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There are currently 28 member reviews
for Next Time Will Be Our Turn
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Patricia L. (Seward, AK)
Grandma has a story to tell...
Izzy Chen's grandmother is a bad ass. Nai Nai has just walked into their annual, Indo, large family gathering and shocked everyone without saying a word. Izzy wants to be so bold. Turns out her grandmother wants Izzy to grab life and "…shake it until it gives you what you want..." too.
Thus begins Nai Nai's narrative of her life as a young girl navigating the patriarchal world of Indonesian wealth and status. From being told your future is dictated by gender to becoming aware that you are capable of so much more, Nai Nai's journey is fraught with obstacles, choices and things that can't be controlled but can be managed.
Suntanto's book is fast paced, easily read although slightly predictable. Recommended for those who want a story about strong women and the ways in which they survive and thrive.
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Rebecca G. (Havertown, PA)
Hesrtbreaking
Lizzy thinks she's the black sheep of her family. Her Chinese-Indonesian family is loud, flashy outgoing. Lizzy is quiet and reserved; she also holds a very big secret. One New Years celebration her grandmother, Nainai walks in with another woman on her arm and gives her a passionate kiss. Lizzy, like the rest of her family, is shocked and outraged but she is also very confused. Her Nainai, recognizes this and proceeds to tell her about her life and the love of her life, a woman named Ellery. It's a heart wrenching story of love and betrayal and life changing decisions. My heart broke over and over for Magnolia, Nainai to Izzy, and the struggles of women trying to live a life of their choosing while oppressed by a patriarchal society. In the telling of her story, she allows Izzy to accept who she is and who she can love. I loved the book except for two things; I didn't understand the need for the big age difference between Magnolia and Ellery. It didn't seem that likely to me. Also, I would have liked to hear more of Izzy's story. Otherwise it's a wonderful story of love and love lost
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Gaye R. (Coupeville, WA)
Generations
An interesting storyline about a grandmother sharing a life-changing time in her past. In this sharing with her granddaughter, the grandmother's story shows that the readers are like the granddaughter in that we often know very little about our older relatives' earlier lives. The most enjoyable part of the reading, is granddaughter Izzy's reactions to her grandmother's younger life. The book does become bogged down with too many subplots and therefore interest level wanes.
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Barbara M. (Elmhurst, IL)
Lost in translation
Jesse Sutanto shows her writing skill in the easy read, lyrical book Next Time Will Be Our Turn. This is an LGBTQ romance novel that explores the intersects between cultural norms (including family and ethnicity) and women on the brink of the 21st century. I felt like she had to work at fitting so much conflict into the story. I also had my own "cultural difficulty" with the construct of the story…a grandmother telling the story to a teenage granddaughter, which I found unrealistic. Furthermore, an editor really should have caught the timeline inaccuracies! In my opinion Sutanto's exceptional writing and theme were dampened by those issues.
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Patricia S. (Lake Wylie, SC)
Important Themes, Disappointing Execution
I really wanted to like "Next Time Will Be Our Turn" by Jesse Q. Sutanto, a novel that centers on the relationship between Magnolia, a 73-year-old grandmother, and her grand daughter Izzy. Magnolia shares her life story with Izzy in an effort to help her accept and become comfortable with her gay identity. The book touches on important themes such as identity, queerness, sisterhood, and resistance against patriarchy across cultures.
However, despite the promise of its subject matter, I struggled to connect with the characters. Magnolia's voice, intended to convey wisdom and lived experience, often felt more like that of a teenager than a septuagenarian. The character of Izzy, who at first seems poised to play a central role, is disappointingly underdeveloped. Her presence is felt only sporadically, and when Magnolia does address her, it feels abrupt, as if she suddenly recalls her granddaughter's presence.
From a personal perspective, certain conversations where Magnolia discusses her sexual feelings and sexual activities then wonders how Izzy turned out to be such a "prude" felt condescending and detracted from the authenticity of their relationship from my perspective.
While the novel's exploration of important themes is commendable, I found the storytelling and character development lacking. The narrative's potential is clear, but for me, the execution fell short.
My thanks to Berkley and Jesse Q. Sutanto for the Advance Reader Copy of this book.
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Kathy H. (Richmond, VA)
Great story
"If you ever want to see how wonderfully complex the human mind is, all you have to do is look at the periodic table."
#nexttimewillbeourturn is my introduction to @jesseqsutanto. I loved the story and its focus on females – and fighting the patriarchy, fighting the life parents want for us, fighting to be true to oneself…which may be the hardest one of all.
At times, I found Magnolia to be so clueless and frustrating, but kept reminding myself of her environment, where even her fully-educated doctor mother couldn't practice much medicine at her own clinic. I also did not see much character development with Magnolia's parents, particularly the father – they seemed to be stock stereotypes within the Chinese-Indo community or her husband, Patrick.
I very much enjoyed the stories of Magnolia, Iris and Ellery, however. Sutanto does a nice job of conveying their feelings, frustrations and limitations placed upon them by society, and who they love. Where I struggled was with the writing. It was sophomoric, sometimes clunky and cringey, including the dialogue. Once I even checked the blurb on Goodreads because I wondered if I were reading YA (not that there's anything wrong with that!). There was inconsistency with Magnolia – one minute she is in love with Patrick and the next, not so much. I get that she was young for a good part of the story but the wishy-washy continued until the end of the novel, when she seems to finally GET it.
Again I reiterate that I enjoyed the story very much. It had some twists I did not see coming, and ultimately was a story of love and hope. It was also a fast read, despite the heavy subject matter. Suntanto also does a good job with her scenes of queer romance, fleeting though they be.
Thanks to @bookbrowse for the opportunity to read an advance galley.
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Helen B. (WINTHROP, ME)
Next Time Will Be Our time
Before I go any further, to be fair, I am not a big romance reader and this is my first Sutanto novel. First there were some cringe parts… a 22 year old woman falls in love with a 16 year old teen girl. About half the book focuses on this relationship stage. While nothing illegal happens, the chance is there and it didn't play well. Especially given the 16 year old is from a different country, basically alone and had been sheltered. The other cringy part was the 73 year old grandmother talking about her sexual experiences with her 16 year old granddaughter, and when the granddaughter protested, she was called a prude. I cannot imagine how uncomfortable this was or any grandmother using this as a way to help their grandchild. The storyline had some really interesting aspects, but way too many boring sections that just stole the limelight. Much of it was mundane and repetitive. It reminded me a lot of a YA romance, except there were parts that were definitely for adults. But the part that colored the whole book for me right from the start was the weird timeline. The grandmother decides to tell her granddaughter the story of her life and starts when she is 13 back and that chapter is labeled 1995. So if you do the math…the woman cannot be 73 in 2025. It's off 30 years. The "current" chapters are not labeled with a date, just the past. If this book takes place in 2055, wouldn't times be different, but they don't seem to be and sadly some of the historic pieces about the 90's didn't ring true. For example, the characters text each other back and forth in the late 90s. I knew no regular people who had access to phones that texted like smart phones back then. Then there's the ending…I'm going to leave that alone, as anything I say will give it away, but all I will say…. it's been done, and when it was I didn't like it. The positive is the writer can write a smooth piece and her characters are likeable and realistic. But there was just too much that I couldn't get past. For me this is a 2. Thank you to Bookbrowse.com, NetGalley, and Berkley Publishing for ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
