Searching for Sylvie Lee: A Novel
- Downloads：4869
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2020-12-09 04:12:20
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Jean Kwok
- ISBN：9780062834324
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
An Instant New York Times Bestseller！
A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick & Emma Roberts Belletrist Book Club Pick！
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK BY New York Times • Time • Marie Claire • Elle • Buzzfeed • Huffington Post • Good Housekeeping • The Week • Goodreads • New York Post • and many more！
“Powerful 。 。 。 A twisting tale of love， loss， and dark family secrets。” — Paula Hawkins， #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train and Into the Water
A poignant and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties binding three women—two sisters and their mother—in one Chinese immigrant family and explores what happens when the eldest daughter disappears， and a series of family secrets emerge， from the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation It begins with a mystery。 Sylvie， the beautiful， brilliant， successful older daughter of the Lee family， flies to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother—and then vanishes。
Amy， the sheltered baby of the Lee family， is too young to remember a time when her parents were newly immigrated and too poor to keep Sylvie。 Seven years older， Sylvie was raised by a distant relative in a faraway， foreign place， and didn’t rejoin her family in America until age nine。 Timid and shy， Amy has always looked up to her sister， the fierce and fearless protector who showered her with unconditional love。
But what happened to Sylvie？ Amy and her parents are distraught and desperate for answers。 Sylvie has always looked out for them。 Now， it’s Amy’s turn to help。 Terrified yet determined， Amy retraces her sister’s movements， flying to the last place Sylvie was seen。 But instead of simple answers， she discovers something much more valuable: the truth。 Sylvie， the golden girl， kept painful secrets 。 。 。 secrets that will reveal more about Amy’s complicated family—and herself—than she ever could have imagined。
A deeply moving story of family， secrets， identity， and longing， Searching for Sylvie Lee is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive portrait of an immigrant family。 It is a profound exploration of the many ways culture and language can divide us and the impossibility of ever truly knowing someone—especially those we love。
“This is a true beach read！ You can’t put it down！” – Jenna Bush Hager， Today Show Book Club Pick
Editor Reviews
A satisfying hybrid of mystery and family drama。
About the Author
Jean Kwok is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Girl in Translation and Mambo in Chinatown。 Her work has been published in twenty countries and is taught in universities， colleges， and high schools across the world。 She has been selected for numerous honors， including the American Library Association Alex Award， the Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award and the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award international shortlist。 She received her bachelor's degree from Harvard University and earned an MFA from Columbia University。 She is fluent in Chinese， Dutch， and English， and currently lives in the Netherlands。
Reviews
AbbyG
，
I am a huge fan of character building and a good thrill， but the ending was very predictable。 Easy read， but nothing special for me
Hope Millman
，
"Emptiness creates room for new growth。" 💙
Laurie
，
A really good read。 Not always believable， but I liked it so much that I didn't care！
Rina
，
I started reading this book at the start of this year， but I didn't get to finish it because I had to return the copy to the library （so many people had it on hold） and only recently managed to continue （I decided to start again from beginning！）。And my gosh， I had forgotten how beautiful and heartbreaking the story was！ First of all， the setting was unique。 Sylvie Lee was Chinese American， who grew up with her Grandma， Uncle， Aunt and cousin in Netherlands。 So she naturally could speak three I started reading this book at the start of this year， but I didn't get to finish it because I had to return the copy to the library （so many people had it on hold） and only recently managed to continue （I decided to start again from beginning！）。And my gosh， I had forgotten how beautiful and heartbreaking the story was！ First of all， the setting was unique。 Sylvie Lee was Chinese American， who grew up with her Grandma， Uncle， Aunt and cousin in Netherlands。 So she naturally could speak three languages， followed three different cultural traditions， and felt like she didn't belong anywhere。 The mystery elements in the book were well-written。 Seeing things from Amy's perspective as she searched for her missing sister was really intriguing。 The character buildings/designs in this book were really strong， it wouldn't have been as impactful otherwise。 I could see the contrasts between Amy and Sylvie's personalities from the way they processed the same events and people differently。 It was an amazing experience。 Solid writing。 Will definitely read Jean Kwok's other books！ 。。。more
Bonnie Thrasher
，
Amy is a Chinese American whose parents immigrated to NYC as soon as they got married。 Her big sister， Sylvie， was born shortly thereafter。 Not having sufficient income， Sylvie was taken temporarily to live in the Netherlands with the maternal grandmother who resided with her daughters family。 What was to be a short time ended up being nine years。 After that time， the mother came back to get her。 When Sylvie arrived， she met and took over much of the care of her little sister Amy。 Eventually Amy is a Chinese American whose parents immigrated to NYC as soon as they got married。 Her big sister， Sylvie， was born shortly thereafter。 Not having sufficient income， Sylvie was taken temporarily to live in the Netherlands with the maternal grandmother who resided with her daughter’s family。 What was to be a short time ended up being nine years。 After that time， the mother came back to get her。 When Sylvie arrived， she met and took over much of the care of her little sister Amy。 Eventually Sylvie earned scholarships and wealth soon followed。 On the surface Sylvie had it all。 When word arrived that the grandmother was dying， Sylvie raced back to the Netherlands。 Soon thereafter， Sylvie vanished。 Amy travels overseas to find her。 。。。more
Nancy
，
Of Chinese descent， Sylvie Lee leaves her Ma and Pa and sister， Amy， in the U。S。 to go back to visit her dying grandmother in Holland。 She was raised by her grandmother and grew up with her cousin， Lukas， who is her strongest advocate。 Sylvie finds trouble fitting into her world， despite her brilliant mind and highly successful career。 Her recent marriage to Jim in The States is also a problem。 Amy goes to Holland when Sylvie seems to be missing。 A good book， worthy of a good reading group Of Chinese descent， Sylvie Lee leaves her Ma and Pa and sister， Amy， in the U。S。 to go back to visit her dying grandmother in Holland。 She was raised by her grandmother and grew up with her cousin， Lukas， who is her strongest advocate。 Sylvie finds trouble fitting into her world， despite her brilliant mind and highly successful career。 Her recent marriage to Jim in The States is also a problem。 Amy goes to Holland when Sylvie seems to be missing。 A good book， worthy of a good reading group discussion。 。。。more
Lydia Kass
，
A bit of a heartbreaker: all the characters in the story are not really who others believe them to be。 Amy ends up going to the Netherlands to her cousin's house to find out what happened to her sister， Sylvie， and finds out a lot more than she bargained for。
Terri Enghofer
，
The word "searching" in the title of this novel is a dead giveaway that this is a head-scratcher 。 。 。 a continuous peeling of the onion。 Searching for Sylvie Lee is a beautifully written， sentimental story of a first and second generation Chinese family living in America， and sometimes in the Netherlands。 Not unlike many families， the Lee family is one wrought with suppressed feelings， tolerance， intolerance， denial， expectations， guilt， self-loathing， pride， resentment， jealousy， loyalty， and The word "searching" in the title of this novel is a dead giveaway that this is a head-scratcher 。 。 。 a continuous peeling of the onion。 Searching for Sylvie Lee is a beautifully written， sentimental story of a first and second generation Chinese family living in America， and sometimes in the Netherlands。 Not unlike many families， the Lee family is one wrought with suppressed feelings， tolerance， intolerance， denial， expectations， guilt， self-loathing， pride， resentment， jealousy， loyalty， and a whole lot of secrets。 （So many secrets！） Ironically， LOVE is at the base of all of those emotions， even the nasty ones。 Not only does internationally acclaimed author Jean Kwok take her readers on a search for Sylvie Lee， she also takes us on a search for the truth。 Five Stars。 。。。more
Susan
，
Starts well， falls apart in the middle， and the less said about that ridiculous ending， the better。 I gave it a 2 star rating strictly because the idea of the story was interesting。 It is like two people wrote this book。 The author gives the reader a nice setup， and then it is like she got up to fix herself a cup of coffee， and her 15 year old daughter came in and sat down at the computer and finished it for her。
Emily
，
RR
Rebekah Glass
，
This was really good， but very sorrowful through the entire thing。
Julie
，
hard to review。 I liked a lot about this novel but disliked big time the 'big reveal' and felt it was telegraphraphed too early/too clearly。
Trish
，
3。5 stars。 I liked the book but didn't like the ending。
Melissa
，
This was a rollercoaster of a book！ I sped through the audiobook so quickly， and I just really enjoyed the story and all of the relationships。The way the family ties are explored really show how much a secret can literally break someone。 Searching for Sylvie Lee is for sure not a mystery thriller。 It doesnt have the high adrenaline chases or any quick anxiety inducing moments。 But the drama is in your face！！ You hear from alternating women who all have a story to share - but from the title you This was a rollercoaster of a book！ I sped through the audiobook so quickly， and I just really enjoyed the story and all of the relationships。The way the family ties are explored really show how much a secret can literally break someone。 Searching for Sylvie Lee is for sure not a mystery thriller。 It doesn’t have the high adrenaline chases or any quick anxiety inducing moments。 But the drama is in your face！！ You hear from alternating women who all have a story to share - but from the title you can guess their POVs will help us piece together where Sylvie has gone。 My favorite part of the story was Sylvie & Amy’s relationship。 I really enjoyed seeing the love between sisters and see how their worlds pretty much revolves around each other。 。。。more
Ivy Kaprow
，
I was very disappointed in this book。 There werent any characters I connected with or liked and it was all over the place in terms of genre。 It started off as literary fiction and then moved into mystery with a touch of romance。 While there were some parts that I found surprising， I overall found it to be predictable。 I was very disappointed in this book。 There weren’t any characters I connected with or liked and it was all over the place in terms of genre。 It started off as literary fiction and then moved into mystery with a touch of romance。 While there were some parts that I found surprising， I overall found it to be predictable。 。。。more
Sylvia Zheng
，
This book was an amazing blend of culture， tragedy， and mystery。 I feel like this book would resonate more with people of Chinese descent and maybe residents of the Netherlands。 This book was beautifully crafted and the origin story is heartbreaking。 Would definitely recommend to my friends （if I didnt text then about every pivotal moment） This book was an amazing blend of culture， tragedy， and mystery。 I feel like this book would resonate more with people of Chinese descent and maybe residents of the Netherlands。 This book was beautifully crafted and the origin story is heartbreaking。 Would definitely recommend to my friends （if I didn’t text then about every pivotal moment） 。。。more
Kelly
，
so sad， so true
Kate
，
I often pick up books without knowing what they're about， and this is one of those。 I thought it would be more of an existential "searching，" but nope， it was literally about the search for Sylvie Lee， a young woman with Chinese parents， raised for the first 9 years or so by her distant cousins in the Netherlands， before going back to her parents and newborn sister in New York。 When Sylvie goes back to the Netherlands to visit her dying grandmother， she disappears。Amy is Sylvie's younger sister。 I often pick up books without knowing what they're about， and this is one of those。 I thought it would be more of an existential "searching，" but nope， it was literally about the search for Sylvie Lee， a young woman with Chinese parents， raised for the first 9 years or so by her distant cousins in the Netherlands， before going back to her parents and newborn sister in New York。 When Sylvie goes back to the Netherlands to visit her dying grandmother， she disappears。Amy is Sylvie's younger sister。 She is in her 20's and takes it upon herself to find her missing sister。 When she gets to the Netherlands， she finds a family that is unrecognizable from Sylvie's stories。 There are so many things Sylvie never told her about her early life or her life in New York。 Amy is determined to figure out what has happened to her sister。This story is told from three perspectives: Ma， Sylvie， and Amy all have chapters where the reader gets glimpses of what is happening and what has gone into the choices that were made。 I loved the different generations， cultures， and societies that were involved。 Sometimes not knowing what you're getting into is a good thing。 For me， it was this book。 Will I learn to read the synopsis before I read the book？ Probably not！ 。。。more
David
，
This book deserves at least 3。5*'s。 It is not only a mystery but a wonderful family and immigrant drama。 I do not want to give anything away so I will only say that I enjoyed both the mystery and the story and the characters were like neighbors by the end。。。。。。
Shannon （The Book Club Mom）
，
I finished reading Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok this past week and really enjoyed it。 This novel really has it all。 Part immigration story， part family drama with a great mix of culture， secrets， mystery， and sisterhood。 Told from three perspectives: Sylvies， her younger sister， Amys， and their mothers， I was flipping pages like a madwoman， and anxious for answers！ The ending really shocked my socks off and was very well done。 All of my questions were answered and all loose ends were I finished reading Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok this past week and really enjoyed it。 This novel really has it all。 Part immigration story， part family drama with a great mix of culture， secrets， mystery， and sisterhood。 Told from three perspectives: Sylvie’s， her younger sister， Amy’s， and their mother’s， I was flipping pages like a madwoman， and anxious for answers！ The ending really shocked my socks off and was very well done。 All of my questions were answered and all loose ends were tied up nicely。 This one is now available in paperback， so grab yourself a copy！ Highly recommend！ 。。。more
Lori
，
I really really liked this book。 I was expecting a family saga but was happily surprised by the mystery。 The characters were so likable and the plot had interesting twists and turns。 I was happy that some of the story took place in Amsterdam and Venice， two cities we love and visited within the past few years。 Both of them contain streets of water。 Water was an important element in the book。
Maureen DeLuca
，
*sigh* The beginning of this book and the end of this book seemed to be written by two different people。 I felt the end was some cheap soap opera from the 60's 。。。。。 others give this raving reviews， so best read it for yourself 。
Cindy
，
Really liked it！ 4。5
Feriel Temmar
，
I loved that the dialogues were a littéral translation of what the characters would be saying in the original language。 It made it so real。the writing is beautiful and a reflection of the heart wrenching story they are telling。
Katherine Felch
，
What a heartbreaker。 Well written， I felt empathy for all characters involved。 A story about family secrets， the struggle to belong， vulnerability。 I was super confused by the interactions between the male characters and Sylvie - every single one was strange。 I guess in the end it all comes together。
Cheryl
，
Too tedious to finish。 Flat characters， stilted dialog， unrealistic relationships。
booksbythecup
，
Thanks to publisher for gifted book。I read Girl in Translation many years ago and remember enjoying the author's writing。 I'd seen this book around but didn't remember what it was about。 On a few sick day at home， I picked it up， not wanting to put it down。Amy， Slyvie's younger sister， looks up to Slyvie。 She admires how she seems to have it all together。 Amy loves Sylvie & looks up to her。 So imagine her surprise when Slyvie goes missing after a trip back to the Netherlands， to see their Thanks to publisher for gifted book。I read Girl in Translation many years ago and remember enjoying the author's writing。 I'd seen this book around but didn't remember what it was about。 On a few sick day at home， I picked it up， not wanting to put it down。Amy， Slyvie's younger sister， looks up to Slyvie。 She admires how she seems to have it all together。 Amy loves Sylvie & looks up to her。 So imagine her surprise when Slyvie goes missing after a trip back to the Netherlands， to see their dying grandmother。 The grandmother Slyvie loves， the one who felt like a mother to her thr first 9 years of her life。 Ma， there mother， is plagued with years of secrets，not willing to travel to the Netherlands to say goodbye to her mother。The story alternates between the 3 women and the execution of the storylines work so well together。 Gradually the secrets the family has been carrying for unravel when we find Slyvie。 Amy learns more about her family than she really ever knew and discovers the sister she thought she knew was searching for herself too。 。。。more
Laura T
，
Did NOT expect the ending to be so heartwrenching 😭
Anna
，
What a complicated love story。 A reminder that we never truly know what another is going through
Amy
，
The writing is lovely。 Very easy read。 And despite the back and forth through time very smooth。 There are a lot of suspects who could have had a hand in Sylvies disappearance。 Unfortunately for me， I had the plot line pretty much figured out from page 22 or so。 Maybe that was intentionalimagine my horror as Sylvies relationship grows with one of the likeable characters！ I was disappointed in Sylvies at the end。 I felt she was still stronger。 I spent all this time liking her and then suddenly I The writing is lovely。 Very easy read。 And despite the back and forth through time very smooth。 There are a lot of suspects who could have had a hand in Sylvie’s disappearance。 Unfortunately for me， I had the plot line pretty much figured out from page 22 or so。 Maybe that was intentional—imagine my horror as Sylvie’s relationship grows with one of the likeable characters！ I was disappointed in Sylvie’s at the end。 I felt she was still stronger。 I spent all this time liking her and then suddenly I didn’t。 Again maybe that was intentional as well。 Nonetheless a good read。 。。。more
Sharon
，