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A River of Stars
In a powerful debut novel about motherhood, immigration, and identity, a pregnant Chinese woman makes her way to California and stakes a claim to the American dream.
Holed up with other moms-to-be in a secret maternity home in Los Angeles, Scarlett Chen is far from her native China, where she worked in a factory job and fell in love with the owner, Boss Yeung. Now she's carrying his baby. Already married with three daughters, he's overjoyed because the doctors confirmed he will finally have the son he has always wanted. To ensure that his son has every advantage, he has shipped Scarlett off to give birth on American soil. U.S. citizenship will open doors for their little prince.
As Scarlett awaits the baby's arrival, she chokes down bitter medicinal stews and spars with her imperious housemates. The only one who fits in even less is Daisy, a spirited teenager and fellow unwed mother who is being kept apart from her American boyfriend.
Then a new sonogram of Scarlett's baby reveals the unexpected. Panicked, she escapes by hijacking a van--only to discover that she has a stowaway: Daisy, who intends to track down the father of her child. They flee to San Francisco's bustling Chinatown, where Scarlett will join countless immigrants desperately trying to seize their piece of the American dream. What Scarlett doesn't know is that her baby's father is not far behind her.
A River of Stars is an entertaining, wildly unpredictable adventure, told with empathy and wit. It's a vivid examination of home and belonging, and a moving portrayal of a woman determined to build her own future.
Holed up with other moms-to-be in a secret maternity home in Los Angeles, Scarlett Chen is far from her native China, where she worked in a factory job and fell in love with the owner, Boss Yeung. Now she's carrying his baby. Already married with three daughters, he's overjoyed because the doctors confirmed he will finally have the son he has always wanted. To ensure that his son has every advantage, he has shipped Scarlett off to give birth on American soil. U.S. citizenship will open doors for their little prince.
As Scarlett awaits the baby's arrival, she chokes down bitter medicinal stews and spars with her imperious housemates. The only one who fits in even less is Daisy, a spirited teenager and fellow unwed mother who is being kept apart from her American boyfriend.
Then a new sonogram of Scarlett's baby reveals the unexpected. Panicked, she escapes by hijacking a van--only to discover that she has a stowaway: Daisy, who intends to track down the father of her child. They flee to San Francisco's bustling Chinatown, where Scarlett will join countless immigrants desperately trying to seize their piece of the American dream. What Scarlett doesn't know is that her baby's father is not far behind her.
A River of Stars is an entertaining, wildly unpredictable adventure, told with empathy and wit. It's a vivid examination of home and belonging, and a moving portrayal of a woman determined to build her own future.
289 pages, Hardcover
First published August 14, 2018
654 people are currently reading
16783 people want to read
About the author
Vanessa Hua
18 books462 followersVanessa Hua is the author of the national bestsellers A River of Stars and Forbidden City, as well the Arts Literature Fellow, she has also received a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, a California Arts Council Fellowship, and a Steinbeck Fellowship in Creative Writing, as well as honors from the de Groot Foundation, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Asian American Journalists Association, among others. She was a finalist for the California Book Award, the Northern California Book Award, and the New American Voices Award. Previously, she was an award-winning columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. She has filed stories from China, Burma, South Korea, Ecuador, and Panama, and her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. She teaches at the Warren Wilson MFA Program and elsewhere. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. Her novel, COYOTELAND, and nonfiction narrative, UPROOTED, are forthcoming.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 726 reviews
August 11, 2018
4.5 stars
Those who live in Southern California may remember that several years ago, there was a huge boom in “birthing tourism” where pregnant women in China would pay a lofty sum for the “privilege” of traveling to the United States to give birth so that their babies would automatically get American citizenship. The most notorious of the “maternity centers” that made these types of arrangements for the women were all located in San Gabriel, an area that was (and still is) home to a large community of immigrant Chinese. Seven years ago, the largest of these centers (all operated by the same person) was raided and shut down after neighbors complained about noise coming from the property – authorities arrived to find that the center wasn’t just being used as a “hotel” tending to pregnant Chinese women before and after they gave birth, but part of the center was also operating as an unlicensed birthing facility. I don’t remember the exact details of the news story now, but I think the owner / operator of the facility was merely fined a small amount of money and told to return the property to its original condition (there had also been illegal construction done where permits were never obtained) while the women who were in the facility at the time of the raid were all deported back to China along with their babies. I have a friend who lived in the San Gabriel area back then, near one of the centers that had been shut down, and it was from her that I learned afterwards a lot of what went on in these centers and the conditions that the women who lived there faced. The whole thing was huge news in the local Chinese immigrant community for weeks and had fueled a bitter debate amongst locals over the topic of immigration and the whole “birthing tourism” phenomenon in general.
Based on the above, it should come as no surprise then that when I read the book summary for Vanessa Hua’s debut novel A River of Stars and found out it covered this exact topic of birthing tourism, I knew I absolutely had to read this book! Going into this read, I thought I knew what to expect and for the first few chapters, that was definitely the case -- but then this book turned into so much more, to the point that I feel like I am short-changing the book by saying it is a story about birthing tourism and maternity centers alone. Indeed, the story here goes much deeper than that – yes, this is a story about the Chinese immigrant experience, but it is also a story about identity, class and privilege, the economic divide between rich and poor, survival despite less than desirable circumstances (amongst other themes). What resonated with me the most (aside from the immigrant experience and the setting in Southern California) though was the author’s exploration of motherhood and family – both of which, to me, were truly at front and center of the story more so than everything else that was mentioned earlier. Through the fascinating characters of Scarlett and Daisy as well as the myriad of supporting characters who all play important roles in the narrative (Boss Yeung, Uncle Lo, Mama Fang, Viann, Old Wu, etc.), Hua didn’t just write a typical story about Chinese immigrants pursuing the American dream – rather, she gives us a deeply insightful, relatable, sensitive yet honest story that is at the same time culturally resonant as well as timely.
This story is unique in that it has at its center two strong, spirited, determined, Chinese women who refuse to accept their lots in life and instead, strive to rise above their circumstances, overcome past mistakes, and carve out their own futures, yet are still able to maintain and evolve their cultural identities. Being myself a female, born into a traditional Chinese family, an immigrant with one foot in the East and the other in the West, an active member in the global Asian diaspora -- I can’t convey enough how special the characters of Scarlett and Daisy were to me. These are characters that I will definitely remember – deeply flawed, imperfect, vulnerable, yet at the same time strong, resilient, and inspiring.
This is a book I enjoyed tremendously, a story that hooked me from the first page, an entertaining read that was cheeky and fun yet also serious when it needed to be. This book made me smile and laugh, yet it also made me shed a tear or two. The writing itself was a bit uneven – I felt that some parts were overwritten while other parts could have benefited from more detail…. and I will be honest in saying that I’m not sure if I like the ending, which to me, the way everything was tied up, detracted a bit from the raw honesty of the rest of the story. Regardless though, in the overall scheme of things, both of these were very minor flaws in my opinion. Another thing worth mentioning is that the cultural references in the story – whether in reference to Chinese customs, traditions, beliefs, historical background, etc. -- were all spot-on! The author Vanessa Hua in this case did not shy away from presenting the good and the bad, putting things out there as is and instead letting the characters and their stories speak for themselves.
One last thing – I didn’t understand the significance of the book’s title until I came to the part that mentioned the Chinese folk tale about the cowherd and weaver girl (a tale that I had of course heard many times as a child) -- which got me thinking about the story as a whole and the parallels to that tale despite the contemporary setting. This made the story even more special for me. Obviously, this book is one that I highly recommend – a story that is timely, relevant, and necessary given the world we live in today!
Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.
Those who live in Southern California may remember that several years ago, there was a huge boom in “birthing tourism” where pregnant women in China would pay a lofty sum for the “privilege” of traveling to the United States to give birth so that their babies would automatically get American citizenship. The most notorious of the “maternity centers” that made these types of arrangements for the women were all located in San Gabriel, an area that was (and still is) home to a large community of immigrant Chinese. Seven years ago, the largest of these centers (all operated by the same person) was raided and shut down after neighbors complained about noise coming from the property – authorities arrived to find that the center wasn’t just being used as a “hotel” tending to pregnant Chinese women before and after they gave birth, but part of the center was also operating as an unlicensed birthing facility. I don’t remember the exact details of the news story now, but I think the owner / operator of the facility was merely fined a small amount of money and told to return the property to its original condition (there had also been illegal construction done where permits were never obtained) while the women who were in the facility at the time of the raid were all deported back to China along with their babies. I have a friend who lived in the San Gabriel area back then, near one of the centers that had been shut down, and it was from her that I learned afterwards a lot of what went on in these centers and the conditions that the women who lived there faced. The whole thing was huge news in the local Chinese immigrant community for weeks and had fueled a bitter debate amongst locals over the topic of immigration and the whole “birthing tourism” phenomenon in general.
Based on the above, it should come as no surprise then that when I read the book summary for Vanessa Hua’s debut novel A River of Stars and found out it covered this exact topic of birthing tourism, I knew I absolutely had to read this book! Going into this read, I thought I knew what to expect and for the first few chapters, that was definitely the case -- but then this book turned into so much more, to the point that I feel like I am short-changing the book by saying it is a story about birthing tourism and maternity centers alone. Indeed, the story here goes much deeper than that – yes, this is a story about the Chinese immigrant experience, but it is also a story about identity, class and privilege, the economic divide between rich and poor, survival despite less than desirable circumstances (amongst other themes). What resonated with me the most (aside from the immigrant experience and the setting in Southern California) though was the author’s exploration of motherhood and family – both of which, to me, were truly at front and center of the story more so than everything else that was mentioned earlier. Through the fascinating characters of Scarlett and Daisy as well as the myriad of supporting characters who all play important roles in the narrative (Boss Yeung, Uncle Lo, Mama Fang, Viann, Old Wu, etc.), Hua didn’t just write a typical story about Chinese immigrants pursuing the American dream – rather, she gives us a deeply insightful, relatable, sensitive yet honest story that is at the same time culturally resonant as well as timely.
This story is unique in that it has at its center two strong, spirited, determined, Chinese women who refuse to accept their lots in life and instead, strive to rise above their circumstances, overcome past mistakes, and carve out their own futures, yet are still able to maintain and evolve their cultural identities. Being myself a female, born into a traditional Chinese family, an immigrant with one foot in the East and the other in the West, an active member in the global Asian diaspora -- I can’t convey enough how special the characters of Scarlett and Daisy were to me. These are characters that I will definitely remember – deeply flawed, imperfect, vulnerable, yet at the same time strong, resilient, and inspiring.
This is a book I enjoyed tremendously, a story that hooked me from the first page, an entertaining read that was cheeky and fun yet also serious when it needed to be. This book made me smile and laugh, yet it also made me shed a tear or two. The writing itself was a bit uneven – I felt that some parts were overwritten while other parts could have benefited from more detail…. and I will be honest in saying that I’m not sure if I like the ending, which to me, the way everything was tied up, detracted a bit from the raw honesty of the rest of the story. Regardless though, in the overall scheme of things, both of these were very minor flaws in my opinion. Another thing worth mentioning is that the cultural references in the story – whether in reference to Chinese customs, traditions, beliefs, historical background, etc. -- were all spot-on! The author Vanessa Hua in this case did not shy away from presenting the good and the bad, putting things out there as is and instead letting the characters and their stories speak for themselves.
One last thing – I didn’t understand the significance of the book’s title until I came to the part that mentioned the Chinese folk tale about the cowherd and weaver girl (a tale that I had of course heard many times as a child) -- which got me thinking about the story as a whole and the parallels to that tale despite the contemporary setting. This made the story even more special for me. Obviously, this book is one that I highly recommend – a story that is timely, relevant, and necessary given the world we live in today!
Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.
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February 7, 2018A RIVER OF STARS splits "the Chinese immigrant story" into a kaleidoscopic spectrum, putting human faces to the many groups—rich and poor, privileged and marginalized, documented and not—who come to America. Vanessa Hua’s debut is an utterly absorbing novel about the ruthless love of parenthood and the universal truth that sometimes family runs deeper than blood alone.
February 4, 2026
4 refreshing stars to A River of Stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Happy Publication Day to A River of Stars, a wonderfully told story of the Chinese immigrant experience from the perspective of a new mother.
A River of Stars focuses on Scarlett Chen, a factory worker who has an affair with the married owner, Boss Heung. Scarlett is pregnant, and doctors tell her that she and Boss Heung will be having a boy, which is everything to Boss. He has three daughters and has always desired a son. Boss Heung becomes obsessed with the baby’s care in utero and wants him to have the best of the best. In securing that, he sends Scarlett to the U.S. to live in a secret home with other pregnant Chinese women, most of them immigrants. The plan is for Scarlett to give birth in America, which will hopefully provide a lifetime of opportunities for the baby.
While living in the home, Scarlett is forced to get along with difficult housemates and take part in cultural rituals of bitter and unusual stews and other medicinal aids for pregnant women. She finds a friend in Daisy, a pregnant teen with citizenship who has been placed in the home to keep her away from her American boyfriend.
At a late doctor’s appointment, Scarlett is told she is having a girl instead…and she panics. She is already living on edge with Boss. How will she ever be able to tell him the truth, and what will it mean for her future, as well as the baby’s? So, she flees in an attempt to find the American dream on her terms. Surprise: Boss is in the U.S. and hot on her heels.
A River of Stars is a well-written, entertaining romp of a story. It highlights the Chinese immigrant experience in the United States, whether rich or poor, naturalized citizen, or recent immigrant. At the same time, it is an adventure as Scarlett and Daisy set out to satisfy their dreams. Moreover, it is a story of a woman taking charge of her life when cultural values would typically hinder her, finding a sense of home/a sense of place, and examining motherhood, mother-daughter relationships, and identity. It is an enchanting stand-out of a book.
Thank you to Random House/Ballantine Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
Happy Publication Day to A River of Stars, a wonderfully told story of the Chinese immigrant experience from the perspective of a new mother.
A River of Stars focuses on Scarlett Chen, a factory worker who has an affair with the married owner, Boss Heung. Scarlett is pregnant, and doctors tell her that she and Boss Heung will be having a boy, which is everything to Boss. He has three daughters and has always desired a son. Boss Heung becomes obsessed with the baby’s care in utero and wants him to have the best of the best. In securing that, he sends Scarlett to the U.S. to live in a secret home with other pregnant Chinese women, most of them immigrants. The plan is for Scarlett to give birth in America, which will hopefully provide a lifetime of opportunities for the baby.
While living in the home, Scarlett is forced to get along with difficult housemates and take part in cultural rituals of bitter and unusual stews and other medicinal aids for pregnant women. She finds a friend in Daisy, a pregnant teen with citizenship who has been placed in the home to keep her away from her American boyfriend.
At a late doctor’s appointment, Scarlett is told she is having a girl instead…and she panics. She is already living on edge with Boss. How will she ever be able to tell him the truth, and what will it mean for her future, as well as the baby’s? So, she flees in an attempt to find the American dream on her terms. Surprise: Boss is in the U.S. and hot on her heels.
A River of Stars is a well-written, entertaining romp of a story. It highlights the Chinese immigrant experience in the United States, whether rich or poor, naturalized citizen, or recent immigrant. At the same time, it is an adventure as Scarlett and Daisy set out to satisfy their dreams. Moreover, it is a story of a woman taking charge of her life when cultural values would typically hinder her, finding a sense of home/a sense of place, and examining motherhood, mother-daughter relationships, and identity. It is an enchanting stand-out of a book.
Thank you to Random House/Ballantine Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
September 5, 2018
3.5 stars
There are a number of things that I liked about this book. It covers the tough and highly relevant, timely issue of immigration. We get a view of the inequities in Chinese society in its view of people and the awful conditions in the factories and the difficulties of immigrants once they arrive in the US. I mostly liked it for the character of Scarlett Chen, who is determined to do what it takes to give her American born child the opportunities she herself never got as a country girl in China. Scarlett, a factory worker in China has an affair with her married boss, Boss Yeung and is pregnant and an ultra sound shows it’s a boy. Boss Yeung’s priority is insuring that his son has the opportunities afforded to him as an American by making sure he is born there. Scarlett is sent to a “hotel” in California known as Perfume Bay which cares for these pregnant women while waiting for birth of their baby. While in this almost prison like facility, Scarlett discovers that the initial ultra sound was incorrect and she finds a way out only to be followed by one of the other “guests”, teenaged Daisy. I was interested in their story and hoped the best for them. The narrative shifts to Boss Yeung’s story and I just wasn’t interested, so the book lost a little steam for me. The ending was a little bit of a surprise given the events of the rest of the novel. I certainly liked it enough to look out for what this author does in the future. There are some lovely reviews of this book and I want to point out one by my Goodreads friend Bkwmlee that I recommend you read for another perspective.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I received an advanced copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through NetGalley.
December 21, 2018
Scarlett Chen is thirty-six-years old when she has an affair with her married boss at the factory she works at. He sends her to America to a house for pregnant women where they’re told the only things they can eat and do. He does this to give what he thinks will be his first son all the advantages America offers. Scarlett realizes that he’ll take the baby away from her, so she goes on the run to protect her child. Even though she hadn’t planned on having a kid and certainly not under these circumstances, she does everything she can think of to protect herself and her little on. It’s not an easy thing to do when she only speaks a little English and has no money and no proper paperwork to earn money.
This is sort of a difficult read in that’s it’s depressing to read about people with no power going against people with power and money, but you’re rooting for Scarlett and are impressed at her successes against all odds.
For more reviews, please visit http://www.theresaalan.net/blog
This is sort of a difficult read in that’s it’s depressing to read about people with no power going against people with power and money, but you’re rooting for Scarlett and are impressed at her successes against all odds.
For more reviews, please visit http://www.theresaalan.net/blog
October 7, 2018
At Perfume Bay, the mothers were treated like children, so that their children would obtain the most precious gift of all: American citizenship.
Scarlett has been sent to California by her much-older, married lover to deliver their child, his only son, on American soil. She's stuck in a home with some other expectant mothers, guarded by an unpleasant harridan named Mama Fang. When Scarlett's sonogram reveals a big surprise, she and a pregnant teenager go AWOL, each hoping to find the American dream in a place as strange as San Francisco.
I'm going to give this one four stars because, on the whole, I found it to be a compelling and unusual story. I have one big problem, however, which still bothers me as I write this: much of the book has comic elements, and yet the story itself is pretty serious. The reader starts to laugh, before remembering the real and weighty consequences.
Here are some examples:
- Two immensely pregnant women with basketball-bellies on the lam in a stolen van may seem like something out of a screwball comedy, yet if they are caught, their babies will be taken from them, and the women will be deported.
- A fight between sidewalk food vendors begins almost laugh-out-loud funny, but quickly becomes serious when it escalates into violence.
- And, Mama Fang's money-making schemes are pretty hilarious, until the last one turns nearly deadly.
I honestly wasn't sure if I was supposed to be laughing, and I hate feeling guilty for having a chuckle or two.
But, this is only Hua's first novel. She's proven herself more than capable of writing an enthralling story, peopled by strong characters, both female and male. I eagerly await whatever she dreams up next.
Scarlett has been sent to California by her much-older, married lover to deliver their child, his only son, on American soil. She's stuck in a home with some other expectant mothers, guarded by an unpleasant harridan named Mama Fang. When Scarlett's sonogram reveals a big surprise, she and a pregnant teenager go AWOL, each hoping to find the American dream in a place as strange as San Francisco.
I'm going to give this one four stars because, on the whole, I found it to be a compelling and unusual story. I have one big problem, however, which still bothers me as I write this: much of the book has comic elements, and yet the story itself is pretty serious. The reader starts to laugh, before remembering the real and weighty consequences.
Here are some examples:
- Two immensely pregnant women with basketball-bellies on the lam in a stolen van may seem like something out of a screwball comedy, yet if they are caught, their babies will be taken from them, and the women will be deported.
- A fight between sidewalk food vendors begins almost laugh-out-loud funny, but quickly becomes serious when it escalates into violence.
- And, Mama Fang's money-making schemes are pretty hilarious, until the last one turns nearly deadly.
I honestly wasn't sure if I was supposed to be laughing, and I hate feeling guilty for having a chuckle or two.
But, this is only Hua's first novel. She's proven herself more than capable of writing an enthralling story, peopled by strong characters, both female and male. I eagerly await whatever she dreams up next.
January 26, 2019
A slow, moving story about two pregnant women, Scarlett and Daisy, who escape a dangerous situation and flee to San Francisco’s bustling Chinatown. There, they raise and nurture their children while carving out their own piece of the American dream. Behind the scenes, the father of Scarlett’s child, Boss Yeung, wants to find Scarlett so he can reclaim their child and maintain his legacy.
I liked this book a lot for its portrayal of the immigrant experience in America. Scarlett and Daisy both experience several challenges and still display a ton of resilience. They felt like distinct characters and personalities and I enjoyed reading about their friendship with one another the most. Vanessa Hua highlights the “good” and “bad” – or just the complexities and nuances – of Chinese culture, like the strong family bonds, the patriarchal valuing of sons over daughters, etc. Though the pacing of A River of Stars felt a little off to me, like the interspersing of the chapters with the Boss Yeung narrative, I would still highly recommend it to those interested in the immigrant experience in the United States, the strength of women and their connection to one another, or well-written adult fiction in general.
I liked this book a lot for its portrayal of the immigrant experience in America. Scarlett and Daisy both experience several challenges and still display a ton of resilience. They felt like distinct characters and personalities and I enjoyed reading about their friendship with one another the most. Vanessa Hua highlights the “good” and “bad” – or just the complexities and nuances – of Chinese culture, like the strong family bonds, the patriarchal valuing of sons over daughters, etc. Though the pacing of A River of Stars felt a little off to me, like the interspersing of the chapters with the Boss Yeung narrative, I would still highly recommend it to those interested in the immigrant experience in the United States, the strength of women and their connection to one another, or well-written adult fiction in general.
August 28, 2018
“Here in America, she might change the world—but she had to hurry before someone else did.”Scarlett Chen's married lover requests she travel from China to America to give birth to their son. The benefit of having American citizenship in the family is priceless. Of course, Scarlett will have to give the highly desired baby boy to him and his wife thereafter. In return, she will have freedom and a generous amount of money for her sacrifice and silence. So with few other options, Scarlett accepts and is relocated to a maternity home in Los Angeles which is used for expecting Chinese mothers. However, she soon finds out the predicted gender was wrong and this may change everything. With nothing to lose, pregnant Scarlett flees with an unexpected passenger to an area filled with fellow Chinese immigrants. American dream, here we come!
According to the author Vanessa Hua in her August 2018 NPR interview, A River of Stars is a “pregnant Thelma & Louise”. There is a bit of humor, adventure, and suspense, but my personal favorite thing about this book was the culture, specifically the food. I craved some good, authentic eats while reading the glorious descriptions of dishes in this book. I have a kick-ass Taiwanese restaurant nearby so problem solved. However, themes related to immigration are the meat and potatoes of this novel. While there is a lot to love about A River of Stars, reviews appear to be mixed. I admit I struggled myself with remaining consistently engaged and invested. Read it and see if it works for you. I have a broader perspective now, and that my friends is worth every page!
My favorite quote:
"For an additional fee, you could move the world."
Access to an advance reader's copy (ARC) of A River of Stars was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Author: Vanessa Hua
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books
Genres: General Fiction (Adult), Multicultural Interest
Pub Date: August 14, 2018
*Quotes accessed from a published library loan.
May 25, 2018
I feel bad. I made it 2/3 through this book but just couldn't go any further. I enjoyed the characters and was interested in the story but it didn't seem to be progressing. It felt stagnant. I expected more from the narrative and interaction between the primary characters but it felt bogged down in so much superfluous language rather than moving the story forward at a quick enough pace to hold my attention. I wish I knew how the sorry ends but after struggling with this for well over 2 weeks, it is finally time to just call it and move on. :(
May 29, 2018
Vanessa Hua's first novel is wonderful. I enjoyed this novel about Scarlett Chen, a Chinese woman factory manager who is impregnated by her rich lover boss. He sends her away to Perfume Bay, a place in America where Chinese women are housed and where they can deliver their babies. The goal ofcourse is to have the baby in US soil with automatic American citizenship. Scarlett is really a very interesting complex character and I admire her pluck. There are many themes that bring this novel together such as mother-daughter relationships, motherhood, Chinese culture, community and struggles of being an immigrant. I received this ARC E-book from Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review. I really liked it and I think it will be a stand out novel when it comes out in August 2018. There is a lot in this novel to talk about specially about our various attitudes about illegal immigrants. I think this would be a good book to discuss for a book club
May 26, 2019
3.5 stars
A River of Stars was my book group's pick this month, and I ended up listening to the audiobook. So, some pluses and minuses: The narrator was pretty good, doing (I'm assuming) a good job with the Chinese phrases, which gave the story a nice, rich feel as a "listened-to" book. While the initial set-up -- an off-the-books maternity home for Chinese women of wealth, to ensure that their children would have the advantage of US citizenship -- is interesting, the story really picks up once Scarlett and Daisy flee and have to fend for themselves, using their wits and friendship to survive on the run.
When Scarlett and Daisy finally arrive in San Francisco's Chinatown, the heart of the story really develops. There, they rely on community bonds to make a home for themselves, deliver their babies, and figure out a way to start a life in America while cut off from family, financial stability, and legal status. Scarlett is determined, protective, and entrepreneurial, all traits that can be seen in memories of her earlier years, when she fled her peasant village to seek the opportunities of factory work in a city. Scarlett is inventive and daring, never accepting no for an answer when there's a way she might better the lives of the people she considers family.
On the negative side, the ending is increasingly implausible. Also, I did feel that the book spends too much time on chapters from Boss Yeung and others' perspectives, rather than keeping a tighter focus on Scarlett and Daisy.
As a resident of San Francisco, I enjoyed the peek behind the scenes of life in Chinatown, with its rich community and traditions that casual visitors and tourists aren't privy to. And as a reader who appreciates strong women as main characters, I was fascinated by Scarlett's determination and ambition, and how these brought her from her poor village to her brand new life in America.
A River of Stars is an engrossing read about unusual characters, and I ended up really liking the story of their search for a good life for their babies. Well worth checking out!
A River of Stars was my book group's pick this month, and I ended up listening to the audiobook. So, some pluses and minuses: The narrator was pretty good, doing (I'm assuming) a good job with the Chinese phrases, which gave the story a nice, rich feel as a "listened-to" book. While the initial set-up -- an off-the-books maternity home for Chinese women of wealth, to ensure that their children would have the advantage of US citizenship -- is interesting, the story really picks up once Scarlett and Daisy flee and have to fend for themselves, using their wits and friendship to survive on the run.
When Scarlett and Daisy finally arrive in San Francisco's Chinatown, the heart of the story really develops. There, they rely on community bonds to make a home for themselves, deliver their babies, and figure out a way to start a life in America while cut off from family, financial stability, and legal status. Scarlett is determined, protective, and entrepreneurial, all traits that can be seen in memories of her earlier years, when she fled her peasant village to seek the opportunities of factory work in a city. Scarlett is inventive and daring, never accepting no for an answer when there's a way she might better the lives of the people she considers family.
On the negative side, the ending is increasingly implausible. Also, I did feel that the book spends too much time on chapters from Boss Yeung and others' perspectives, rather than keeping a tighter focus on Scarlett and Daisy.
As a resident of San Francisco, I enjoyed the peek behind the scenes of life in Chinatown, with its rich community and traditions that casual visitors and tourists aren't privy to. And as a reader who appreciates strong women as main characters, I was fascinated by Scarlett's determination and ambition, and how these brought her from her poor village to her brand new life in America.
A River of Stars is an engrossing read about unusual characters, and I ended up really liking the story of their search for a good life for their babies. Well worth checking out!
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August 12, 2018The title is a graceful nod to the fundamental Chinese myth of the cowherd and the weaver girl, which, though ancient, as buried in it some key ideas about the double blade of parenthood and filial obedience.
This novel, rich in detail about Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants, takes a compassionate but unsentimental look at motivations for Chinese coming to America.
Scarlett Chen, our main character, becomes pregnant by her lover and owner of the factory she works for, Boss Yeung. He’s a self-made successful business man with three daughters and a wife, but he yearns for what men in China want: a son, to carry on his success.
When a secretly obtained ultrasound reveals Scarlett is carrying a treasured boy, he sends her to America so that his son will be born with American citizenship, with every opportunity Americans have—that wedded with the Chinese connections surely means a limitless future of wealth and success! Scarlett has a difficult relationship with her own mother, who works for a clinic and so knows that one-child policies are enforced, so she is ready to be flown overseas, even though her English is rudimentary at best.
Through an arrangement with entrepreneur/con artists Mama Fang, Scarlett stays at Perfume Bay on the outskirts of LA (probably San Gabriel, which has an enormous Chinese population). She’s pretty much a prisoner, housed with other expectant mothers, eating terrible food, living in squalor, and worrying about Boss Yeung and her child’s future.
A routine sonogram gives her shocking news that she fears will change any love Boss Yeung has for her, ending his support. It becomes vital to escape before she gives birth, only to discover teenaged Daisy, another unwed mother, in the van she steals.
Daisy, born in America but returned to Taiwan as a baby, is suffering her own broken heart, kept from her child’s father William, whom she met in Teipei during a summer language program. She wants nothing more than to get a message to him, but her parents lie to her, and lie to the boy to keep them apart.
Despite their differences, both of their fates hinge on their ability to survive in San Francisco’s Chinese subculture while they have basically nothing. Scarlett acts like a mother figure to Daisy, though she has no maternal instincts. The two of them use not just their wits but their cultural awareness to make a place for themselves among strangers who don’t have all that much more than they do.
Not everyone is willing to help strangers crowding in. But they build connections, one by one, in scenes both harrowing and funny. We learn about food cart wars, which can be as deadly as nuclear threat between nations, as Scarlett finds out when someone puts a flyer next to her food cart with a picture of a rat on it, implying she uses ground rat meat.
The novel is vividly written, full of sensory detail—sometimes almost too much of it. There is an authentic ring to the Chinese idiom, customs, rituals, and myths that weave their way into the stories of all these individuals trying to make good lives for themselves. It’s an impressive debut, which ends with grace and insight.
Copy provided by NetGalley
This novel, rich in detail about Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants, takes a compassionate but unsentimental look at motivations for Chinese coming to America.
Scarlett Chen, our main character, becomes pregnant by her lover and owner of the factory she works for, Boss Yeung. He’s a self-made successful business man with three daughters and a wife, but he yearns for what men in China want: a son, to carry on his success.
When a secretly obtained ultrasound reveals Scarlett is carrying a treasured boy, he sends her to America so that his son will be born with American citizenship, with every opportunity Americans have—that wedded with the Chinese connections surely means a limitless future of wealth and success! Scarlett has a difficult relationship with her own mother, who works for a clinic and so knows that one-child policies are enforced, so she is ready to be flown overseas, even though her English is rudimentary at best.
Through an arrangement with entrepreneur/con artists Mama Fang, Scarlett stays at Perfume Bay on the outskirts of LA (probably San Gabriel, which has an enormous Chinese population). She’s pretty much a prisoner, housed with other expectant mothers, eating terrible food, living in squalor, and worrying about Boss Yeung and her child’s future.
A routine sonogram gives her shocking news that she fears will change any love Boss Yeung has for her, ending his support. It becomes vital to escape before she gives birth, only to discover teenaged Daisy, another unwed mother, in the van she steals.
Daisy, born in America but returned to Taiwan as a baby, is suffering her own broken heart, kept from her child’s father William, whom she met in Teipei during a summer language program. She wants nothing more than to get a message to him, but her parents lie to her, and lie to the boy to keep them apart.
Despite their differences, both of their fates hinge on their ability to survive in San Francisco’s Chinese subculture while they have basically nothing. Scarlett acts like a mother figure to Daisy, though she has no maternal instincts. The two of them use not just their wits but their cultural awareness to make a place for themselves among strangers who don’t have all that much more than they do.
Not everyone is willing to help strangers crowding in. But they build connections, one by one, in scenes both harrowing and funny. We learn about food cart wars, which can be as deadly as nuclear threat between nations, as Scarlett finds out when someone puts a flyer next to her food cart with a picture of a rat on it, implying she uses ground rat meat.
The novel is vividly written, full of sensory detail—sometimes almost too much of it. There is an authentic ring to the Chinese idiom, customs, rituals, and myths that weave their way into the stories of all these individuals trying to make good lives for themselves. It’s an impressive debut, which ends with grace and insight.
Copy provided by NetGalley
July 4, 2025
Here's what I liked about A River of Stars:
** Here come some spoiler-y bits **
1. The premise; a pregnant, unwed mother named Scarlet is sent to the USA by her lover so her child will have American citizenship.
When she discovers the gender of her baby is not what her lover desires, she seeks to escape the regimented home she has been sent to and make her own way, with the unlikely help of an American Chinese teen, Daisy.
Scarlet realizes that in order to give her child every opportunity she can receive in the US, China is not an option she can return to.
She will do anything to ensure her status and remain in the US. Even if that means committing a crime to get a green card.
Meanwhile, Scarlet's baby daddy, Boss Yeung, arrives in San Francisco to locate her and his son.
Unfortunately, his terminal illness is exacerbated by the stress and traveling and his condition deteriorates until the ex-lovers finally meet.
2. Insight into the perils of immigration, highlighting our current political climate and immigration turmoil; the pain of immigrants/illegals fleeing and adapting/assimilating to a new country, rules, customs and language and at the cost of sacrificing your life and identity so your children can have a better life.
3. Good writing, good sense of place in terms of Chinatown in San Francisco and the place and peoples inhabiting this pocket of city life.
What I DID NOT LIKE:
1. The author writes beautiful descriptions and metaphors but at times, it got to be too wordy. As in, I don't need three sentences to tell me how much Scarlet misses the Boss.
2. What's with all the adultering?
Boss Yeung mentions (twice, at least) how he was faithful until he met Scarlet.
Dude, the horse has left the barn.
You are a cad, like Uncle Lo and his menagerie of children.
3. What's with all the superfluous background on supporting characters I did not care one whit about?
Mama Yang (a survivor but no one I would ever want to be friends with), Boss Yeung and his discovery that his firstborn is not his, Uncle Lo and the love child he had with Mama Yang, The Guardian, etc.
4. I didn't dislike Scarlet but I didn't like her.
It may have been the writing; she came across as aloof, almost dispassionate, and I never understood why she and Boss hooked up.
He makes references that he loves her and she says she has feelings but vacillates back and forth. I don't have a clue about their relationship and I don't intend to get one.
5. The strange Outer Limits ending. Hello? Did I make a wrong turn at Albuquerque?
Daisy's baby daddy is a Chinese pop star. Yeah, seriously.
Boss Yeung's life is extended by his daughter's cord blood.
Mama Yang's new business venture is a success and so is her personal life.
Uncle Lo decides not to seek retribution from Scarlet when she absconded.
Scarlet gets a green card with no problem.
I don't buy how quickly her application was processed.
How could that happen once her divorce to Daisy was completed?
Wouldn't she have to explain why she got married to a woman when she wasn't a lala to begin with?
Something doesn't sound right and I am aware of how arduous this process is but maybe there's some bureaucratic loophole I'm unaware of since I was born here.
** Here come some spoiler-y bits **
1. The premise; a pregnant, unwed mother named Scarlet is sent to the USA by her lover so her child will have American citizenship.
When she discovers the gender of her baby is not what her lover desires, she seeks to escape the regimented home she has been sent to and make her own way, with the unlikely help of an American Chinese teen, Daisy.
Scarlet realizes that in order to give her child every opportunity she can receive in the US, China is not an option she can return to.
She will do anything to ensure her status and remain in the US. Even if that means committing a crime to get a green card.
Meanwhile, Scarlet's baby daddy, Boss Yeung, arrives in San Francisco to locate her and his son.
Unfortunately, his terminal illness is exacerbated by the stress and traveling and his condition deteriorates until the ex-lovers finally meet.
2. Insight into the perils of immigration, highlighting our current political climate and immigration turmoil; the pain of immigrants/illegals fleeing and adapting/assimilating to a new country, rules, customs and language and at the cost of sacrificing your life and identity so your children can have a better life.
3. Good writing, good sense of place in terms of Chinatown in San Francisco and the place and peoples inhabiting this pocket of city life.
What I DID NOT LIKE:
1. The author writes beautiful descriptions and metaphors but at times, it got to be too wordy. As in, I don't need three sentences to tell me how much Scarlet misses the Boss.
2. What's with all the adultering?
Boss Yeung mentions (twice, at least) how he was faithful until he met Scarlet.
Dude, the horse has left the barn.
You are a cad, like Uncle Lo and his menagerie of children.
3. What's with all the superfluous background on supporting characters I did not care one whit about?
Mama Yang (a survivor but no one I would ever want to be friends with), Boss Yeung and his discovery that his firstborn is not his, Uncle Lo and the love child he had with Mama Yang, The Guardian, etc.
4. I didn't dislike Scarlet but I didn't like her.
It may have been the writing; she came across as aloof, almost dispassionate, and I never understood why she and Boss hooked up.
He makes references that he loves her and she says she has feelings but vacillates back and forth. I don't have a clue about their relationship and I don't intend to get one.
5. The strange Outer Limits ending. Hello? Did I make a wrong turn at Albuquerque?
Daisy's baby daddy is a Chinese pop star. Yeah, seriously.
Boss Yeung's life is extended by his daughter's cord blood.
Mama Yang's new business venture is a success and so is her personal life.
Uncle Lo decides not to seek retribution from Scarlet when she absconded.
Scarlet gets a green card with no problem.
I don't buy how quickly her application was processed.
How could that happen once her divorce to Daisy was completed?
Wouldn't she have to explain why she got married to a woman when she wasn't a lala to begin with?
Something doesn't sound right and I am aware of how arduous this process is but maybe there's some bureaucratic loophole I'm unaware of since I was born here.
September 24, 2018
A moving novel that focuses on Scarlet, as she’s pregnant and trying to find her way and stake a claim to the American Dream for herself and her unborn child. Vanessa Hua’s was enthralling, and moving. It’s a story that timely and filled with vivacious characters while on their journey trying to create a new home. Highly recommend for those readers who love stories about immigration, identity and character driven stories.
December 2, 2018
2.5 stars
I so wanted to like this book especially after reading the inside cover flap. The story sounded interesting and thrilling. The opening chapters were intriguing but the more I ventured into the story, the more it fell flat. I kept hoping to eventually care about the characters and was desperately seeking some type of epic climax in the story. It never came. I felt like I was on a never ending Ferris Wheel....going in circles, going nowhere. It was a chore to finish.
I so wanted to like this book especially after reading the inside cover flap. The story sounded interesting and thrilling. The opening chapters were intriguing but the more I ventured into the story, the more it fell flat. I kept hoping to eventually care about the characters and was desperately seeking some type of epic climax in the story. It never came. I felt like I was on a never ending Ferris Wheel....going in circles, going nowhere. It was a chore to finish.
September 26, 2019
Scarlet’s determination kept me reading, as well as her transition from someone not overly interested in her impending motherhood, to a fiercely enterprising and loving person. The story mostly follows her, though we do get the occasional chapter told from the perspective of not quite antagonists to Scarlett: the father of her baby, and the manager of the tightly controlled home for the pregnant women where Scarlett initially lands after arriving in the US.
I really liked the developing relationship between Scarlett and the lovelorn, also pregnant, 16-year-old girl and fellow escapee from the home. Their growing reliance, respect and love for each other and their babies was nicely written, and though they were under enormous stress, were some of my favourite sections of the book.
Though the ending was somewhat unrealistic and sappy, I still liked how confident Scarlett was in her new home and life, and I’m willing to read more from this author, based on my enjoyment of this book.
I really liked the developing relationship between Scarlett and the lovelorn, also pregnant, 16-year-old girl and fellow escapee from the home. Their growing reliance, respect and love for each other and their babies was nicely written, and though they were under enormous stress, were some of my favourite sections of the book.
Though the ending was somewhat unrealistic and sappy, I still liked how confident Scarlett was in her new home and life, and I’m willing to read more from this author, based on my enjoyment of this book.
November 18, 2018
I'm honestly struggling to think of anything positive to say about this one...
I think the premise had great potential, but that's about it. I just had one too many issues with this one to rate it higher than one star:
- the characters are totally impossible to relate to. I don't mind dislikable characters in novels, but these were flat and void of personality. I couldn't give you more than a sentence description of any of the characters, even after spending over 200 pages with them.
- you'd think Chinatown in San Francisco would be an evocative place to set a novel. Nope. Apart from the terrible room/apartment they lived in there was little world building here either.
- the narrative jumped around like crazy and was often hard to follow. Topics and characters and timelines would change between sentences without so much as a line break.
- way too much description and very little dialogue.
- the pacing was way off.
- none of the characters motivations for doing anything were clear.
- the ending. I was considering rating this two stars until the end. I don't want to make this spoilery but.. what the hell?!? The ending made me want to laugh and chuck my Kindle across the room all at once.
I really wanted to like this and was excited it had been included in the Tournament of Books. But I have to say I'd recommend reading any other book on the list over this one...
I think the premise had great potential, but that's about it. I just had one too many issues with this one to rate it higher than one star:
- the characters are totally impossible to relate to. I don't mind dislikable characters in novels, but these were flat and void of personality. I couldn't give you more than a sentence description of any of the characters, even after spending over 200 pages with them.
- you'd think Chinatown in San Francisco would be an evocative place to set a novel. Nope. Apart from the terrible room/apartment they lived in there was little world building here either.
- the narrative jumped around like crazy and was often hard to follow. Topics and characters and timelines would change between sentences without so much as a line break.
- way too much description and very little dialogue.
- the pacing was way off.
- none of the characters motivations for doing anything were clear.
- the ending. I was considering rating this two stars until the end. I don't want to make this spoilery but.. what the hell?!? The ending made me want to laugh and chuck my Kindle across the room all at once.
I really wanted to like this and was excited it had been included in the Tournament of Books. But I have to say I'd recommend reading any other book on the list over this one...
December 25, 2018
PHENOMENAL! I am kicking myself for waiting so long to read it - WHY DID I WAIT? The ferocious power of a mother’s desire to provide a better life for her child combined with the struggles of immigration to America, fascinating details about Chinese culture and female friendships, all set in the teeming neighborhood of San Francisco’s Chinatown - I can barely describe this one except to say that it exceeded all of my expectations. Hopeful against all odds with the tiniest hint of suspense, this book will stick with me for a long long time.
March 30, 2018
A truly stellar debut novel about motherhood, immigration and the search for the American dream. I fell for Scarlett Chen from the very start—and would have happily followed her for another 100 pages!
March 31, 2018
I loved this book for the incredible bravery and determination of its protagonist, Scarlett Chen. Pregnancy, motherhood, immigration, entrepreneurship... this book tackles so much and never stopped surprising me. An amazing, captivating read.
July 30, 2018
LOVED IT. Review to come.
May 17, 2018
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
'Mama Fang held everyone’s wallets, passports, and their cash in the safe in her office, part of her pledge to take care of every detail. That meant Scarlett couldn’t pay for the fare and couldn’t leave the country. And if she asked Boss Yeung for a ticket, he’d refuse.'
Scarlett Chen becomes pregnant by her lover and owner of the factory she works for, Boss Yeung. A self-made successful business man with three daughters and a wife yearns for what men in China want, an heir, a son to carry on his success. Daughters always end up being more like their mothers, belonging to them, then to another family. “When told they were having a boy, Boss Yeung had bowed his head and clasps his hands to his mouth, speechless.” When an ultrasound reveals Scarlett is carrying a treasured boy, he sends her to America so that his son will be born free, with every opportunity Americans have, a limitless future! Scarlett knows that she can’t risk telling her own Ma, who works at a family planning clinic that she, an unmarried woman, is pregnant. Not when one-child policies are enforced, pregnancies tracked. She would lose her job, the very job that despite its bitterness, afforded Scarlett and her mother a living, survival.
Through an arrangement with Mama Fang, who has her own entangled history, Scarlett stays at Perfume Bay with other expectant mothers eating terrible food, fighting with other women and thinking about Boss Yeung and her child’s future. Then a new sonogram gives her shocking news that she fears will change any love Boss Yeung has for her ending his support, it is vital she escapes before she gives birth, or the future she imagined will go up in smoke. One night she escapes, only to discover teenaged Daisy, another unwed mother, in the van she steals. Daisy, born in America but returned to Tawaiin when she was 2 months old, is suffering her own broken heart, kept from her child’s father William whom she met in Teipei during a summer language program. She wants nothing more than to get a message to him, being kept apart by her parents. What if, however, he never really loved her as much as she believed? Daisy is educated, and seems priveladed but her own reason for running is just as desperate. Despite their differences, both of their fates hinge on their cultures and the demands of others- both need each other desperately. In a sense, Scarlett mothers Daisy, and does everything she can with an interesting cast of characters to keep their American dream alive. It takes more than intelligence and hope, it takes humility and hard work, and the aid of strangers, a sort of make-shift family. They begin with nothing, invisible to people in San Francisco, fighting for their place within the community of Chinatown, where not everyone is eager to aid their own people. Old Wu and Scarlett build a unique relationship, which I really enjoyed more than her relationship with Boss Yeung. Scarlett using her own terrible cooking to persuade Wu to help her is funny. Always appeal to a man’s ego. Who knew food cart wars could be so dangerous, but when you’re hiding and can’t call attention to yourself for fear of deportation, well… Something that made me laugh and cringe with its pettiness was the flyer placed next to her food cart, a picture of her with wet hair, a photo of a blurry rat beside her and the accusation of ground rodent meat. You have to laugh at the inventiveness of street competitors, maybe as cut throat and fierce as big businesses.
Mama Fang isn’t one to crumble nor fall when any of her businesses collapse. Naturally Boss Yeung is shocked to find out the state of the place he had sent his lover, and find her missing. Mama Fang’s back story is maybe more heartbreaking than both Scarlett and Daisy’s. A woman as strong as her always has more ideas waiting in the wings, always several steps ahead of the game, the only way she has survived for so long. Boss Yeung has his own story of betrayal, and his daughter Viann born to a successful father has her own goals, certainly it doesn’t include being usurped by a bastard son? Everyone has secrets, rich and poor alike, each trying to outmaneuver equally wily foes. What if one’s enemy is a lover, family or best friend?
The criminal acts expose how immigrants in desperation put their trust, all their money and faith into the hands of dubious people. How those with power manipulate and abuse those with none. Certainly the world is full of opportunists that target immigrants as cash cows and see them not as real people escaping horrifying bleak futures. You can’t outrun those with money and power, despite what continent you are on. Each person wants nothing more than to build a life for themselves and their family, and even if people like Scarlett’s Ma or even Mama Fang don’t agree with the morality of their job, sometimes there is no choice but to comply. Whether it’s Boss Yeung coming up from nothing to become a wealthy man in his own country, or Scarlett changing the trajectory of her own life, each changed their fate. The ending is not quite as I expected, I think I expected more shock after all the build up but it’s a solid novel. There were slow periods but things always picked up. This is a story about cultural obligations and the immigrant experience, which is varied and can end in tragedy or glorious fortune. It’s strange to think about the lives of others, continuing alongside our own, that remain invisible for the most part. A River of Stars is just one such experience, a drop in the ocean of many.
Publication Date: August 14, 2018
Random House
Ballantine Books
'Mama Fang held everyone’s wallets, passports, and their cash in the safe in her office, part of her pledge to take care of every detail. That meant Scarlett couldn’t pay for the fare and couldn’t leave the country. And if she asked Boss Yeung for a ticket, he’d refuse.'
Scarlett Chen becomes pregnant by her lover and owner of the factory she works for, Boss Yeung. A self-made successful business man with three daughters and a wife yearns for what men in China want, an heir, a son to carry on his success. Daughters always end up being more like their mothers, belonging to them, then to another family. “When told they were having a boy, Boss Yeung had bowed his head and clasps his hands to his mouth, speechless.” When an ultrasound reveals Scarlett is carrying a treasured boy, he sends her to America so that his son will be born free, with every opportunity Americans have, a limitless future! Scarlett knows that she can’t risk telling her own Ma, who works at a family planning clinic that she, an unmarried woman, is pregnant. Not when one-child policies are enforced, pregnancies tracked. She would lose her job, the very job that despite its bitterness, afforded Scarlett and her mother a living, survival.
Through an arrangement with Mama Fang, who has her own entangled history, Scarlett stays at Perfume Bay with other expectant mothers eating terrible food, fighting with other women and thinking about Boss Yeung and her child’s future. Then a new sonogram gives her shocking news that she fears will change any love Boss Yeung has for her ending his support, it is vital she escapes before she gives birth, or the future she imagined will go up in smoke. One night she escapes, only to discover teenaged Daisy, another unwed mother, in the van she steals. Daisy, born in America but returned to Tawaiin when she was 2 months old, is suffering her own broken heart, kept from her child’s father William whom she met in Teipei during a summer language program. She wants nothing more than to get a message to him, being kept apart by her parents. What if, however, he never really loved her as much as she believed? Daisy is educated, and seems priveladed but her own reason for running is just as desperate. Despite their differences, both of their fates hinge on their cultures and the demands of others- both need each other desperately. In a sense, Scarlett mothers Daisy, and does everything she can with an interesting cast of characters to keep their American dream alive. It takes more than intelligence and hope, it takes humility and hard work, and the aid of strangers, a sort of make-shift family. They begin with nothing, invisible to people in San Francisco, fighting for their place within the community of Chinatown, where not everyone is eager to aid their own people. Old Wu and Scarlett build a unique relationship, which I really enjoyed more than her relationship with Boss Yeung. Scarlett using her own terrible cooking to persuade Wu to help her is funny. Always appeal to a man’s ego. Who knew food cart wars could be so dangerous, but when you’re hiding and can’t call attention to yourself for fear of deportation, well… Something that made me laugh and cringe with its pettiness was the flyer placed next to her food cart, a picture of her with wet hair, a photo of a blurry rat beside her and the accusation of ground rodent meat. You have to laugh at the inventiveness of street competitors, maybe as cut throat and fierce as big businesses.
Mama Fang isn’t one to crumble nor fall when any of her businesses collapse. Naturally Boss Yeung is shocked to find out the state of the place he had sent his lover, and find her missing. Mama Fang’s back story is maybe more heartbreaking than both Scarlett and Daisy’s. A woman as strong as her always has more ideas waiting in the wings, always several steps ahead of the game, the only way she has survived for so long. Boss Yeung has his own story of betrayal, and his daughter Viann born to a successful father has her own goals, certainly it doesn’t include being usurped by a bastard son? Everyone has secrets, rich and poor alike, each trying to outmaneuver equally wily foes. What if one’s enemy is a lover, family or best friend?
The criminal acts expose how immigrants in desperation put their trust, all their money and faith into the hands of dubious people. How those with power manipulate and abuse those with none. Certainly the world is full of opportunists that target immigrants as cash cows and see them not as real people escaping horrifying bleak futures. You can’t outrun those with money and power, despite what continent you are on. Each person wants nothing more than to build a life for themselves and their family, and even if people like Scarlett’s Ma or even Mama Fang don’t agree with the morality of their job, sometimes there is no choice but to comply. Whether it’s Boss Yeung coming up from nothing to become a wealthy man in his own country, or Scarlett changing the trajectory of her own life, each changed their fate. The ending is not quite as I expected, I think I expected more shock after all the build up but it’s a solid novel. There were slow periods but things always picked up. This is a story about cultural obligations and the immigrant experience, which is varied and can end in tragedy or glorious fortune. It’s strange to think about the lives of others, continuing alongside our own, that remain invisible for the most part. A River of Stars is just one such experience, a drop in the ocean of many.
Publication Date: August 14, 2018
Random House
Ballantine Books
November 11, 2018
A River of Stars by Vanessa Hua analyzes the many challenges faced to find one's identity as an immigrant, the struggles of new motherhood and the complicated relationship that is female friendship. It is a tale of hope and survival with quite a bit of drama, and some tidbits on Chinese culture. Although it gets a bit slow following the halfway mark and at times lacks consistency, I would still recommend you give it a try if literary fiction with an immigration theme sounds like something that you might enjoy.
For more reviews visit my blog Booktimistic - Books, Outdoors & Optimism
** A free finished copy was provided by Random House. All opinions are my own**
For more reviews visit my blog Booktimistic - Books, Outdoors & Optimism
** A free finished copy was provided by Random House. All opinions are my own**
December 5, 2018
As I meandered through this book I knew I wouldn't love it but I stuck with it and was glad I did. If you like slow reads, and especially if you enjoyed the likes of Pachinko, then this one should be on your TBR. Though I also finished Pachinko with some pretty lukewarm feelings, Vanessa Hua's debut novel is much more condensed and that better served the slow-moving story. There is actually quite a bit of action but it is spread out and separated by long bouts of banality, which, though oft beautiful also felt at other times unnecessary and confusing. The last 40 pages included enough great material for me to settle on this being a solid 3-star read and I'd certainly read another book by Hua in the future.
Scarlett is greatly pregnant and recently shipped off to America by her lover, Boss Yeung, who, desperate for a son, is scheming to get a US-born heir to whom he can gift his company and wealth before he dies. In the compound he's arranged for her to stay at in California, she befriends a pregnant teenager, Daisy, as they both consider escaping rather than waiting to give birth under the manipulative authority of Mama Feng. When the compound is raided and all the women have fled, Boss Yeung visits in search for clues as to where Scarlett and Daisy may have gone. The following story is full of secrets behind the Chinese protagonists as the new mothers struggle to keep their heads above water while relying on each other for help with their newborns, and Boss Yeung enlists his old friend and his eldest daughter to help search for his missing son.
Scarlett is greatly pregnant and recently shipped off to America by her lover, Boss Yeung, who, desperate for a son, is scheming to get a US-born heir to whom he can gift his company and wealth before he dies. In the compound he's arranged for her to stay at in California, she befriends a pregnant teenager, Daisy, as they both consider escaping rather than waiting to give birth under the manipulative authority of Mama Feng. When the compound is raided and all the women have fled, Boss Yeung visits in search for clues as to where Scarlett and Daisy may have gone. The following story is full of secrets behind the Chinese protagonists as the new mothers struggle to keep their heads above water while relying on each other for help with their newborns, and Boss Yeung enlists his old friend and his eldest daughter to help search for his missing son.
September 19, 2018
Ms. Hua writes a creative, funny and yet serious story on the topic of treatment of women in China.
Two women unite forces when they realize that they are not going to be allowed to raise their babies. Ms. Hua is a gifted writer, invoking emotions in the reader about the injustice done to the main characters while at the same time giving us insights about the motivations of those who impact their lives. She has a fresh voice and though the subject is serious, her delivery keeps the reader invested and committed to seeing the unlikely pair create clever means of surviving and thriving.
Two women unite forces when they realize that they are not going to be allowed to raise their babies. Ms. Hua is a gifted writer, invoking emotions in the reader about the injustice done to the main characters while at the same time giving us insights about the motivations of those who impact their lives. She has a fresh voice and though the subject is serious, her delivery keeps the reader invested and committed to seeing the unlikely pair create clever means of surviving and thriving.
July 28, 2018
Vanessa Hua’s A River of Stars is an epic, necessary tale about a pair of pregnant women on the lam from a maternity home. They flee to San Francisco's Chinatown, where they try to make a life for themselves and their expected babies. This is a moving, wildly entertaining, and compassionate debut.
September 10, 2020
Hahahahahah that ending was...convenient
September 4, 2018
Vanessa Hua has a GREAT concept. I wanted to read this book because the synopsis makes it sound incredible — it’s the kind of story I would expect Celeste Ng to write, which is high praise. Yet it is just let down so heavily by the pacing, the tone, and the writing style. (So basically all of the things that make a story work.) My goal was to make it to 100 pages and then pass judgment from there, but I only made it to page 84 before I just couldn’t do it anymore. I took a lot of notes while I was reading this book, so I thought I would include them as my review.
- “By tomorrow, these pampered women and their spoiled babies would be forced onto the street (p.39).” HOW is this a good thing????? I get that they don’t like these women, but revelling in the fact that they — and their NEWBORN CHILDREN — are going to be homeless because of THEIR actions??????????? I am at a loss for words. The tone is SO bizarre in this story. There is no compassion for any of the side characters, and it’s really fucking alarming.
- This is just a personal pet peeve but I hate it when books use the word “bottom” as opposed to “butt” I just can’t stand it. Just don’t talk about anyone’s butts in books it’s generally unnecessary okay
- ‘“Wah!” Daisy exclaimed (p.46).’ I mean, what?? Honestly, what the fuck.
- Scarlett’s hatred of Mama Fang feels so unfounded to me. I understand that there was an inciting conflict, but the problem this book has is that it introduces every single piece of information in the exact same tone of voice, so there’s no way of distinguishing what is important from what is just exposition, internal monologue, and background information.
- Holy fuck the pacing in this is SO BAD. Here’s an extract that has me reeling: “[...] she felt emboldened enough to ask where they might stay the night. Evergreen Gardens, he answered quickly, where a room had opened up down the hall from him. A reasonable price, a landlord who didn’t ask much of you, if you didn’t ask much of him. Their first night in Chinatown, they curled like shrimp, back-to-back, with borrowed extra pillows propped between their legs.” This is exactly how this passage appears in the book. There is no line break to indicate that they have moved from scene to scene, from place to place, or even from morning to night. It all just happens in that same paragraph, which is so confusing. This book is constantly making me have to go back and re-read passages to make sure I’ve understood them correctly, because there is so much wrong with the grammar and the layout of the text.
- I get that Scarlett is confused about her feelings for Boss Yeung, but the reader shouldn’t also be confused about them, too. That’s bad writing.
- I get the impression that Vanessa Hua doesn’t know anything about how a factory works. And to be fair, neither do I — which is why I would never write about one. This line: “In business matters, she knew better than [Old Wu]. Hadn’t she cut costs at Boss Yeung’s factory? (p.61)” reminds me of Warcross by Marie Lu, in that the technical language that the book is based on just sounds really inaccurate/basic/unresearched.
- There’s a sense of urgency to the action in this book, but because the pacing and writing is so weird, that urgency seems unrealistic and melodramatic.
- All the plot elements feel sloppy. It’s as if Vanessa Hua knows that you have to have conflicts to maintain the trajectory of a narrative, but she doesn’t know how to cohesively or realistically string those conflicts together. (Daisy’s little sister “resenting her for telling her what to do” is my example here — it just feels too convenient. Her sister being unreliable works, but the justification for it doesn’t in this context.)
- I’ve just realised why this book reads so weirdly: it reads as if it has been translated into English from another language.
- I just hate this passage so much: “He recoiled from a giant pair of tan underpants, but then reflexively notes the quality cotton spandex fabric [...] — this assessment second nature to him, after years of manufacturing clothes, electronics, and consumer goods.” It just feels so chunky and unnecessary for this detail to be disclosed???? And I also just hate it???
- Another passage with terrible fucking grammar: “The excuse wounded Boss Yeung. Why would his friend reject the idea of uniting their bloodlines — because he thought Boss Yeung’s was tainted? The future of that bloodline was slipping away, along with the chance of a cure. He entered the kitchen (p.82).” Here’s my beef: the last line of that extract is set in the present, and the rest of it is a flashback — yet there are presented without any sort of distinguishing indicators in the same paragraph with no line breaks. Surely it’s an obvious rule of thumb that if you are changing from a flashback to the present day, you PUT A LINE BREAK???????
- Also I just think it’s dumb that Boss Yeung refers to himself as Boss Yeung in the chapters that are from his perspective
- I can’t do it. I give up. I was SO excited for this book all year, but it has just turned out to be really poorly written, to the point of being unreadable. Very disappointed.
- “By tomorrow, these pampered women and their spoiled babies would be forced onto the street (p.39).” HOW is this a good thing????? I get that they don’t like these women, but revelling in the fact that they — and their NEWBORN CHILDREN — are going to be homeless because of THEIR actions??????????? I am at a loss for words. The tone is SO bizarre in this story. There is no compassion for any of the side characters, and it’s really fucking alarming.
- This is just a personal pet peeve but I hate it when books use the word “bottom” as opposed to “butt” I just can’t stand it. Just don’t talk about anyone’s butts in books it’s generally unnecessary okay
- ‘“Wah!” Daisy exclaimed (p.46).’ I mean, what?? Honestly, what the fuck.
- Scarlett’s hatred of Mama Fang feels so unfounded to me. I understand that there was an inciting conflict, but the problem this book has is that it introduces every single piece of information in the exact same tone of voice, so there’s no way of distinguishing what is important from what is just exposition, internal monologue, and background information.
- Holy fuck the pacing in this is SO BAD. Here’s an extract that has me reeling: “[...] she felt emboldened enough to ask where they might stay the night. Evergreen Gardens, he answered quickly, where a room had opened up down the hall from him. A reasonable price, a landlord who didn’t ask much of you, if you didn’t ask much of him. Their first night in Chinatown, they curled like shrimp, back-to-back, with borrowed extra pillows propped between their legs.” This is exactly how this passage appears in the book. There is no line break to indicate that they have moved from scene to scene, from place to place, or even from morning to night. It all just happens in that same paragraph, which is so confusing. This book is constantly making me have to go back and re-read passages to make sure I’ve understood them correctly, because there is so much wrong with the grammar and the layout of the text.
- I get that Scarlett is confused about her feelings for Boss Yeung, but the reader shouldn’t also be confused about them, too. That’s bad writing.
- I get the impression that Vanessa Hua doesn’t know anything about how a factory works. And to be fair, neither do I — which is why I would never write about one. This line: “In business matters, she knew better than [Old Wu]. Hadn’t she cut costs at Boss Yeung’s factory? (p.61)” reminds me of Warcross by Marie Lu, in that the technical language that the book is based on just sounds really inaccurate/basic/unresearched.
- There’s a sense of urgency to the action in this book, but because the pacing and writing is so weird, that urgency seems unrealistic and melodramatic.
- All the plot elements feel sloppy. It’s as if Vanessa Hua knows that you have to have conflicts to maintain the trajectory of a narrative, but she doesn’t know how to cohesively or realistically string those conflicts together. (Daisy’s little sister “resenting her for telling her what to do” is my example here — it just feels too convenient. Her sister being unreliable works, but the justification for it doesn’t in this context.)
- I’ve just realised why this book reads so weirdly: it reads as if it has been translated into English from another language.
- I just hate this passage so much: “He recoiled from a giant pair of tan underpants, but then reflexively notes the quality cotton spandex fabric [...] — this assessment second nature to him, after years of manufacturing clothes, electronics, and consumer goods.” It just feels so chunky and unnecessary for this detail to be disclosed???? And I also just hate it???
- Another passage with terrible fucking grammar: “The excuse wounded Boss Yeung. Why would his friend reject the idea of uniting their bloodlines — because he thought Boss Yeung’s was tainted? The future of that bloodline was slipping away, along with the chance of a cure. He entered the kitchen (p.82).” Here’s my beef: the last line of that extract is set in the present, and the rest of it is a flashback — yet there are presented without any sort of distinguishing indicators in the same paragraph with no line breaks. Surely it’s an obvious rule of thumb that if you are changing from a flashback to the present day, you PUT A LINE BREAK???????
- Also I just think it’s dumb that Boss Yeung refers to himself as Boss Yeung in the chapters that are from his perspective
- I can’t do it. I give up. I was SO excited for this book all year, but it has just turned out to be really poorly written, to the point of being unreadable. Very disappointed.
March 21, 2019
Hua’s first novel looks at the immigrant experience from a slightly different angle: wealthy Chinese who pay a high fee to ensure their pregnant partners will stay in a secure location until they give birth to babies who will automatically have the always-coveted native-born U.S. citizenship.
The story focuses on Scarlett Chen, the mistress or Boss Yeung. Boss already has three daughters with his wife, but ultrasound has shown that Scarlet is carrying a boy, so he wants to be sure to give his son every advantage. But most of the other women at Perfume Bay are wives, and they shun Scarlett. The only other “outcast” is teenaged Daisy, another unwed mother whose parents are trying to keep her separated from her American-Chinese boyfriend. When Scarlet’s dreams seem to be falling apart, she panics, taking the facility’s dilapidated van and heading towards the only location she can think of – San Francisco’s Chinatown. En route she discovers that Daisy has stowed away and is intent on accompanying Scarlett. Together they forge an unusual alliance.
I found this an interesting and engaging story. I really liked Scarlett, who is intelligent, resourceful, determined, and a very hard worker. I found Daisy frustratingly immature, but then she’s a teenager, impetuous, quick to react, easily bored, and not always thinking of future consequences to her actions. And yet, the two of them DO work together, Daisy using her fluency in English and brash personality, Scarlett lending her entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to work hard so that they two of them can stay ahead of those who are seeking them.
I was less interested in Boss Yeung’s story and the drama/suspense that it brought to the novel. Although I do recognize the importance of his role to the story arc, and I liked the way Hua ended the story.
I also have to make a comment about the role of food in this story. I was hungry all the time, reading this, and definitely wanted to seek out one of Scarlett’s hanbaobao “sliders”!
Final verdict: a good, but not great, debut. I’d consider reading another of Hua’s works.
The story focuses on Scarlett Chen, the mistress or Boss Yeung. Boss already has three daughters with his wife, but ultrasound has shown that Scarlet is carrying a boy, so he wants to be sure to give his son every advantage. But most of the other women at Perfume Bay are wives, and they shun Scarlett. The only other “outcast” is teenaged Daisy, another unwed mother whose parents are trying to keep her separated from her American-Chinese boyfriend. When Scarlet’s dreams seem to be falling apart, she panics, taking the facility’s dilapidated van and heading towards the only location she can think of – San Francisco’s Chinatown. En route she discovers that Daisy has stowed away and is intent on accompanying Scarlett. Together they forge an unusual alliance.
I found this an interesting and engaging story. I really liked Scarlett, who is intelligent, resourceful, determined, and a very hard worker. I found Daisy frustratingly immature, but then she’s a teenager, impetuous, quick to react, easily bored, and not always thinking of future consequences to her actions. And yet, the two of them DO work together, Daisy using her fluency in English and brash personality, Scarlett lending her entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to work hard so that they two of them can stay ahead of those who are seeking them.
I was less interested in Boss Yeung’s story and the drama/suspense that it brought to the novel. Although I do recognize the importance of his role to the story arc, and I liked the way Hua ended the story.
I also have to make a comment about the role of food in this story. I was hungry all the time, reading this, and definitely wanted to seek out one of Scarlett’s hanbaobao “sliders”!
Final verdict: a good, but not great, debut. I’d consider reading another of Hua’s works.
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