These two slurs have been thrown at me many times, both within and outside of my community.

Initially I heard about this book through a book events I attended back in 2023. Wiz captured my attention as her debut was also her last hurrah attempt into publishing. She spoke passionately about resilience, authenticity and family. I was nervous to read this book and left the ARC untouched for many months because I wasn't sure if I was emotionally in the right place for this...

Ghost girl, Banana touched me in many ways. The story jumps back and forth in time as Sook-yin (Mother) and Lily (Daughter) makes their own individual journeys. I am incredibly impressed by the tenacity of Sook-yin - to make the solo journey to the UK for a better life. She makes her way in life in 1960's Britain and makes decisions from limited choices and people she meets. There are a few sliding doors type moments, where life could have been different for Sook-yin; I felt her anguish from the pages and really rooted for her victory..

Lily makes her way to Hong Kong in 1990's, after receiving an unexpected inheritance from an old acquaintance of Sook-yin. She makes sense of her childhood memories of her parents relationship, their lives in the UK and Hong Kong and how it has left an imprint on her formative years, Mental Health and general outlook on life. I really enjoyed the confessional style of the story, as 'diaries' can only be.

This is a story of survival, assimulation and what it means to be the 'other' at 'home'. The theme of loneliness threaded throughout and I know I will remember this for a long time.