Fantasy

Black Water Sister

Black Water Sister

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-12 06:51:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Zen Cho
  • ISBN：0425283437
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Summary

A reluctant medium discovers the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power in this compelling Malaysian-set contemporary fantasy。

Jessamyn Teoh is closeted， broke and moving back to Malaysia， a country she left when she was a toddler。 So when Jess starts hearing voices， she chalks it up to stress。 But there's only one voice in her head， and it claims to be the ghost of her estranged grandmother， Ah Ma。 In life Ah Ma was a spirit medium， the avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister。 Now she's determined to settle a score against a gang boss who has offended the god--and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it。

Drawn into a world of gods， ghosts， and family secrets， Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business。 As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma， she'll also need to regain control of her body and destiny。 If she fails， the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good。

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Reviews

Hillary ，

I liked this a lot！ The only other thing I've read set in Malaysia is Zen Cho's The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water， so most of the cultural stuff was new to me， as it mostly was to the main character as well。 Jess was incredibly relatable， and I loved her journey through figuring out the spirit medium business and dealing with Ah Ma。 I really liked how the Black Water Sister situation ended - I really didn't expect it to go that way。 I liked this a lot！ The only other thing I've read set in Malaysia is Zen Cho's The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water， so most of the cultural stuff was new to me， as it mostly was to the main character as well。 Jess was incredibly relatable， and I loved her journey through figuring out the spirit medium business and dealing with Ah Ma。 I really liked how the Black Water Sister situation ended - I really didn't expect it to go that way。 。。。more

Cc ，

3。5

Sandra Guerfi ，

Family lineage and ancestry can be a major factor in a persons life。 Sometimes it can be the one thing that makes you who you are。 Other times its just the background noise that you sometimes tune into as you live your life day to day， never more than a distant refrain。 For the books character it's an incoming freight train she never saw coming。 Cho's book was addictive， I can't think of another way to put it。 Thrusting us into the unusual world of living ancestors and gods in every day life was Family lineage and ancestry can be a major factor in a persons life。 Sometimes it can be the one thing that makes you who you are。 Other times its just the background noise that you sometimes tune into as you live your life day to day， never more than a distant refrain。 For the books character it's an incoming freight train she never saw coming。 Cho's book was addictive， I can't think of another way to put it。 Thrusting us into the unusual world of living ancestors and gods in every day life was a revealing look at how millions of people around the world interact with it。 Most of us are not on a constant alert for signs from loved ones that have passed on and religious believes are so varied there is always the possibility of a feeling of disconnect at times。 Cho writes about a young modern Asian woman who goes from an American mindset on life to the realization that her family are smack dab in the middle of a very real supernatural battle for revenge that could cost her her life and cost her family everything。 This magical realism is so well done you find yourself there as the reader experiencing the terror and pride， the heat， the conflict of being part of a world that is modernizing to survive but is built on the bones of an ancient culture where trying to deny the old gods and beliefs is impossible because without them the structure of their modern world would simply collapse。 Cho's attempt to show us the integral part family and beliefs play in this story work well and help us veer past a bump or two in the road。 Would recommend this book definitely and would suggest picking up Cho's other titles。 Broaden your mind's eye with this book and be ready to look at things in a whole new light。 。。。more

Josalynne Balajadia ，

A solid read。 The pacing was a little off。 It took a while for story to get going。 A big win: I loved the concept of a North American socialized Asian youth trying to socialize back into Asian culture。 I also loved the way dialogue was written。 It wasn't written in perfect English and did not have the author attempt to write in the accents。 Instead， the dialogue was structured to mimic the way the dialect was spoken。 I understand this might not be for everyone， but I'd love to see this more in t A solid read。 The pacing was a little off。 It took a while for story to get going。 A big win: I loved the concept of a North American socialized Asian youth trying to socialize back into Asian culture。 I also loved the way dialogue was written。 It wasn't written in perfect English and did not have the author attempt to write in the accents。 Instead， the dialogue was structured to mimic the way the dialect was spoken。 I understand this might not be for everyone， but I'd love to see this more in the future。 。。。more

Matt ，

A glorious look into a culture I've not had much experience with - giving full life to ancestor veneration， a multitude of gods， and a very rich story about suffering， redemption， and growth。 A jewel not to be missed。 A glorious look into a culture I've not had much experience with - giving full life to ancestor veneration， a multitude of gods， and a very rich story about suffering， redemption， and growth。 A jewel not to be missed。 。。。more

Kate Turner ，

phenomenal。 not to be like “this reminds me of what i was trying to do in my thesis novel，” but this reminds me of what i was trying to do in my thesis novel。 so many complicated family feelings， so much about love and power and queerness and women’s rage。 can’t recommend highly enough

Emily ，

I loved almost everything about this book， the familial relationships （especially with Ah Ma） and the whole feel and Jess coming into her own。 However， this rating does not account for a pretty graphic scene of attempted sexual assault toward the end that felt tonally extremely out of place in the book — not because this story doesn’t deal with heavy things （including the violence against women that can drive vengeful spirits）， but because reading explicit sensory details about e。g。 a dress bein I loved almost everything about this book， the familial relationships （especially with Ah Ma） and the whole feel and Jess coming into her own。 However， this rating does not account for a pretty graphic scene of attempted sexual assault toward the end that felt tonally extremely out of place in the book — not because this story doesn’t deal with heavy things （including the violence against women that can drive vengeful spirits）， but because reading explicit sensory details about e。g。 a dress being slid up the protagonist’s thighs unbalances the rest of the narrative。The immediate physicality of this real-life everyday horror seems to come from another story entirely， and yanks the suspension of disbelief （or， more properly， the acknowledgement of belief） away from the kind of violence done by gods and spirits， from which our heroine readily recovers throughout the book， and firmly refocuses attention on a hyperreal painful reality。 It’s not that the threat couldn’t have been used in the narrative （which， again， is built in part on the aftermath of misogynist violence） so much as that it felt drawn from a different genre， one I try to escape by reading stories like this。 That may well have been a deliberate authorial choice， but it didn’t work for me。 。。。more

Elaine Cunningham ，

During my teen years， one of my favorite authors was Chaim Potok （The Chosen， My Name is Asher Lev） because his stories enabled me to see the world through a cultural lens that was very different from my own。 I feel much the same about this book。It's an intensely personal story about balancing self and family， and it's steeped in the mythology of the narrator's culture。 In addition， it has life-and-death stakes and very well-written action scenes。 Highly recommended。 During my teen years， one of my favorite authors was Chaim Potok （The Chosen， My Name is Asher Lev） because his stories enabled me to see the world through a cultural lens that was very different from my own。 I feel much the same about this book。It's an intensely personal story about balancing self and family， and it's steeped in the mythology of the narrator's culture。 In addition， it has life-and-death stakes and very well-written action scenes。 Highly recommended。 。。。more

Pearl ，

Almost gave it 5 stars cause I liked it a lot， but the ending I didn't absolutely love。 Almost gave it 5 stars cause I liked it a lot， but the ending I didn't absolutely love。 。。。more

Ruby James ，

DNF @ 40%。 It’s so boring， I can’t do it anymore。 Tell me why I should care。

Melanie ，

4。25 StarsI enjoyed this book a lot！ I loved Jess as a main character and seeing everything she goes through with ghosts， her family， moving， and what turns into a very complicated story。 I thought this was really good and I enjoyed the read！Content WarningsGraphic: Death， Grief， and MurderModerate: Mental illness， Cancer， Sexual assault， and Kidnapping

Mary ，

I was so excited to read a book about a diasporic Malaysian family， and their move back to Malaysia。 I've never read a book where the cadence and syntax of how Malaysian speakers use English is so perfectly articulated， and I could hear my own relatives' voices in every sentence。 The casual racism， the homophobia that still permeates many Southeast Asian communities also came across so authentically （and infuriatingly）。 That being said， the plot itself really fell short and I found myself gettin I was so excited to read a book about a diasporic Malaysian family， and their move back to Malaysia。 I've never read a book where the cadence and syntax of how Malaysian speakers use English is so perfectly articulated， and I could hear my own relatives' voices in every sentence。 The casual racism， the homophobia that still permeates many Southeast Asian communities also came across so authentically （and infuriatingly）。 That being said， the plot itself really fell short and I found myself getting bored with the storyline and the characters。 The fact that the premise – a millennial medium struggling with ghosts and deities – was so promising made it especially disappointing。 。。。more

Laura ，

Fun read and taught me something about Malaysian cultural traditions。 Main character Jess is plunged into a world of ghosts and gods that are pretty blood-thirsty， but this is not a horror story。 Very much about the ethos of a young woman finding her strength and agency。

Siân Plummer （plumreads__s） ，

This novel was fantastic。 Firstly， obsessed with the cover。 So colourful。 Love it。 I'm in。 Secondly， Own Voices read and LGBT+？ Excellent， I'm in。 Thirdly （fourthly and fifthly etc。）， now we're fully drawn in like。。。 - fab characters that show great development throughout - beautiful backdrop of Malaysia， jungle like temples， fancy cafes and all the delicious cuisine to make your eyes and your belly hungry - a few supernatural elements with the Gods， very intriguing， dangerous， adventurous - gan This novel was fantastic。 Firstly， obsessed with the cover。 So colourful。 Love it。 I'm in。 Secondly， Own Voices read and LGBT+？ Excellent， I'm in。 Thirdly （fourthly and fifthly etc。）， now we're fully drawn in like。。。 - fab characters that show great development throughout - beautiful backdrop of Malaysia， jungle like temples， fancy cafes and all the delicious cuisine to make your eyes and your belly hungry - a few supernatural elements with the Gods， very intriguing， dangerous， adventurous - gangsters- slow down。。。 what？？？ Where has this come from？- snarky grandma who's totally rebellious and a diva - fast pace， keeps you guessing till the end。I went in totally blind tbh and I loved it。 Well worth a read if you want a totally unique novel that's super diverse and a lot of fun。 Thanks to NetGalley， Pan Macmillan and Zen Cho for an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Veronica ，

The following book contains violence and graphic imagry， depiction of attempted rape， mentions of abuse and alcoholism， explicit language， LGBT characters

Elwira ，

*3。5/5TW-  drugging， violence， attempted rape， homophobia， domestic abuse， kidnappingRep- Chinese Malaysian American， Lesbian MC， Indian American， lesbian LI， Indian， Malaysian and Chinese side characters。This is my second book from Zen Cho and I enjoyed it just as much as the first one。 I find her writing style to be very easy going yet engaging and will definitely be picking up more of her work in the future。 While most of the compelling nature of this book derived from the plot， it also came *3。5/5TW-  drugging， violence， attempted rape， homophobia， domestic abuse， kidnappingRep- Chinese Malaysian American， Lesbian MC， Indian American， lesbian LI， Indian， Malaysian and Chinese side characters。This is my second book from Zen Cho and I enjoyed it just as much as the first one。 I find her writing style to be very easy going yet engaging and will definitely be picking up more of her work in the future。 While most of the compelling nature of this book derived from the plot， it also came from Jessamyn （Jess） herself。 From the very beginning she is a very likeable， smart， strong yet flawed character which you couldn't help but root for。 This is even more evident when she begins to clash with her Ah Ma yet， remains true to herself。 Her relationships with family members such as her Mum and Ah Ma were well developed （the aforementioned characters themselves were well established as well （they really stole the show in some parts of the book））。 One thing I really like about Zen Cho's writing is her ability to craft such stunning settings， they're so immersive it feels like you're standing right next to the characters。 As I have never read a book specifically set in Malaysia it was much more interesting to read about。The Gods， practices and superstitions from the Malay culture were entirely new to me which compelled me to continue reading if only to see how these aspects would interact with the "normal" world。 As someone who enjoys urban fantasy （but can never find any that I like）， I thought this was done really well in this book。 "Black Water Sister" also had a string of anger running through it particularly about the mistreatment of women by men and the homophobia in our society。 These are such important topics to discuss and Cho handled it very well。My only issues with this book was that there were quite a few plotlines going on but not all were resolved by the conclusion。 Jess's girlfriend Sharanya was not the most well rounded character and only popped up a few times throughout the course of the book。 I really wish they had communicated more and their bond was more established considering  this was an aspect of Jess's life which caused her such stress。 However， Queer individuals are not defined by their relationships and I appreciate that Jess chose to focus on bigger issues instead。 Finally， the pacing itself was a wee bit off at certain points of the book which slowed down the reading experience （ it wasn't drastic though）。 Overall， this was a very entertaining book。 It blended culture， fantasy and family secrets into a brilliant tale yet， still included the inner struggles of characters and didn't shy away from serious issues （because as we know those do not dissappear when magic is added into a book。） It wasn't perfect but rarely anything is。 Would definitely recommend but mind the trigger warnings before you do so。 。。。more

Graculus ，

This is one of those books I'd been looking forward to for a while， since I really liked both Sorcerer to the Crown and the author's shorter fiction， which often draws on her Malaysian heritage。 Black Water Sister is set in Malaysia too， but modern day Penang， where our protagonist has unwillingly found herself after a health scare forces her parents to move the family back from the US。 Stuck living in her aunt's house， half-heartedly looking for a job while also worrying about her long-dist This is one of those books I'd been looking forward to for a while， since I really liked both Sorcerer to the Crown and the author's shorter fiction， which often draws on her Malaysian heritage。 Black Water Sister is set in Malaysia too， but modern day Penang， where our protagonist has unwillingly found herself after a health scare forces her parents to move the family back from the US。 Stuck living in her aunt's house， half-heartedly looking for a job while also worrying about her long-distance relationship with another woman （not that her parents know anything about that！） Jess also discovers something unexpected: she's being haunted by the ghost of her recently-deceased grandmother。 That discovery pulls her into the world of gods and spirits， as her grandmother is trying to protect a garden temple under threat from developers and possibly also encourage Jess to become a full-time medium。 Once she starts to get more involved， Jess discovers that there's much more going on than this， as there's also a long-term grudge on the part of her grandmother against a man who'd loved and left her， as well as a vengeful local deity who's determined to protect their shrine。 There's a wonderful sense of place， with all the tiny details that make a story feel like it's actually happening in the location described， as well as some really strong character work for a lot of the characters。 Unfortunately， and this is where the likelihood of re-reading it drops for me （along with a star）， Jess just isn't as three-dimensional for me。 All in all， another book that I'm glad I've read but again one I'm very glad to have got from my local library ebook system rather than spending cash money。 。。。more

Alexa ，

3。5 stars， especially as objectively there is a lot of merit to the cultural details incorporated into the story。 It's a fast-paced， plot-driven tale that felt very visual （especially during the moments of physical action）， and I had a fun time with it！ I only wish that I'd been able to connect more with the main character。 3。5 stars， especially as objectively there is a lot of merit to the cultural details incorporated into the story。 It's a fast-paced， plot-driven tale that felt very visual （especially during the moments of physical action）， and I had a fun time with it！ I only wish that I'd been able to connect more with the main character。 。。。more

piper ，

wow look at me attempting to write an actual review， this is so crazy who would've thought-------I think I'm surprising myself a little by giving this book 4 stars。 Normally， this type of fantasy book wouldn't appeal to me very much， but in this case， the characters are what really made this story as good as it is。 characters:Jess - Jess is easily one of the most realistic and relatable main characters that I've read in a long time。 A lot of Jess's motivation involves her struggle to overcome se wow look at me attempting to write an actual review， this is so crazy who would've thought-------I think I'm surprising myself a little by giving this book 4 stars。 Normally， this type of fantasy book wouldn't appeal to me very much， but in this case， the characters are what really made this story as good as it is。 characters:Jess - Jess is easily one of the most realistic and relatable main characters that I've read in a long time。 A lot of Jess's motivation involves her struggle to overcome self-doubt and find acceptance in herself， her family， and society as a whole。 I think that's something that most people can understand， and it definitely made me invested in her character。 I was rooting for Jess throughout the entire book， and her inner monologue painted a detailed picture of her as a character。Ah Ma - Ah Ma was a personality， to say the least。 She was the morally ambiguous， somewhat questionable， unintentionally amusing character that we all needed。 Her backstory was also the most compelling out of everyone's， and it provided reasoning for the decisions she made。 She wasn't always the nicest or most helpful supporting character， but I think that just made her more complex and interesting。 I'm not sure if I'd go so far as to call Ah Ma the hero of the story， but the plot wouldn't exist without her， so she deserves some credit。Mom and Dad - Jess's parents are the backbone of this story; it's hard to not care about them， even with their individual flaws and personal issues。 Mom was hands-down my favorite character in this entire book。 She was sweet， funny， and caring in her own way。 She was also one of the strongest characters， both development-wise and mentally。 She's been through a lot， but she still keeps pushing and I love her for that。 We don't know as much about Jess's father， but he was likable， and he and Mom complemented each other's personalities very well。other - There were so many characters in this book， from gods and ghosts to gang members to innocent relatives and friends。 While not every character was totally developed， I still enjoyed learning about them and their motivations。 problems:While I loved most of the characters in this book and the general theme， it was hard to follow at times。 There were a lot of side characters （who admittedly did play some important roles， but were still difficult to keep track of） and a fair amount of blink-and-you-miss-it details。 I did find myself re-reading paragraphs and even skimming some pages of dialogue just to recap and make sure I didn't skip any important points。 The book's pacing was also pretty slow， but I didn't mind that too much because it didn't affect the overall quality of Zen Cho's writing。One other issue I had was with Sharanya， Jess's long-distance girlfriend。 Although it was refreshing to read about a relationship as realistic as theirs， Sharanya herself was very underdeveloped。 She felt more like an accessory to Jess's character development than a real， multifaceted， complex character。 She was a voice of reason for Jess， but that's about it。 Yeah， she was a pretty minor character， but I still wish we knew more about her personality outside of their relationship。overall:This book is definitely not an easy read， but it is SO good and beautifully done。 I would recommend Black Water Sister to anyone who likes reading about magical realism， religion/mythology， or familial relationships and dynamics。 Zen Cho deals with countless modern day issues in believable ways that contribute to the plot， and the characters she writes are So Good。 I just really admire how well written this entire book is。 If you're willing to commit to a book that can be slow at times but is still satisfying， I definitely recommend Black Water Sister。content warnings: abuse， homophobia， attempted SA -------4 or 4。5 stars， i love love love this book 。。。more

Jessica ，

Anything by Zen Cho is guaranteed to be incredible， and Black Water Sister is exactly that。 Hit me right in the queer daughter of asian immigrant parent feels and had me laughing and tearing up at turns。 15/10， would recommend。

obs20 ，

Gods， ghosts and gangsters。A Malaysian family returns from The United States after twenty years。 Their daughter is enveloped in the spirit world of the East which is populated with gods who are just as small minded and petty as the Classical gods of Western antiquety。

Veronica RB ，

What a fun read！ I loved how the writer showcases tidbits of Malaysian culture and religion with the plot。 This is a ghost story about ancestry， revenge， and self-discovery。

Charlotte ，

Zen Cho is consistently delightful and I really enjoyed this one immensely。 RTC

Garrison Weekes ，

Imagine being possessed by a dead relative and actually listening to them。

Alex ，

I thought this was an overall good story but I think there were just so many different threads in here that they were hard to keep track of at times and not all could be adequately developed。

Kate Welsh ，

A quick， fun queer fantasy read with an interesting setting and magic system based on traditional Malaysian religion。

Shannon ，

Jess starts hearing voices and quite sensibly thinks she’s going mad which would be understandable given that her father has just recovered from cancer only to be crippled by medical bills after losing his job and is now having to uproot his family back to Malaysia。 The pressure is on for Jess to get a decent job to pay back her family and there’s also the small matter of her being very firmly in the closet。 So her dead granny talking to her and taking over her body for time to time is the least Jess starts hearing voices and quite sensibly thinks she’s going mad which would be understandable given that her father has just recovered from cancer only to be crippled by medical bills after losing his job and is now having to uproot his family back to Malaysia。 The pressure is on for Jess to get a decent job to pay back her family and there’s also the small matter of her being very firmly in the closet。 So her dead granny talking to her and taking over her body for time to time is the least of her problems。 There’s a lot going on in this story （perhaps too much） there’s Ah Ma’s quest for revenge against the man who done her wrong， there’s a vengeful god and there’s the myriad problems of life in general。 This was good but I felt it got bogged down in the domestic stuff at the expense of the supernatural stuff。 There wasn’t that much of Ah Ma and the god just hung about in a menacing way quite a lot。 I’m sure however it’s all a metaphor I’m just not getting for Jess’s coming out an whatnot。 But I came here for the gods not girlfriend drama。 One thing I did like however was how the most of family got in on the show by the end， especially the Christian aunt who sticks to her religious guns despite seeing her niece being possessed by a god/spirit。 。。。more

Myza ，

DNF @ 40% - I found it hard to pick up as I wasn’t really interested in the characters。 Not the book for me。

Ellie ，

Zen Cho is so deft with the themes of this book。 Family as known through ghosts and the living， queerness from an Asian and immigrant context with an emphasis on the understanding of what it is to be filial。 Jess is strong and fierce， and she hates taking shit， and she’s a good daughter。 Not to mention the badass plot with twists that happen between the spirit world and the living world！！？

LiLing ，

When I first read the blurbs， I didn't think it would be my kind of book but I decided to give it a try after seeing people talking about it on social media。 Pretty glad I didn't pass it up。Black Water Sister is a story close to home。 Set in the Pearl of the Orient， the author tells the story of a young woman moving back from the US to Penang with her family。 It revolves around her internal struggle to come out as a lesbian to her loving parents， her dilemma of job searching， her interesting enc When I first read the blurbs， I didn't think it would be my kind of book but I decided to give it a try after seeing people talking about it on social media。 Pretty glad I didn't pass it up。Black Water Sister is a story close to home。 Set in the Pearl of the Orient， the author tells the story of a young woman moving back from the US to Penang with her family。 It revolves around her internal struggle to come out as a lesbian to her loving parents， her dilemma of job searching， her interesting encounter and unintended underworld adventures with her Ah Ma （whose voice she had heard since before she left America）， and the drama involving the gods， ghosts and spirits。 I love how the author included characters from myths into this book， making it all too familiar as I grew up watching mediums do their thing in temples。 Malaysians， especially Penangites， would find this book somewhat comfortable to read。 I even auto-translated some conversations into Hokkien lol。 The author had successfully used Manglish into her writing with some Malay words making appearances but there weren't any footnote or direct translation for those words so those who are not familiar with the language might need to google the meanings for them to understand。I would say this is a page-turner that makes me want to read at one go if I weren't interrupted by kids， work and the need to actually sleep lol。 But if they make this into a movie， I'll pass。 🤣 Otherwise， this book is worth losing sleep for。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Black Water Sister

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Black Water Sister&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Black Water Sister&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0