Jemimah Wei weaves a heart wrenching story of two girls growing up as sisters in Singapore in the 1990's and then follows them into a diverse socially complicated journey into adulthood. Gen, is the eldest who is the narrator of the story. She is a very bright girl who lives to make her parents proud of her academic achievements to her own detriment.

Arin arrives in the family as a child of a man who is the illegitimate son of her grandfather who had left the family and her grandmother many years before. Gen accepts Arin as her sister and the vow to always be together. The story ebbs and flows as Gen and Arin grow together and apart. Many family dramas are seen thru the lens of Singapore culture and behaviors of the time.

We follow the ups and downs, successes and failures of these two women and their family members. Consequences for actions and behaviors are throughout the well developed storyline. Character development is excellent and you can feel what's it like to be in Singapore.

A refreshing read about discovering family and self. What could possibly go wrong when a thirty year old music shop owner decides she might want to meet her birth mother.? Maggie Mae , a young woman who loves music and lives thru song in all aspects of her life, is on a quest to find her birth mother with help from Jason, her fiancé and a cast of characters that will make your heart sing.

Songs of Summer was a joyful homage to days past thru the references to music which could easily have been a rom-com musical! While the ending was known early on the way to it was paved in a wonderful dance. It was also very comforting to have the early story set in Chagrin Falls, Ohio….where I have visited often!

Initially I wondered the genre then realized it is part Fantasy, part Romance and part mystery all rolled into one cohesive story about a dysfunctional family….real and imagined. Libby and Peanut are the primary characters surrounded by a plethora of real and imagined characters which make this a very colorful story. Although it was a slow start, I was unable to put it down and had to finish it during the wee hours and by flashlight as we had no power. Only made the story richer! There is lots of room for a continuance of this storyline.