“Some days I’m okay. And some days I’m less okay. I know my triggers. I have my strategies on how to cope when things get too bad.”
Wai Chim is a first-generation Chinese-American who grew up speaking Cantonese at home and later on moved to Japan for a while, before making Australia her home. She has written a number of children’s books—the Chook Chook series and Shaozhen—as well as a couple of YA titles: Freedom Swimmer (2016) and The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling, which comes out on November 10th 2020.
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling follows Anna, a young Chinese-Australian girl, who is navigating her way through some difficult life issues. She has to make decisions about her future, facing cultural barriers, falling in love for the very first time, helping her father at his restaurant, assuming the responsibility of taking care of her younger siblings and protecting them, and also taking care of her mother (who struggles with severe mental illness). Yes, all of these at the same time. It’s a lot to have on one’s plate.
However, Anna is a very resilient person. Life is throwing all these balls at her on all fronts yet she perseveres. Being the oldest daughter in a Chinese household, she struggles with her values of filial piety and what is expected of her; but at the end of the day she does it all because she just wants the best for her family and desperately tries to keep it afloat. This is not entirely good for her though because she gives herself zero space to just relax. But throughout the book, she learns to get better at it and to be okay with every-day-life things, even if they aren’t the sort of “normal” she had in mind.
She even starts working at her father’s restaurant, both to help and to have some time for herself away from home. The restaurant setting mostly portrays a very positive view of a family business and how much love there is between all the staff. Sidenote: all the beautiful descriptions of Chinese food (dumplings, soups, rolls…) will make you extremely hungry, don’t say you weren’t warned!
Furthermore, as Anna starts to work at her father’s restaurant, she also meets Rory, the new delivery boy with whom she’ll start a nurturing relationship. She still struggles with it at first because she has very strict Chinese parents but eventually, they find some balance.
The romance in this book is just so cute. Rory is the softest boy and his depression arc is handled so well and in a very delicate and realistic way. Through Rory’s own experiences, he is able to help Anna understand and deal with her own mother’s mental illness a bit better. How it is an ongoing condition, how healing isn’t linear: you can be good, you can be okay but there are still moments that can trigger you, you can get bad again. You may seem fine but that doesn’t mean you are completely healed. That maybe things won’t be perfect in the end, but that’s okay, the journey of healing is still worth it. This is mostly what this book is about, learning to understand and deal with a mental illness, showing that there is nothing wrong with getting help so you can function again.
However, there’s something that irked me a little bit about their relationship, and that’s the fact that Anna is 16-17 and Rory is 20. Despite how good each character is and how incredibly good their relationship is, the slight age difference was always at the back of my mind.
But, back to the mental health topic. Mental illnesses are always something that is hard to talk about because of all the stigma surrounding most of them. And, from what can be understood from the book, particularly in Chinese families, they are usually something that is shunned, something to be ashamed of, and that is even blamed on others. This can bring a lot of pain and hurt, not only for the person struggling with it first-hand but for those around them as well, like the main character in this book. However, the author weaved in these cultural views in a very empathetic, respectful, and honest way. The portrayal of the stigma around mental illnesses is done so incredibly well. Because it balances the hard moments with the warmth that radiates from the loving moments: between the siblings, between Anna and Rory, between the family, and even between the restaurant workers which is like a second family.
It’s also quite an important book in terms of how young people face the stress that derives from family obligations and responsibilities, which are balanced with other things: school, friends, hobbies, and even figuring who they are; the desire to be a “normal” teen. On top of that, the main character of this book is dealing with all of this as a Chinese-Australian which just adds another layer of depth to it. Because she tries so hard to do what is expected of her whilst still dealing with the cultural clashes she experiences. The discussion of racism, micro-aggressions, and cultural attitudes faced by Asians in Australia is so well written. It’s weaved in naturally and Wai Chim portrayed it with such grace and honesty and free of judgment. This could be a very helpful and beneficial read for those who experience this on a daily basis and even to those who don’t.
Another thing the book does so well is the portrayal of how some education systems work. There is a discussion about how doing well in school should not be all about how good your grades are or getting into uni to pursue a degree in a more “profitable” field. For example, Anna’s guidance counsellor is always pushing her towards a more worthwhile career and even telling her she is not good enough, that her interests aren’t right if she wants to pursue certain careers, but she stands up for herself. There is nothing wrong with just wanting to study something you enjoy even if you do not want to pursue that career path; and there is nothing wrong either with not wanting to study anything and just aspiring to work. It is okay. This can be a very valuable thing to read for young readers who may be struggling with the pressure society puts on them to make a decision that they’re told will affect their whole future; a decision that is always daunting. However, that is not true, we can always change paths.
Overall, The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling is a warm yet heart-wrenching and wonderful story that covers the struggles of mental illness and how it affects a family; balancing it with hope and love at the same time. Not only that but it also covers cultural attitudes, racism, and the struggles of being a young teen navigating through their own life with huge responsibilities. And Wai Chim did a masterful job at capturing it all from different standpoints that help the reader connect with each character and understand why they behave the way they do and even relate to them on some occasions. Anyone who reads the book will be able to find a connection with the characters or the explored themes and feel seen. Most importantly, in terms of mental health, this book offers the readers hope.
Trigger warnings: racism and racial slurs, discussion of micro-aggressions, bullying, emotional and verbal abuse, graphic description of suicide attempt, discussion of suicidal ideation, depression, delusions and hallucinations, forced hospitalisation of a parent, and animal cruelty.
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of November 10th, 2020.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Anna Chiu has her hands pretty full looking after her brother and sister and helping out at her dad’s restaurant, all while her mum stays in bed. Dad’s new delivery boy, Rory, is a welcome distraction and even though she knows that things aren’t right at home, she’s starting to feel like she could just be a normal teen.
But when Mum finally gets out of bed, things go from bad to worse. And as Mum’s condition worsens, Anna and her family question everything they understand about themselves and each other.
A nourishing tale about the crevices of culture, mental wellness and family, and the surprising power of a good dumpling.
