn’t make it easier, especially in the 50s. Even being born on American soil doesn’t factor in to make the slightest difference. All James Lee ever wanted was to fit in and not be stared at like he just landed from Mars. Marilyn, an all American girl, all she wanted was to stand out and become a doctor at a time when only men were getting into the profession.
What happens when two people who are so diverse in their life-goals aren’t able to make any of it possible? You try to find the same qualities and dreams in your children.
The Lees had 3 children. Their elder daughter, Lydia would stand out in any crowd. She was a pretty Chinese girl with dark hair and blue eyes. She was the one who would become a doctor. She would be the most popular girl in school. All their energies would go into making her academically on top of her class and giving whatever was “IN” at the time to fit in with the other kids. Sometimes they acted like they didn’t have two more kids to raise and love.
Nathan, the eldest son, learnt this at an early age that whatever he achieved or wanted was nothing compared to what Lydia wanted. Naturally this did create a rift between Lydia and him occasionally. Growing up in such a household, all he ever wanted was to go to Harvard, to get away from his family. The youngest, Hannah lived in her own little bubble. She had created a world of her own and was used to sometimes being left out, which she didn't object to either.
To keep her mother at home with her, she followed everything Marilyn asked of her. No one had ever stopped to think of what Lydia wants. Then one morning there’s a knock at the door and their lives take a spin in the ruckus of a tornado. Well, everyone’s except Lydia’s. Lydia is dead.
What happened to her? Did her siblings finally have an outlet to the rage they have grown up with or did the pressure get to her? Or did she get into something horrid she couldn’t come back from?
You will juggle with these thoughts; would you want your children to have everything you couldn’t or would you allow them to nurture their own hopes and dreams.