Ng's novel reads like a children's book only it's not. It is meant for adults, but feels naive and implausible. The events are dystopian, but the novel is cloying. I felt none of the horror and fear that I felt when I read, say, Fahrenheit 451 or The Road. And I needed to feel the horror. Book bans and the oppression of innocent people by their government are hideous violations of democracy and are never to be taken lightly.

Ng's surface scratching doesn't do these issues justice. The story of a mother who leaves her 9 year old son to the care of his father because she has written a poem that inspires widespread protests is implausible. I would love it if a poem made people around the country take to the streets, but that has never happened here and I doubt it ever will.

Very disappointing from a Chinese American author who presumably has experienced discrimination because of her ancestry. Another facile best seller.