Title- The Last Story of Mina Lee
Book of the Month Selection
Rating– 4/5
Genre- Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
POV- Multiple POV- mother and daughter in different years
Trope- motherhood
Similar Books/Comps– White Ivy, A Good Neighborhood
My emotions- Curious
Characters–
Margot- 26 years old in California
Mina- Margot’s single- mother
Plot/Blurb-
Margot finds that her mother has suspiciously died. The discovery sends Margot digging through the past, unraveling the tenuous invisible strings that held together her mother’s life as a Korean War orphan and an undocumented immigrant, only to realize how little she truly knew about her mother.
Interwoven with Margot’s present-day search is Mina’s story of her first year in Los Angeles as she navigates the promises and perils of the American myth of reinvention. While she’s barely earning a living by stocking shelves at a Korean grocery store, the last thing Mina ever expects is to fall in love. But that love story sets in motion a series of events that have consequences for years to come, leading up to the truth of what happened the night of her death.
Best part-
I enjoyed immersing myself more in parts of a culture I’m usually not exposed to. Margaret’s POV felt more exciting and engaging than Mina’s POV through most of the novel. The theme of motherhood felt relevant and relatable.
What I’d change-
Margaret’s POV longer and Mina’s POV shorter.
Quote-
“Choosing if and when and how to share the truth might be the deepest, most painful necessity of growing out into the world and into yourself.”
Cassie Swindon 