This was a suspenseful read but had a slow build up. It is very character driven, told in alternativing chapters from Amy, Sylvie, and their mother. I loved the tri-cultural aspects of this story; Sylvie is Chinese and grew up in the Netherlands and in America. The dichotomy of family obligation and cultural identity was a strong theme throughout and set the foundation for understanding the family dynamics and decision making. ⁣

I enjoyed reading this book. It was the first time I have read a book from Jean Kwok. I was trying to guess what happened to Sylvie and who could possibly have something to do with it. Overall it was well written and a enjoyable read.

I enjoyed reading this book but more so because the author goes into great detail about the Dutch people, their food, their culture and the countryside (I am half Dutch). The story-line was okay, kept you reading but I felt it was a little far fetched with many bizarre side stories. I agree with many of the reviews that the first half of the book is certainly well written and keeps you gripped but then the story does seem to fall apart a bit and the way the loose ends get tied up seems a little haphazard in the second part. Still worthy of a 4 star rating, but I may be biased. Without the Dutch angle, I would probably rate it as a 3.

A story of family love, secrets and mysteries. An emotional and beautifully written novel with an amazing mesh of three cultures, and allowing the reader understand them. Wonderfully flawed. yet deep characters. A story I won't soon forget. I was wowed !

I've loved Jean Kwok's books since Girl in Translation, and Searching for Sylvie Lee is no exception.

Sylvie is the eldest daughter of an immigrant couple, raised by distant relatives and her grandmother in the Netherlands, while her parents struggle to establish themselves in the United States. She returns to them at age 9, building another life in the United States, now with a much younger sister, Amy.

As an adult, Sylvie is married when she returns to the Netherlands to see her dying grandmother and disappears. Amy tries to figure out how/why, while uncovering family secrets along the way.

For fans of Kwok, Searching is another hit, touching in on family, relationships, secrets, and lies. The mystery of what happened to Sylvie is both central and not, with the family history playing a very important role in the story. A must-read and a book that is truly hard to put down.

SEARCHING FOR SYLVIE LEE by Jean Kwok (Girl in Translation) is her latest, much anticipated novel about two sisters born after their parents immigrated to New York City from China. Sylvie is the elder sister by several years and she was actually raised by cousins and a grandmother in the Netherlands until age nine when she joined the family in New York, helping care for Amy, a then-two-year-old toddler.

Now an adult, Sylvie returns to the Netherlands to be with her terminally ill Grandmother, but disappears after her Grandmother's death. That prompts Amy to fly to Europe, but the police are relatively unconcerned, the cousins are kind of mean and uncaring and Amy struggles with language differences as she tries to find Sylvie.

There's some menacing suspense in the air and obvious questions about whom Amy should trust, but the story moves slowly. Flashbacks told by Sylvie alternate with Amy's recounting of her search and with their mother's thoughts. SEARCHING FOR SYLVIE LEE uses family relationships, secrets, and assumptions (including some racial and immigrant stereotypes) to show how little we really know each other. Kwok's novel received a starred review from Booklist.

I tend to be pretty picky about the thrillers/mysteries I pick up, but I was very interested to read this story of a Chinese family whose older daughter has gone missing. Unfortunately it really fell flat for me. Narrated alternately by younger daughter Amy, who is looking for her sister; the missing daughter Sylvie; and their mother, the story slowly unravels the family's secrets and lies. I really didn't find it compelling, though, and didn't really like the ending. I was mostly interested in Sylvie's storyline, but felt that she ultimately got short shrift.

When the story starts I thought it was going to be about a favored sister but turns out the favored sister is the troubled one and the shy sister becomes the driving force of the story. Lots of twists and turns and venue changes but really enjoyed the family story and learned lots. Thanks for the opportunity.

As a Chinese immigrant herself, Jean Kwok brings a great deal of authenticity to her novels. The reader cannot help but feel how difficult it is to balance two cultures, or even three as in the case of Sylvie Lee. I was grateful that the author clearly labeled each chapter since the story jumped back and forth between two countries, three perspectives and a fragmented timeline. Seeing that immigration is such a hot topic these days, this story is very relevant right now. I am grateful to the author and NetGalley for a copy to read and review.

I enjoyed the mystery aspect of this and was glad we actually found out what happened to Sylvie in the end. As I read, I kept expecting this to be one of those books that ended with a lot of questions. Although this was based around the mystery of a missing woman, it was more a story of family and secrets.

What a suspenseful and disturbing family saga. It's the tale of 2 sisters, their Chinese parents, and the separation that throws it all into turmoil. What did happen to Sylvie Lee, the older of the two girls? She disappeared and no one seems to know why and where.
The immigrant experience resonates throughout the story. The fluid writing has you feeling the anguish and fright that the characters are feeling. It was one book that kept you guessing until the end. Yet, the finality of the story was, perhaps, a bit too unbelievable.

When Amy's older sister Sylvie disappears in the Netherlands, Amy journies out of her comfort zone to go and find out where Sylvie is. Each chapter is told from a different point of view: Amy, Ma (their mother), and Sylvie. It's gripping and heartbreaking, and a little creepy at times. I had some reservations at first but ended up loving it.

Thank you #NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy of Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok, in exchange for an honest review. The author does a good job of presenting the challenges of life as a Chinese immigrant family living in the United States, relationships between family members, and especially the bond between sisters Amy and Sylvie Lee. Not my favorite book, but a good read.

I was reminded of Jhumpa Lahiri’s book, The Namesake, which brought to my attention the difficulties second generation immigrants face in trying to find their way in a culture that is different from the culture of their parents.
Sylvie was raised by her grandmother in The Netherlands until she was nine and then went to live with her parents in the States. Not only did she have one new culture to fit into, she had two! She spoke flawless Dutch as well as fluent English; her sister called her “the woman without a country.”

Searching for Sylvie is such an appropriate title because she not only is the subject of a search, she is also searching for herself. Driven by a compulsion to excel, by her own admission she didn’t have friends, didn’t have time for friendships.

Neither of the sisters learned Chinese so could only communicate in English with their parents who spoke it very poorly. Amy, the younger sister, recognized that Sylvie’s search included herself. “We had all been hidden behind the curtain of language and culture: from each other, from ourselves. I have learned that though the curtains in the Netherlands are always open, there is much that can be concealed in broad daylight.”

Novel about family secrets that doesn't fall into usual cliches of secrets and families. Brilliant views of relationships among women in families, told through different perspectives--Kwok does an incredible job keeping the perspectives distinct, including reflections of the ways in which foreign languages influence the stories we tell each other and ourselves.

This story started with a good book and the characters had a lot of potential, but I got really bored in the middle, and the twists at the end were too ridiculous. Also, then actual ending was quite disappointing.

I enjoyed this book very much. It kept me engaged til the very end trying to figure out just what happened.

A Chinese family living in the U.S. with ties in Amsterdam experience life-changing events. Sylvie is the older sister who lived for 8 years with Amsterdam relatives before moving to the U.S. to live with her parents and younger sister, Amy. Now adults, Sylvie returns to Amsterdam to see her dying grandmother, and while there, disappears. Amy comes to Amsterdam to find her sister, and ends up learning about many family secrets. The story is written from different character perspectives, in both the past and the present. The truths are not revealed until the very end of the book. It was a good, but not a great, read. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a preprint of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of Searching for Sylvie Lee. In the novel, author Jean Kwok shows the deep bond sisters share, even if they don't grow up with the same set of experiences. The stark difference between the mother's feelings for Sylvie, her elder daughter, and how Sylvie interprets those feelings is heartbreaking, especially at the denouement of the novel.

This book was completely unexpected for me. It was complex, covering so many different aspects, but also so easy to read and be captivated by. Even the title can be looked at on many levels: the physical search and the unraveling of who Sylvie really is. Told from the viewpoints of the three different women in the Lee family, there is so much substance. I adored the characters from the beginning, and Kwok’s writing kept me entranced. I started reading and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Family, mystery, old secrets, and finding the path you were meant to be on are just some of the layers in this novel.
I would classify it as a must-read!
#SearchingforSylvieLee #Jean Kwok #HarperCollins #RIF