Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S. Choi
Book review by Sami
*Disclaimer: I just want to point it out there, this is my first ever book review on a book, so if I have missed anything, or I haven't provided enough detail to what book reviews usually contain, I am so so sorry! I will try my best and hope I don't disappoint :) Here we go!
The story tells us the life of the protagonist, Fiona Yu, or more
commonly referred to as “Fi”, an Asian American corporate lawyer in her late
twenties. Fi takes the reader with her on her journey to defy this “Hello
Kitty” standard she was raised to be – in other words, passive, obedient,
quiet, somewhat like the actual Hello Kitty character, as her parents continue
to set Fi up with countless dates in hopes she would marry and bring the family
“honour”. On her journey to trying to defy Hello Kitty, she encounters an old
best friend named Sean, who helps her embark on this defying Hello Kitty
journey, but not in a way we would expect it. Sean is far from your typical
Prince Charming, maybe a little like fairy Godmother that supplies roofies and
death for her escapes. I guess that’s a way to describe their relationship.
I really enjoyed this book because it was funny, dark and totally
relatable, just as the San Francisco Chronicle described it, sort of. What attracted me to pick this book up was the odd title. Hello
Kitty Must Die. Hello Kitty must what? I thought to myself.
An innocent character that can't speak needs
to what?! The strange arrangement of words in that sentence was already a
sign for me pick it up. The Asian traditions mentioned in the book and the
expectations of an Asian girl that Fi portrayed to the readers made me think
about my own parents and how I was able to draw similarities between Fi’s
parents and mine. It also made me think about how the Asian community tend to
expect girls to be quiet and obedient, and how I am the complete opposite, haha.
I guess you can say this made the book more real for me. The story does a good job at manipulating the reader's feelings, making us frustrated when Fi's frustrated, making us feel relieved when Fi's relieved and so on. I feel that a book is truly a good book when the novel can play on your feelings and make you feel with the characters feel, otherwise, you're just reading a "plank of wood", as they say. Though the book was
somewhat predictable as the series of events went on, it was an enjoyable read
that I could not put down (with the exceptions of having to do chores, and
eating and sleeping).
