Lang Leav

Free Netgalley ARC for an honest review.


I fell into this book when I was supposed to be falling asleep, and it swallowed my whole from the first flip of its first page. Lang Leave continues to know the language of love, longing, lust, and loss in more poignancy than most people will ever learn how to laugh, love and live. Everyone should read this book (and all the rest of them as well).

I will be here, holding my heart in my hands, waiting for you to find my in these ink-stained lands.

I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher (Harper Perennial) for promotional purposes. Since I received an ARC, my quotes from the book are tentative.

I am such a huge fan of Lang Leav, so I knew I had to read this book. I thought this was such a poignant and impactful story.

The story takes place in Australia during the late 90’s. As an Asian American, it was fascinating learning about Australia and its racial tensions during that time. I also enjoyed learning more about show more the large group of Asian refugees who moved to Australia.

The writing style is gorgeous. Lang Leav is a wonderful poet so it’s no surprise her prose is just as beautiful.

The best part of the book was the exploration of friendships, particularly Ai and Brigitte’s. At times their friendship reminded me of Olivia Rodrigo’s song, “Lacy,” because of the jealousy that Ai sometimes had towards Brigitte. The author weaved an intricate portrayal of their sometimes complicated friendship. The theme of grief and loss was also masterfully woven all throughout the story.

I do have two minor critiques. The first being that the 2 parts of the story felt unbalanced. Part 1 was twice as long as part 2, making part 2 feel a little rushed. My second critique is that this book felt more YA than adult. That isn’t a bad thing (I love YA); I just feel like it was miscategorized.

Lastly, I want to share a quote about the magic of books that I loved. Brigitte states, “I’m envisioning a bookshelf lined with tiny doors. A whole world behind each one. I’m in awe of the way authors can bring these worlds to life the way they do. Like Wonderland for example. It’s so detailed, it feels just like a real place to me—as real as any other” (pg. 45). I couldn’t agree more! Books can feel so real.

Overall, this was a moving and beautifully written story! show less

I just finished Others Were Emeralds by Lang Leav. I am blown away by it. It is so intense and feels so real, almost autobiographical. I wanted to read much more. I hope that the author writes the story of Ai's mother next. It brought me back to the time at Indiana University when I was walking behind two women and one of them was telling me about her mother's escape from Cambodia. What one of them said is engraved in my memory.

There is one scene in this book told by a daughter of a woman show more who made the treacherous journey fleeing the Khmer Rouge. The horrors of the journey go right through your soul when the author has her character tell it. The terrors of the Khmer Rouge visit

Like the author, Ai's family fled to Australia. And like in the United States, there are people who hate people of a different race. Ai experiences racial harassment in senior high and has a small group of friends at school. This is a coming-of-age book with echoes of hatred that appear in her mother's life and then in hers were reflected in the harassment and tragedy. Ai experiences double grief and cannot make herself ask for help.

Please read it and understand. show less

I wish this was what filled the shelves of high school libraries and the hands of students just getting their first introduction to poetry, instead of Rupi Kaur. Imagine similar subject matter to Rupi, but written in actual, good-quality verse.

Written in an Emily Bronte-esque style, with subject matter and imagery similar to Melanie Martinez. Young love gone wrong told with gallows humour and childhood allusions. A really charming collection from a very promising poet. I look forward to show more reading more! show less