Black Water Sister follows the story Jess, a child of Malaysian immigrants who move back to Malaysia along with Jess, however along the way Jess starts being haunted by her andry, revenge obsessed grandmothers and Jess ends up entangled in a world of gods, spirits and family legacy. Full of Zen Cho's signature wit and charm, this book is truly a joy. It's incredibly enjoyable to read with an engaging storyline but also heartwarming and poignant in all the right ways.

The atmosphere and culture of Malaysia is so vibrant and immersive, it really jumps of the page. Some of the descriptions are so vivid and really make you feel you are there with the characters. Set in the city of Penang, this book feels like a beautiful love letter to the culture, with Jess's mixed feelings on fitting in as someone who has grown up in America explored in a lovely way with a lot of nuance, especially as Jess is a lesbian and I feel like this book really highlights some of the struggles queer POC face.

Jess is a really delightful main character to follow, she is trying her hardest to deal with the curveballs life throws at her but she is far from perfect and I think her slightly flawed character made her so loveable and relatable on a really raw level. She is also hiding her sexuality from her parents as she is afraid how they will react, which I think is a fundamental part of the queer experience but the novel ends on such a hopeful note. Addtionally watching Jess grow in confidence and agency throughout the book is so empowering and you are so proud of her by the end.

One of my favourite parts of this book was the ghost element. Jess is haunted by her recently deceased estranged grandmother, Ah Ma, and their banter is HILAROUS. Ah Ma is such a character, you can tell she is bitter and angry and has her own agenda, which she is very much hiding from Jess, but I found their relationship so endearing and such a joy to read about.

Ah Ma has a lot of family secrets, and the family drama in this book was another one of my favourite aspects of the book. The twists and turns the novel takes, with the past coming back to affect events in the present and previous grievances coming to light was so interesting and added so much thrill to the novel. Jess is sort of dragged into investigating a tenple that is about to be destroyed by a big buisness mongrel to make condos by Ah Ma, and from there she ends up embroiled in a lot of drama between spirits/gods and the mysterious Balck Water Sister a malevalent spirit who was wronged a long time ago and is out for revenge. After Jess destroys her Idol the Black Water Sister starts haunting Jess and is quite an ominous presence.

I also really liked the relationships explored in this book. Jess's relationship with her parents was very interesting, how she feels very protective of them but also stifled by them and I think this is something a lot of people in their 20s go through. Also Jess semi-befriends the son of the big buisness guy, Sherng and I really loved his character as well, Lesbian/himbo-lite dynamics are my weakness hehe. I also feel like this was quite a dramatic friendship and I was so invested, especially since Jess is convinced his father is a gang boss and out to get her. Also Jess has a secret girlfriend, who is not a large part of the novel but I think added an extra dimension, especially to demonstrate how Jess is reacting to events going on around her. However I would say don't go into this book expecting a sapphic romance, while Jess is a lesbian, romance is not the main focus of the novel at all.

In conclusion this was a beautiful novel, I finished reading and just felt like I had just been on such a journey with the characters full of joy and heartbreak and healing.