It was awesome reading about the different Chinatowns around North America. Each Chinatown is a unique part of the space where they are located, some are small while others are much bigger. Chinatown Pretty shows the view of the older generation through the stories told, and the beautiful photographs, and the rich history.

A fantastic look at different yet similar cultures all over. Vivid pictures and cute stories along the way. I definitely suggest you pick this up if you have an interest in learning about different cultures and getting to visually understand different locations.

I spent a lot of time in Chinatown in San Francisco as I had to cut through there to walk to work. On the way home, I would always explore the back alleys. This was a really lovely book. The pictures are fantastic. This would make a great coffetable book. The fashion stories were very informative. Absolutely loved this book.

Oh my gosh, I loved this book! I was looking forward to it as a photography book, I've admired senior East Asian fashion for years, but this is so much more than just photography. The histories of the Chinatowns, the stories of the poh pohs and gung gungs, the life and joy throughout the book is wonderful and engaging and so interesting. I enjoyed this so much! I have a good start on being a poh poh hou leng (pretty grandma); this is my new aspiration in life, and I hope I can make the real poh poh hou lengs proud.

#ChinatownPretty #NetGalley

I just loved this book. One of my favorite places is Chinatown in Chicago so I was glad to see it included. The book is filled with beautiful photographs of stylish seniors but I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed reading about them. Enjoy this fun book

How about that cool cat grandma? So put together, so stylish! This book is fun, genuine and warm. It's totally surprising and awe-inspiring how these grandmas and grandpas are still very much alive and kicking, despite their ages, and with amazing fashion sense to boot!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I was drawn to this book because I am currently studying photojournalism in college. I wanted to see how the authors tied in their photography with storytelling, and I wasn't at all disappointed. This collection highlighted so many different people in various Chinatowns throughout the U.S., and told their stories beautifully.

This was such a wonderful and fun look behind the beautiful gates of our American Chinatowns. I went for the fashion, but stayed for the lovely stories of the Asian American experience. The beautiful photography transports you completely. So much more than what I was expecting-well done!

I read the e-galley of this book thanks to Chronicle Books in exchange for an honest review.

I never really considered the fashion choices of my two grandmothers growing up. To me, they were just there. What they wore was what I just assumed grandmothers wore (there really wasn’t much to compare to) but through Chinatown Pretty, I was able to look back and really appreciate my grandmothers. In this fun and quirky collection of photos and stories, we are introduced to many grandmothers and grandfathers in multiple Chinatowns around North America. The fashion sense and choices that reflect their lives and stories were told in such an entertaining way to also reflect the history of Chinese immigration in North America.

What a lovely book! This is one I'd want on my coffee table for everyone to read and flip through. It's an introduction to different Chinatowns in the United States (and Vancouver, BC, Canada) and its seniors. Each section includes an introduction to the Chinatown with some descriptions of the history and what it is like now. The section introductions are followed by short interviews with the different photographed seniors in a Humans Of New York style. Each senior has something different to say and stories to share. I really like how personal and heartwarming this collection is and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a beautiful art book that's also very readable and delightful.

The gorgeous photographs, the heartwarming life stories, are only the beginning of this book. I could not put it down and wanted to see every page to see what was going on next. So much history, so many personalities, so much to be inspired by!

I am blown away by how much heart went into the making of this book. It brought so much joy to see the beautiful color older folks in Chinatown like to don, and it brought me back to when I was 6 or 7 watching my Toisanese grandmother on her sewing machine stitching together random scraps she scavenged to a new coat. This book reminds me of how much Chinese love & celebrate color, and how my aunts were always telling me I should wear less black.

The photos in here are stunning; Andria’s skills highlight each face to make wrinkles look elegant and refined. I found the blurbs a bit cheesy but overall I really appreciated the stories they told because so many of these older immigrants have endured war & loss to tell their stories. I’m sure Adria and Valerie brought infinite joy in just asking to speak with them, to share a part of their day with someone willing to listen.

This books resurfaces some thoughts I have regarding Chinatowns in North America and I question the future of our Chinatowns. Some, as stated in this book, have become the hip place to be with trendy boutique eateries while others have become derelict and full of vacancies. I toured Vancouver Chinatown with “Chinatown Gal” and it was interesting to hear that most buildings have changed ownership to non-Chinese because children of Chinese immigrants refused to live/work in Chinatown like their parents. Which is a bit ironic bc their parents immigrated for “better opportunities,” which, to many, meant living outside of Chinatown. So what happens to Chinatowns in the future? Who will decide what occupies our symbolic Chinatowns?

In short: come for the clothes, stay for the photos; come for the photos, stay for the stories; come for the stories, stay to understand your Toisanese grandmother a smidge better.

Where do I even begin with this review?!...The gorgeous photographs, the heartwarming life stories, the interesting historical information about Chinatown...?

Maybe the best place to begin is with my love for spending time in Chinatown, despite having no Chinese ancestry or speaking any of the Chinese languages myself. As a student in Central London, I spent a good amount of time in the London Chinatown (which is unfortunately not highlighted in this book), both with Chinese friends and by myself. I took everyone who visited me to visit Chinatown and used whatever I had learned from my friends to pick the best restaurants, best dishes, best souvenirs, and best groceries. I cannot explain why I was so drawn to Chinatown then. Perhaps it was the warm smiles of the seniors just like the ones in this book, or perhaps it was because it felt like I was leaving London without actually having to do so. The bottom line is that my love for Chinatown, despite being inexplicable, was strong. And it still is, even though the nearest Chinatown now is a plane ride away. Still, whenever I visit a city where there is Chinatown, I never fail to stop by.

This art & photography book compiles photographs and life stories/ interviews with seniors in six different Chinatown locations across North America, namely San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Vancouver. Out of these six, I've only personally been to Los Angeles Chinatown and New York (Manhattan) Chinatown, but after reading this I definitely want to go to all the rest as well. This was such a wholesome book, that brought tears to my eyes and a smile on my face, sometimes at the same time. The people photographed here are seniors, mostly Chinese. Their life stories vary and range from moving to North America after their retirement to be closer to their children to escaping to North America as political and war refugees. Despite their different backgrounds though, they all seem to have a contagious smile and a love of living.

Alongside the interviews and life stories of the seniors in the photographs, the book also offers information about the history of each Chinatown in each location, as well as the issues the residents are dealing with due to the gentrification that is threatening the Chinatown life. I loved learning these bits of history, and it made me appreciate Chinatown even more for what it represents for the people whose whole lives revolve around it.

All in all, I loved this book. If you love travelling, people watching, beautiful photography, and of course Chinatown, you need this book in your life. Its only flaw was that it ended.

This is delightful. So much history, so many personalities, so much to be inspired by, and the fabulousness is everything!

I’m biased but the Bay Area crews (SF and Oakland) are the swaggiest and most fashionable ... the LAYERS, so many layers. Loved it.

I also just really love the concept, it is very humans of NY with more of a focus, and I like the writing dispersed within. That being said if there was one part that was a bit of a miss for me it was the writing at times. The writing itself wasn’t always my favorite and would make this more 3/3.5 stars and less polished for me. BUT I LOVED the photos and the content overall which made it a supremely enjoyable read.

Also I can see this book being used in so many ways— beautiful for the coffee table, awesome to integrate into the classroom/ lesson plans..

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

I enjoyed the concept. I found the book was quite lengthy for the subject matter, but I’d like to see what it will look like IRL after it is published — will it be a big thick book or a large, thinner version? I’d love the colorful photographs as well.

All in all, it’s a cute and culturally interesting book that I think would make a great gift. I even have someone in mind!

If "Humans of New York" had gone to Chinatown is about the best way to describe this book, lovelky put together by Andrea Lo and Valerie Luu over many years of wandering the streets of the San Francisco Chinatown, and then Chicago, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Manhattan.

The outfits are so bright, so colorful, and put together with such great purpose that it got the authors talking to the seniors and learning about their lives and hopes and fears, and all the things you learn about when you actually have a good conversation.

And these are people they see several time, and hear about, and show great love and respect to. Such as when the sought out You Tian Wu, known as "The One" who said it all "When you're young, you dont' have to care about fashion. But when you're old, you have to."

Wonderful book. Makes you wonder how they are doing these days, and what they are up to, now.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

What a lovely book, brimming with personality and gorgeous visuals!

I must admit, I am a junkie of anything Asian and this book was a perfect match for me. The photographs alone were compelling, but the stories that accompanied the pictures were very heart-warming.

The format reminded me very much of the Humans of New York. If you enjoy that genre, this book will bring you hours of joy.

In the same vain of "Humans of New York" and the surge of similar books and Facebook and online communities that followed its success, this book focuses on elderly and senior Asians (mainly Chinese) living in the neighborhoods called Chinatowns across USA and in Canada as well. Focusing on their eccentric fashions, and a word or two of wisdom or a heartbreaking background story from their lives.

The book is split into sections, introducing each Chinatwon and dedicating a page or two to each stand-out citizen with small (and sometimes very properly large) bios with a picture or two, and sometimes more if they happened to meet them more than once.

I love these type of books, and having lived in South Korea for some time, I can definitely see a lot of resemblance to the fashion style of the Korean Ahjummas as well. I loved their sense of youth and the feeling that their lives are just beginning at ages 70 or 90!

I thank Netgalley and Chronicle Books for the digital ARC.

Although I consumed Chinatown Pretty on my iPad, I can tell that it will most definitely be a beautiful book to own and display. I love the premise of appreciating and celebrating not just the elders of various Chinatowns in North America, but also the locations themselves as they constantly fight against gentrification. It would have never occurred to me to take such a close look at Chinatown style among the older set, and I'm glad that Lo and Luu did. There are common themes and trends within the different areas (often relating to local weather), but also a lot of variety. Some are flamboyant, some prefer monochrome, some are elegant, but above all what struck me is that they are all so practical! Kudos to Lo and Luu for finding beauty in an oft-overlooked population and providing an opportunity for these elders to be recognized and share parts of their stories.

I loved it! I don't usually read non-fiction books but this just had such a neat description I just had to check it out. This book is basically a bunch of photos of seniors found in various famous Chinatowns and their outfits. The book is divided into chapters based on each Chinatown location and there's a little blurb in the beginning about the history of each Chinatown. With each senior who had a photo, there was a blurb about their outfit and sometimes details of their life. This was just such a sweet book to read and I loved looking at all the creative outfits and reading the stories that went along with them. This was a very quick read as well since half the book is made up of pictures. One thing I was a bit sad about was that I read this book on my Kobo which doesn't have colour so all the pictures were in black and white. I just really want to buy this book now so I can experience all the colour. This would be a great book just to have on your coffee table to flip through. Seriously great book go check it out!