Hoo, boy, this was tough. “On Earth…” was one of the best books I’ve read this century — I absolutely loved it — so maybe my expectations for this much more straightforward novel were too high. But I found it incredibly disappointing. It was a bit corny and predictable, something I might expect to be picked for Oprah’s Book Club. Except for a few beautiful sentences, it was missing much of the creatively poetic prose of “On Earth…” I didn’t find any of the characters’ actions and emotions to be particularly believable. Even the ending could have basically read “and they all lived happily ever after.” I hope Vuong redeems himself with his next book.