The Original Daughter: A GMA Book Club Pick

by Jemimah Wei

In this dazzling debut, Stegner Fellow Jemimah Wei explores the formation and dissolution of family bonds in a story of ambition and sisterhood in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore.

Before Arin, Genevieve Yang was an only child. Living with her parents and grandmother in a single-room flat in working-class Bedok, Genevieve is saddled with an unexpected sibling when Arin appears, the shameful legacy of a grandfather long believed to be dead. As the two girls grow closer, they must navigate the intensity of life in a place where the urgent insistence on achievement demands constant sacrifice. Knowing that failure is not an option, the sisters learn to depend entirely on one another as they spurn outside friendships, leisure, and any semblance of a social life in pursuit of academic perfection and passage to a better future.

When a stinging betrayal violently estranges Genevieve and Arin, Genevieve must weigh the value of ambition versus familial love, home versus the outside world, and allegiance to herself versus allegiance to the people who made her who she is. In the story of a family and its contention with the roiling changes of our rapidly modernizing, winner-take-all world, The Original Daughter is a major literary debut, rife with emotional clarity and searing social insight.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Asia, Family

350 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 6, 2025

About the author

Author of The Original Daughter, forthcoming Spring 2025 from Doubleday Books (US) and Weidenfeld & Nicolson (UK).
Reader of Literally Everything.

This is the reason I need glasses.

Reviews

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love to read about sisters.

and as sally rooney once said...we are all so stupid about each other. 

the characters in this book are so frustrating, as they test each other and push and shove and seek pointless success and prioritize the wrong things and make cruel mistakes and, in other words, spend 350 pages being so unbearably human. 

this is a slow and hurt and emotional story. it took me ages to read the first half and a matter of hours to consume the second. 

it f*cked me up. 

bottom line: STRONG debut.

(thank you to the publisher for the arc)

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This epic saga explores the redefinition of family bonds, abandonment, estrangement, resentment, guilt, and the dysfunctional but inevitably tight relationship of sisters throughout the years.

Set in millennial Singapore, it starts in the present day where Genevieve, who can be called the original daughter of the Yang family, finds out her mother has only a few weeks to live after losing her battle against cancer. Her mother keeps requesting her to connect with her estranged sister Arin, who is originally her cousin and has become an A-list movie star, living her best life while barely compensating for her mother's health expenses. Genevieve refuses to call her sister for a reason: a big betrayal in the past that takes us back to a time when her nuclear family lived under the roof of her sulky, grumpy, unhappy grandmother after her mother's family kicked her out and her father barely made enough money to keep a roof over their heads.

One day, her grandmother announces that her husband, whom she thought had gone to war in Malaysia and died there, was alive all along, forming a new family there before eventually dying and leaving his second family financially struggling. Now the son of Genevieve's grandfather has written them a request to send his daughter Arin to live with them. Genevieve's grandmother accepts this request without discussing it with her son and daughter-in-law, which creates a minor crisis, giving panic attacks to Genevieve's father who couldn't overcome his abandonment issues caused by his own father.

When little Arin gets dragged by her own father and left in their living room, the little girl barely talks, hiding in her cocoon as Genevieve does her best to make her accepted in the family, trying to make her involved. Even their mother starts writing them notes, inventing new fun games, and giving Arin private lessons to help her catch up in school. Slowly, Arin emerges from the walls she hid behind and forms a special bond with Genevieve until she discovers a big secret about her own family, which turns their bond into a sisterhood agreement.

But over the years, as Arin puts Genevieve's ideas into the spotlight in a developed version which gains her stardom while Genevieve's academic dreams slowly fade away, ambition turns into resentment and jealousy, pushing the sisters against each other and burning the bonds they had hardly built.

As their mother's health deteriorates, Genevieve finally pushes her pride aside to connect with her sister, which resurfaces unresolved past problems they have to face, which will not be easy to absorb.

Overall: The realistic tone of the book and the author's unique and reliable approach to themes of abandonment, forming your own family, burying your resentment, and healing your insecurities engage you with the characters easily and elevate your reading experience to another level. I enjoyed every part of it. I highly recommend this strikingly poignant but also powerful debut.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for sharing this amazing debut's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

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[Akankshya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that makes me feel the strong emotions that this has invoked is always five stars for me. I chuckled, cried, and felt so moved by this story.

The story is a bildungsroman of the protagonist, Genevieve Yang, and her sister Arin, from their childhood in Singapore in 1996 to their lives in 2015. The novel spends time in these different eras and jumps back and forward in different acts, maintaining some suspense about the events of the past, since it starts off with details about the sisters' enstrangement in the future. The plot is heartbreaking and believable, banal at times recounting daily happenstances, yet poignant.

Jemimah Wei is so talented at weaving the bittersweet banalities of life into a brilliant narrative. If I didn't know this was her debut novel, I wouldn't have believed it. This is prose and characterization reminiscent of Elena Ferrante, not a budding debut author. It's difficult to have a book have gripping plot without relying on some fantasy, sci-fi or mystery concept, and yet I was reading this compulsively, and was deeply affected by the ending.

Recommended to anyone who likes strong character-driven, women-led stories about identity rooted in family, community and loyalty to one another.

Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Original Daughter contains interesting themes about ambition and how we can push people away who love us. I wish I had liked it more, but unfortunately the writing and the repetitiveness of the plot dampened my enthusiasm about the novel. First, Jemimah Wei’s prose was alright, but I felt like it almost wasn’t strong or tight enough to achieve its intended effect – for example there were many passages where I thought, yes, Wei probably wants us to feel shock or sadness in this moment, though the writing was stilted enough that it took me out of the story.

I also found the plot repetitive, in the sense that it felt like each sister took turns hurting one another through a miscommunication, which then escalated to the point where they did not want to interact with one another anymore. This happened over and over so the impact of each conflict was lessened.

Overall, an okay novel but unfortunately not one I’d necessarily recommend.

[*ೃnaziba ˘͈ᵕ˘͈ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars - This was one of the most poignant, beautiful tragedies I’ve ever read. I will never forget it. I’m literally in tears as I write this.

🌻🌻🌻

The story starts in 2015, and is told through the eyes of our (unreliable) narrator Genevieve, who is coming to grips with the news of her mother’s terminal diagnosis. We learn about a family estranged through time and circumstance, but we are left in the dark unaware of how it came to be. The story then becomes a memoir flash-backed 19 years earlier to 1996, the very beginning… navigating the naivety of childhood to the clarity of adulthood looking back at old memories, love, loss, trauma and melancholy as we work our way back to the present and unweave the memories past that led them to this point.

Genevieve first met her sister, Arin, at age 8, Arin only being one year younger at the time. My heart pulled for these sisters, this family that had so much affection and care for each other, I was so confused at how things could turn out the way they did. There were so many times while reading, especially towards the beginning that had me wondering where things went so wrong. I was so hooked, as you keep going you start seeing where the edges start to unfurl, the jealousy, family ties/loyalty, competition and social pressure that compounds the snowball bit by bit.

The struggles that they went through that could’ve been avoided if they’d just talked to each other broke my heart. The pettiness and the jealousy… and the fact that I understand where they’re coming from, but the way it still genuinely hurt, driving actual tears like they were real people to me. Everyone is flawed, everyone is a villain… and yet no one is at the same time. It still makes me think of how different your mindset must be as an actor, always taking inspiration from life. This book was an onion, lots of layers and will make you cry once you cut into it.

I wish the ending was more definitive. Gen’s mother was a mirror of Gen’s grandmother, harrowing and extremely heartbreaking. I wish that was explored further. The ending felt very abrupt, like there is more story left to tell. That being said, I know that all stories don’t have to end happily, be wrapped up neatly and tied in a bow to be compelling, I just wish that we had a little more.

If you loved Pachinko or Homegoing or even The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, you might really love this one. I have to thank Jemimah Wei for writing this story so beautifully, for tearing my heart to shreds and stomping on it. And thank you to netgalley for letting me read this.

[Kristine]

3.5 Stars ⭐️

Enjoyed this book. I had a hard time reading this as the Mom is Terminally Ill and this causes a Rift between the Sisters. Yet, it is also quite relatable. Genevieve was originally an only child, but comes to realize she has a sister Arin. The need for success and achievement twists Genevieve to a point that causes you to think if she really has gone too far.

Liked the writing, but at some parts just felt it dragged out for pages with nothing much happening. Had a hard time relating to the MC.

Overall, good read and compelling storyline. Definitely made me think.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for a copy of this book. I always leave reviews of books I read.

[Kenzie | kenzienoelle.reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

IG review: https://www.instagram.com/p/DKKDhJEAM...

3.5 stars. This book is a literary fiction debut set in Singapore and looks at the bonds of family and specifically sisters over two decades. Genevieve Yang was an only child until circumstances occur that bring Arin to her family. Suddenly at eight years old, she’s an older sister.

I’ll be completely honest, I went into this book somewhat blind and thought it had more of a historical narrative, so I did have to reframe my expectations and thoughts a bit.

Overall, this book is a tricky one to talk about because I didn’t have any super strong positive or negative thoughts about it. I love a sibling story and it was interesting to read the different dynamics at play with these two sisters. I think what lost me a bit was that this book is 100% a character driven novel and I struggled with my feelings about the characters. I found them somewhat unlikable and specifically Genevieve so selfish and manipulative (well I guess Arin too for that matter.)

And I know the point of the story is not for you to fall in love with these characters, it’s to tell a story. But when I’m reading a character driven novel, personally, I want to like at least one of the characters. I absolutely didn’t hate it, it just wasn’t a favorite and I did have a few issues.

I love that this was set in Singapore (and a bit in New Zealand). It’s a country that I haven’t read a lot about and I appreciated that setting. I think this would be a really good book club pick as there is a lot to discuss.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the egalley!!

[emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

People don’t die of broken hearts, though relationships certainly do.

That was one of the best stories I read all year.

I don’t think I understood the importance of representation until recently, when I saw the similarities of my own life as a Southeast Asian written in the pages of some books I read, and felt weirdly happy about it.

Books are, of course, magic windows to the worlds I have never been in and the lives I have never lived, but there is something special about books where I could see glimpses of my own life, of the places I am actually familiar with.

The Original Daughter was written beautifully, and while I always loved stories about family relationships, especially sisters, this particular story was something else. Wei had created this character that was so frustrating and real, and later on, I had to sit there, depressed because of the choices she made.

Genevieve, the original daughter that the title was referring to, was not an easy character to read. At first, I empathized with her feelings in the early years, when she had to accept Arin’s existence, which was announced very suddenly. A little bit of envy and jealousy towards this little sister that had no blood relation to her seemed normal in these early years, considering she was also a child feeling insane pressure from society and her own family. But as she grew older, her bitterness was no longer bearable, and I stopped empathizing with her character at that moment.

Arin, on the other hand, was not the perfect sister either. Arin was abandoned by her biological family when she was very young, and Genevieve was basically her whole world. While Arin also made terrible mistakes in their relationship, my heart breaks for her because she did not deserve what came after.

How various our excuses, as we flail about in our attempts to avoid facing the shame of wanting love. And how inefficient love is, trapping and interrupting us, patiently delaying us until our brittle spirits thirst again for repair.

At the end, I realized their characters were written so well that I felt the urge to have a talk with Genevieve and ask her a lot of questions. It was one of the most devastating fictional breakup I have ever read.

Thank you, Jemimah Wei, for this amazing story that has shown nothing but the harsh truth of the consequences of our own mistakes on our family.

In the future, I hope to see more works from Southeast Asian authors, more stories where I can see more representation of where I came from.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Bkwmlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I debated for a long time how best to rate this book. On the one hand, there were elements of the story that I really connected with – such as Genevieve’s struggle with coming into her own and finding herself in the face of a culture that emphasizes the bonds of family over individuality, as well as the conflicting feelings of resentment and love that forms the basis of Gen’s fraught relationship with her mother Su Yang. I felt that the author, Jemimah Wei, did a great job capturing the angst as well as the difficulties that the characters faced in trying to convey their feelings – specifically, I was able to relate to the way Genevieve internalized her resentment toward her family, much of it stemming from the cultural reticence that influenced much of her upbringing. Sharing a similar cultural background with both the author as well as the characters helped me feel emotionally invested in the story, to the point that several scenes actually had me close to tears due to how familiar the particular experience felt.

On the other hand however, I felt the story unfolded way too slowly, and the middle section especially dragged. This is normally not a problem, but with a character like Genevieve – whom I felt was tolerable but not necessarily likeable – dwelling so much on her flaws made it more difficult, in my opinion at least, to feel prolonged empathy for her struggles. Indeed, by the end of the story, my sympathy for Genevieve had turned into frustration and ultimately, irritation. For a book that spans 350+ pages, to only focus primarily on one character’s thoughts and actions made the story feel way too long and drawn out. Given the story’s heavy emphasis on complicated family dynamics, I think it would’ve been more interesting if we had gotten to hear the perspectives of the other family members – particularly Genevieve’s adopted sister Arin and her mother Su Yang – which also would’ve made the ending more poignant. I’m usually able to finish a book of this length in 2-3 days, but this one took me more than a week to read, partly because whenever I had to put the book down to do other things, I didn’t always feel like picking it back up again.

Overall, this turned out to be a mixed bag for me – some parts of it I really liked, other parts not as much. A decent read, albeit one that requires a little bit of patience, especially at the midway mark.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoying new authors is always good and this book sounded promising, so I picked it up. It is Jemimah Wei's debut novel.

Description:
Before Arin, Genevieve Yang was an only child. Living with her parents and grandmother in a single-room flat in working-class Bedok, Genevieve is saddled with an unexpected sibling when Arin appears, the shameful legacy of a grandfather long believed to be dead. As the two girls grow closer, they must navigate the intensity of life in a place where the urgent insistence on achievement demands constant sacrifice. Knowing that failure is not an option, the sisters learn to depend entirely on one another as they spurn outside friendships, leisure, and any semblance of a social life in pursuit of academic perfection and passage to a better future.

When a stinging betrayal violently estranges Genevieve and Arin, Genevieve must weigh the value of ambition versus familial love, home versus the outside world, and allegiance to herself versus allegiance to the people who made her who she is. In the story of a family and its contention with the roiling changes of our rapidly modernizing, winner-take-all world, The Original Daughter is a major literary debut, rife with emotional clarity and searing social insight.

My Thoughts:
The intensity and feeling of responsibility placed on these children was smothering and oppressive. I can't imagine growing up in such an environment. Also, it would be hard not to resent parent for taking in another child when they already have so little space and so little money. The bond between the children, Genevieve and Arin, grows strong, but the rivalry was just as strong and emotionally destructive. Wei deep dives into the characters and brings them to life - their hopes and dreams, and the hurdles in their lives. This is an emotional family drama.

Thanks to Doubleday Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.

[S G · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started out reasonably strong, but I’m truly baffled by the positive reviews overall.

What went well: Writing from the perspective of Gen lends itself well in creating the reader’s strong dislike of how truly self-centred, obstinate and arrogant she is as a character as well as painting herself as a fundamentally unreliable narrator.

However, Gen rambles for most part of the book, too excessively that there is no room for any other character to develop. The two sisters come together but then lead diverging lives. There is an unneeded spin into a stint in New Zealand where the characters Gen meet lend no value to her character’s development nor the plot (we’ll get to the plot in a second). While there is a promising moment where the turning point in Arin’s career could allow us to dig deeper into both sisters characters, this turns out to be yet another 9999999th moment of Gen’s self indulgence.

The setting of the book in Singapore and NZ are largely irrelevant, this could have been set in any two places and would have made no difference in significance.

To the plot itself - continue reading in the hope that it gets better, but by the end, the reader has gone on a journey into what appears to be a superbly immature mind, with no resolution or growth. There is no point to this book, no moral to the story, and it turns out to be a largely self-indulgent ramble and a disappointing waste of time.

[Amy Sloan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I find it so fascinating that this book is not more divisive. I am really an outlier here, but I could not stand this book. It was way too long for making me suffer through insufferable characters with few redeeming qualities and nothing constant hand wringing for the entirety of the novel. Their life circumstances did not justify their actions, behaviors, or attitudes. I did not learn anything from this book other than that I need to more carefully read reviews to assess whether or not all of the main characters are unlikable, because at this stage in life at least, I’m going to skip those novels for the foreseeable future.

Again, I am the outlier here, but I would not recommend this book to anyone.

[Kristy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mix of coming-of-age and family drama, this take place primarily in Singapore with a portions also being in New Zealand. Genevieve is not a particularly likable character (honestly I didn’t really like any of the characters), but I thought there was a lot of depth and nuance to each of them. The sister dynamic between Genevieve and Arin is complex and I think many will love delving into this.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one, I just didn't love it. I loved the descriptive strokes used by the author. She had some beautiful and eloquent phrases that were well placed. She nailed the complicated sister relationship.

The characters were a bit prickly. They weren't likable at all. I was never pulled in by them. I was just a bystander watching the show. Not a bad thing per se, but this distance kept this at 3 stars and not 4.

[Novel Visits · Rating 3 out of 5]

@doubledaybooks | #gifted I generally love books about sister relationships and I’m always up for reading debut authors, which are just two reasons why I was excited about 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗘𝗥 by Jemimah Wei. The Singapore setting and turn of the century era were also appealing. Then the book was chosen as May’s @gmabookclub selection, so what more could I want? That’s a difficult question to answer, but I definitely wanted something more.⁣
⁣
At the center of this story is Genevieve, the only daughter of a struggling working class family living in a small Singapore apartment with her parents and grandmother. While she’s still in primary school, a cousin, Arin, joins their family. Though both girls are at first unhappy about this, they quickly become the closest of friends. The story proceeds with A LOT of emphasis on the pressures of school, getting good grades, taking tests, and progressing onward. It eventually moves into competition between the “sisters” and then to estrangement (where the book actually begins).⁣
⁣
All this was accomplished VERY slowly. I found it difficult to keep going less than halfway through this book. It felt so much like the same things were happening over and over with slight variations and it was so depressing, truly unrelenting. That might have been okay if I could have rallied something other than pity for the characters. Sadly, I just never cared much about any of them and all too soon, I only wanted to be done. Obviously, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 wasn’t a book for me, but I really wish it had been!🤷🏻‍♀️ 2.5 stars

[Carly Medwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

sorry everyone i just dont think i understood this. why is the main character such an asshole?? and she knows it too and still continues to be?? sure mei is messy too but at least she can explain why she acted the way she did in an attempt to reconcile. and the mom gatekeeping herself from mei on her deathbed for the small chance that they will eventually reunite is crazy. why can’t we all just talk to each other!!! writing style was fantastic and it was a creative plot, if not a little slow. i’d like to think mei forgives her sister eventually but idk if homegirl deserves it sorry

[Sam Cheng · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wei separates her debut novel, The Original Daughter, into three parts. In part 1, Arin (7) joins Genevieve’s (8) family in Singapore. Gen’s grandfather left his wife to secretly start another family. Upon his death, the family sends the granddaughter, Arin, to Gen’s family. Suddenly, Gen’s position as her parents’ only daughter grows to include Arin, and Gen struggles to accept this girl. Gen is consumed with staying at the top of her class and ices out other nepo-baby classmates; the original daughter hardly has time for this new sister who doesn’t speak.

In part two, Gen (15) and Arin (14) warm to each other. Her absent father and emotionally unstable mother drive Gen to assume the protective older sister role. However, she also continues to show signs of stubbornness, wrestling to shift from her self-centered ways. When she graduates from her neighborhood school, she’s unable to adapt to junior college because rote memory hasn’t prepared her to think outside of the box. She falls behind academically, drops out, and works at an ice cream shop. Meanwhile, Arin gains employment as an internet personality and slowly rises in fame. Needing space from her nuclear family, Gen finds an administrative job in Christchurch, New Zealand.

In part three, Gen experiences the “pale shadow of freedom” as a young woman momentarily untethered to her parents. But when she’s sexually assaulted, Gen desperately reaches out to Arin and asks her sister to visit. Arin quickly agrees to join Gen and learn about her life abroad. Together, Gen helps Arin prepare for her new acting role in a small indie film. After the film airs, Gen realizes how Arin captures and emulates Gen’s grief from her assault. Feeling betrayed, Gen cuts off communication with Arin until, years later, Gen and her mom are desperately in need of Arin’s financial help. Their mom’s death offers Gen and Arin the opportunity to reconcile.

The novel progresses linearly from Gen’s perspective. Main themes include familial relationships between sisters, daughters and mothers, and daughters and fathers. Moreover, the main character is coming of age, largely unable to synthesize jealousy and resentment. I appreciate Wei’s decision to opt for a mundane storyline—a Singaporean teen who strives for straight As and gains a secret sister—as a tonic for Gen’s fury and self-destructive ways. Still, the cause and effects in the relationships felt both predictable (and therefore slightly uninteresting) yet unclear: What messages are Wei trying to communicate to readers? It’s hard for me to conceive of how the original daughter grappled with accepting her (a) strengths and weaknesses and (b) parents’ adopted daughter. For this book’s length, I hoped this would not be the case. I rate The Original Daughter 1.5 stars and round up to 2 because this is Wei’s debut.

[BookOfCinz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fast read, I loved how the book explored sisterhood.

[ᖰhiᖱeɭia]

"....the urgent insistence on achievement demands constant sacrifice". SAY NO MORE. 🖤

[Madeline Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genevieve's world is flipped upside down when Arin is dropped unceremoniously off at their house, a byproduct of their grandfather's shameful past. As Genevieve and Arin are raised together as sisters, Genevieve finds herself plagued with jealousy the threads its way through every aspect of her life.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Love is an action word, I thought. It can be committed, like a crime.”

If you’re very lucky in life – as I have been – having a sister means knowing there’s someone on your side who will give you unwavering loyalty and support and comfort no matter what life throws your way. In other situations, though, sisterhood might be fraught with jealousy, envy, and rivalry.

Genevieve’s best friend and nemesis, Arin, didn’t appear the way regular sisters did. She was dropped into Gen’s life, fully formed, at age seven. Gen had believed her whole young life that her grandfather had died years ago. In reality, he left her grandmother, started another family, and then died, leaving behind a gaggle of grandchildren. Arin, the youngest, and slated to live with Gen and her parents.

The two – Gen, the studious one and Arin, who is more reticent – become close. But then, Arin wins a story contest through her essay, Land of Opportunity. In it, she reveals her true thoughts: “How many nights had she lain in this new and uncertain home, dumb with terror, how many days had she lived afraid of her own shadow, of being discarded again? What kind of opportunity was this?” Gen is, after all, the original sister; Arin is the bonus one.

As the plot progresses – as Gen’s star fades and Arin’s ascends – the complex nature of their relationship with each other and with their mother shifts and changes. The fact that they live in Singapore, a fiercely competitive country where a college essay exam determines their entire future and there is no room for academic error, heightens the competition between them.

The narration of the book is from Genevieve’s perspective, but it’s not long before we see that she may not be the most reliable narrator. Her bitterness, envy, and building belief that her mother must believe she represents “only a lifetime’s accumulation of disappointment” leads to her to discount sacrifices made for her. Her existence is animated by anger and resentment, yet without the anger, her life feels meaningless.

This is a fine character study of a mother and two daughters in crisis, as the sisters try to negotiate the yawning gap between freedom and ambition with family love. The first half of the novel is stronger than the second, and the author might have done more in drilling down to examine Gen’s inner unraveling. It’s themes, particularly the costs of unbridled emphasis on achievement, should spark much discussion.

[Taury · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei was a slow read overall. The writing was good but never pulled me in. I appreciated how it explored themes of family, identity, and what it means to belong. Some parts were relatable. But the pacing felt a bit slow in the middle, and I found it hard to stay engaged. The characters were interesting, but I wish they had been developed a little more deeply. I’d still recommend it if you like thoughtful stories about family, but it wasn’t a favorite for me.

[Isabel Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the best family saga I’ve ever read. The writing is superb and captivating. The tragic disintegration of this family was so painful to bear witness to, especially when everyone clearly loved each other so much. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where every character was so well-developed and complex. Even as Genevieve’s resentment and stubbornness infuriates you, you can’t help but empathize with her - the suffocating pressure to succeed and then witnessing her younger sister be able to learn from all the mistakes she made. As an Asian eldest daughter I can’t help but relate to her refusal to appear weak in front of her family. But Jesus, what a stunning portrayal of what bitterness and pride can result in.

The way Genevieve forced her mother to sacrifice literally every other relationship in her life as a testament of her love - oh god. I will need awhile to process all the emotions from this book.

I hope this book wins many awards and accolades and acclaim.

[Shantha (ShanthasBookEra) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars "In this dazzling debut, Stegner Fellow Jemimah Wei explores the formation and dissolution of family bonds in a story of ambition and sisterhood in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore."

Arin and Genevieve become sisters at eight years old and form a close bond. Genevieve is the original daughter and feels jealous and inferior throughout their relationship. Following an incident that feels like betrayal, the sisters become estranged.

I loved the premise of this - a family saga exploring the bonds of sisterhood, adoption, success and ambition, jealousy, and love. This had all the makings of a five-star book, but the characters failed to evoke the emotional response from me that these types of books cause. I think it is a worthwhile read and would make for a great book club discussion.

[Qian Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the very first page, The Original Daughter consumed me. I soared when Gen's and Arin's dreams came alive; I crashed when heartache wrenched them. With rare wisdom, Jemimah Wei examines the remains of our need to belong and be loved when we chase ambition above all else. Her writing is so incisive and visceral that I did not simply read The Original Daughter; I lived it. This astonishing debut is a tour de force that I'll never forget.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little less than four stars, but I rounded up.
This story of two sisters is set in present-day Singapore, but in many ways it reflects the love and conflicts between two sisters at any time in any culture. Genevieve is the “original” and only daughter until (when she is 8 years old), a new sister, Arin, arrives in her home. Arin is the granddaughter of the grandfather Genevieve had been raised to believe was long deceased. After some transition, the girls become the kind of deeply close best friends that only sisters can be. However, as they mature, the cultural pressure for success starts to permeate their lives. Genevieve is a shining academic star who ultimately does not gain admission to a mainstream university, while Arin, for whom the academic future starts slowly, evolves into a scholar and achiever. Genevieve’s self-image and self assurance are destroyed by her failure and the cultural limitations on her life are very clear. Meanwhile, Arin is the picture of success. In addition to her education, she is selected to act on a video channel and ultimately becomes a famous actress. Jealousy (Genevieve’s) and other events (some caused by Arin) tear their relationship apart and they become estranged. Interwoven in the story is the role of their mother, who is a very well developed and interesting character. The descriptions of life in working class Singapore are also detailed and complete.
This novel showed the deep (and often unresolvable) complexities of relationships between sisters as well as any I have read.

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this novel, esp since this is a debut novel of a Singaporean who spent sth like close to a decade researching / writing this novel. Alas this novel fell quite flat for me :(

What I liked: I think I liked that the novel didn’t have to constantly explain all the Singaporean-isms for what is presumably an international audience (not Singaporean). This novel is also highly readable and easy to follow.

What could have been improved: again, I’d like to preface this by saying that I really wanted to like this novel, but there was always sth kind of off about this novel. Narrated from a first-person POV, one would expect the voice of the main character to be strong and one that would make me align with her. Yes she may not be a reliable narrator but I thought that the voice would at least be a distinct one. However, I was often kind of confused about the character’s voice as it seemed to be mostly that of the writer.

The story is a fairly simple (not simplistic, mind you) one, and so the novel would need to rely on its prose for it to truly shine. The prose was quite wanting at times because it seemed like the writer was very pleased with her clever turn of phrases rather than using metaphors that may have been more sensible in the moment.

Arguably, I may have found the mother to be one of the more interesting and likeable characters in the novel but she was rarely developed into anything, except partially coloured by the bitter and jealous lens of the main character at the beginning of the novel (and even over the progress of the novel). There were other odd subplots but they never really amounted to much.

My final gripe: the dearth of unlikeable characters. This may be a personal thing but I think that flawed characters can also be likeable and yet, there wasn’t a single likeable character in this novel. No one I really wanted to root for - after awhile, even the main character came off as a bit whiny. I understood her motivations but it seemed like the source of the main conflict in the novel did not really hit me very hard. Also, for a novel that took a decade to write, it seemed like the resolution was incredibly rushed and it didn’t even seem to be meaningful as well. For some reason, it just made the conflict seem quite petty (?). The main relationship in the novel also did not seem to be a particularly loving one as well and maybe that’s why the betrayal never felt particularly heart-wrenching and was just a hollow echo. On hindsight, I’m wondering if this novel could have benefited from being written from a third-person POV instead? I know that the writer wanted there to be a mystery at the centre of the novel (ie. Why was there even a conflict?) but I think it could have done without it.

I know that many others have loved this novel and I’m glad they did. I genuinely wish that I could praise this novel to the moon, but I’m sad to say that I cannot share in the praises that have hitherto been lavished on Wei’s debut novel. If she writes another book, I will likely pick it up still. I think she is a writer with a lot of exciting possibilities and hope that her writing develops even more. I hope she doesn’t take another ten years to write her next one though, sometimes letting it stew for too long could make the broth overcooked instead.

[Rae | The Finer Things Club CA · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping, intense story of a Singaporean working class family. In her debut novel, author Jemimah Wei depicts the life of Genevieve Yang Si Qi over the course of two decades, from her academic successes at primary school and introduction to her half-cousin, adopted sister, and best friend Arin Yang Yan Mei to her unexpected professional and personal struggles in her 20s. Wei covers a lot of issues and emotional territory—toxic family dynamics, abandonment, co-dependency, sexual assault, self-harm, and illness—while vividly describing characters and settings. Sometimes characters are unlikable and plot developments become unrelentingly grim, but overall 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 is a well-written and engrossing family drama and a window to another kind of life across the globe. Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed; i wept; i marveled at this book. THE ORIGINAL DAUGHTER is a story about two girls in singapore, Arin and Genevieve. The book studies their turbulent relationship: the ways that they both uniquely possess the ability to make and destroy one another.
With Arin and Genevieve, Wei has achieved that striking, rich and elusive ferrantean mixture describing a certain kind of relationship that exists between women--something that resides somewhere in the realm of best friend and sister, but also paramour and enemy and mother and daughter and lover; something between all those things put together, but also more. In this, Wei has created some of the most compelling characters I've read, set in a clamorous and ever-changing Singapore (and, unexpectedly, a lush New Zealand too). This is a story of ever-shifting morality, and also, interestingly, a materialist one--I'm especially struck by Wei's use of objects (among others: a peanut butter jar of ashes, a confetti stapler, a bag shaped like a baguette) and they way they function and recur in the novel.
Wei's pro/antagonists are traitorous, prideful, jealous, begging, deceitful, conniving, cruel; i railed against them, rooted for them, and loved them too. I got the things i turn to literature in search of. This is not a book to be missed.

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cover literally sparkles. So beautiful. Gen and Arin’s story is enveloping from the very first chapter. Set in Singapore to start, Arin is brought by her father to Gen’s family, where she is left behind to raise. The two are close in age and become sisters. The first half of this story is my favorite, where their bond grows, and they are living with Gen’s parents and grandmother in the tiny apartment.

The pressure for Gen and Arin to achieve mounts, and eventually there’s a horrible betrayal that separates the two. Their mother is dying, and her last wish is for her daughters to reunite. That’s actually foreshadowed in the opening chapter. The story feels authentic throughout, reading almost like a memoir in its honesty.

My heart still aches for Arin’s sense of abandonment from her birth family in the early pages, and also the tender bond that develops between Arin and Gen, only to be tested time and again. The Original Daughter is a story of sisterhood, no matter how it is formed. It’s about resilience and survival, and ultimately, family. I enjoyed my time spent with these perfectly imperfect characters and their unique journeys.

I received a gifted copy.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader