An evocative and powerful story of coming of age and of family ! I’m eager to read Zen Cho’s other works after picking up Black Water Sister.

I knew that if I could just get my brain back from the pandemic fugue state, I would love this book, and I was right! Zen Cho's dialogue is so so so good. The rhythm and the untranslated words that you have to figure out from context and the interpersonal dynamics! I don't know if "New Adult" is a thing in the fantasy genre but the things Jess was going through were so on the nose for a recent college grad -- she's job hunting and it's soul-crushing, she's moved back in with her family and lost a lot of her independence, her girlfriend wants their relationship to be at a different stage than it is -- and I loved it. Ah Ma!!!!! What a wonderful, multi-dimensional badass grandma! I loved all of Jess's extended family, and the characters from the spirit world as well. Fabulous read, I'm looking forward to voting for it for the Hugos next year.

Interesting take on ghosts and haunting. The American Jess moves with her parents back to their home country and encounters ghosts, gods and spirits. Enjoyable with many twists.

The author described this in a tweet as, "A stressed zillennial lesbian fights gods, ghosts, gangsters & grandmas in 21st century Penang." This is HIGHLY accurate, and BWS is definitely worth reading-- it is smart, occasionally hilarious, and altogether insightful.

When the voice in Jessamyn Teoh's head starts talking, she ignores it-- she's got other issues to deal with. She's broke, closeted, jobless, and moving with her parents back to Malaysia from the US. As the voice persists, she discovers it belongs to her estranged grandmother Ah Ma, who quickly gets Jess involved with Black Water Sister, a mysterious deity under assault by condo developers. As things get weirder and weirder, and Jess wades deeper into the magic and chaos of Penang, she'll learn A LOT about the family business she never knew about.

Like many readers, I was first introduced to Zen Cho's marvelous work via Sorcerer to the Crown, a smart period fantasy. Black Water Sister is set in contemporary Malaysia, and it is a very different book but oh so worth reading. It has a tremendous amount to say about family and independence and faith and relationships, and it does so with terrific energy and humor. The Malaysian setting is remarkably descriptive and nuanced, especially from Jess's American-raised eyes. Definitely one of the highlight reads of the year for me.

CW: attempted rape, homophobia, racist microaggressions

I jumped into this completely blind except for the fact that the mc is sapphic and she fights ghosts with her grandma and can I say… I was well fed!

Jess was a character I could see a lot of people relating to- the type of character that’s basically stressed out about life in general and had no idea what was going in her life.

She is a closeted sapphic who is a recent college graduate and moves back to Malaysia with her parents not knowing what to do next. Moving back to Malaysia is a bit of a culture shock since she lived in the US all her life. She tries to adapt back to the culture and language and has even more stress upon her tightening relationship with her girlfriend. Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, she becomes haunted by a ghost. That ghost more specifically being her grandmother.

Her grandmother is back and as witty and sarcastic even as a ghost. Her Ah Ma refuses to move onto the afterlife and she needs Jess’s help to get revenge on gangster Ng Chee Hin on behalf of the goddess Black Water Sister.

Even typing her name sounds cool af.

This book goes back and forth from having hilarious scenes between Jess and her Ah Ma, trying to figure what to do next and fighting ghosts, I found myself having a lot of fun reading this! I’m not Malaysian myself but I learned a lot about the culture and the folklore which were all very interesting to read!

This story has it all from fighting goddesses and ghosts, gangster gang rivalry, family secrets, a witty and fun grandma that isn’t afraid to speak her mind. While I enjoyed the story, I wished I got more explanations and more background about the culture and language as a reader who is not Malaysian myself. But I still enjoyed the book nonetheless!

Black Water Sister was a very fun and interesting book to read! If you’re the type of reader that loves ghost stories and fun adventures with a stressed zellenial who has no idea what the heck is going on, then you’ll absolutely love Zen Cho’s stunning book.

Well, Black Water Sister is exactly the fun paranormal read I had hoped for. The premise promised a bunch of laughs: reluctant lesbian medium (Jess), a voice in her head that turns out to be her dead grandmother’s ghost (Ah Ma), a gangster who has offended a powerful god (Black Water Sister), all set in Malaysia—a place Jess hasn’t been since she was a kid.

Needless to say, hilarity and complex hijinks ensue.

I enjoyed every second of Black Water Sister, going from laughing one minute to racing through pages the next as Jess became the vessel for the opinionated Ah Ma. I will literally die for the voice speaking in the main character’s head trope, especially when the voice is funny as hell. And Jess is so relatable; her feelings about coming out, not knowing what to do after graduation, her relationship with her parents, all weighing on her shoulders. Big yesses for this reviewer. As is the language and dialogue not being overexplained for the western reader. I felt truly transported to the setting. All the banter, ancestor magic, ghosts, gangs, and gods made this contemporary fantasy so fun to read. Can’t wait to get my finished copy and shout about it to everyone!

Content warnings: attempted rape, homophobia, racist microaggressions

Black Water Sister focuses on the adventures of Jess, an unemployed recent college graduate, relocating to Malaysia with her aging and ailing parents. Having lived all her life in the United States, she is immediately confronted with language challenges and culture shock -- and if that's not enough, she is haunted by her dead grandmother who wants Jess's help to exact revenge on behalf of a goddess.

There are many layers to the story, so there is a lot to absorb: family secrets, eldercare issues, supernatural/spiritual warfare, self-advocacy, assimilation, and romantic/personal relationship challenges. While I enjoyed the peek into Malaysian folklore, gods, and customs, I found the pacing was uneven and honestly wanted more backstory or explanation into those aspects. It was great to see Jess come into her own by the end of the novel, but the other aspects were just wrapped up leaving me with more questions than answers.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Ace Books, McMillan Publishing for allowing me access to this book. Best of luck to Zen Cho with her literary career.

This book review will be posted on NetGalley, NCBC’s blog, and Goodreads.

I can't figured out which I loved more: the character of Jess or Cho's spectacular ability to deliver paranormal action. If you read Sorcerer to the Crown then you might be familiar with the way Cho is able to weave complex paranormal story lines. There are always pieces waiting to be woven together and revealed. Immediately I was so draw to Jess because she manages to straddle this responsibility to her family, with the sheer character growth we witness in Black Water Sister.

Amidst this chaos, and paranormal intrigue, Jess is stuck between needing to figure out where her own future lies, while also managing the responsibility she feels to her family. Maybe it's just the stage of my life, but this was incredibly relatable to me, especially as she struggles with both. But then add in all this otherworldly action? And you have a story which features a complicated MC who also has to discover herself. Because what can seem like obedience, a desire not to cause waves, can also be the ways we don't have to confront ourselves.

It's more of a 3.5 but I am rounding up.

CW: Attempted kidnapping/rape.

I have thought about reading Zen Cho's fantasy books many times before, but my TBR is enormous and I hardly ever find time to read backlist titles. But when I first saw the cover of Black Water Sister, I was immediately impressed and adding it to my list, despite not usually going for paranormal or urban fantasy stories. Having been very glad for getting the ARC, I started reading it and completely felt immersed in this spooky world.

I think I've read only a couple of novels set in Malaysia, so it was quite fascinating to be in this setting. The author also does a great job bringing Penang to life, especially the multi-religious diversity of the place as well the deep beliefs in gods and mediums. As someone who has grown up religious but whose relationship with faith has changed over the years, the idea of ghosts and gods and possession, as well as other superstitions that form a major part of this story, didn't feel impossible to me at all and I could feel myself transported into this world. The plot is also very interesting - involving past family secrets, a high capital real estate project, a god with an incomplete revenge who is unhappy with the project affecting her temple, and a young woman already stressed with her move from America and a secret of her own, now trying to figure out a way out of her supernatural entanglements. The pacing did feel a little slow at times but it picked up immediately, and the dialogue with a generous use of Hokkien and Malay words as well as a very informal style of speaking definitely helped with my enjoyment. However, I have a feeling that this might feel even better as an audiobook if narrated by someone who knows the language.

Jess was such a relatable protagonist. While being a lesbian was an important part of her identity and she was very scared about telling her parents the truth, this is not a coming out story and I liked that, because we deserve all kinds of stories with LGBT+ protagonists. While she is natually skeptical initially about the whole possession by a ghost thing, it was very interesting to see her come to terms with it, and then struggle everyday to fulfil her grandmother's wishes while also trying not to lose herself. At the same time, she is also dealing with her family situation, especially her mother's fragile mental state and her father's hardships. There were times I really got mad at her mom because I thought she was emotionally blackmailing Jess and I don't know if that was what the author wanted to project, but it was too close to my heart not to react that way. Over the years, I have really come to resent most Asian parents' expectation of their child to be filial forever at the expense of their own desires, and I guess I have become prone to react emotionally to such situations even in a fictional story. However, I appreciated how Jess kept her cool even in dire circumstances and took decisive actions when necessary. It felt like she gained confidence and clarity about herself by the end of the story and I loved that for her. I don't have much to say about other side characters, coz they didn't leave much of an impression on me except Ah Ma, who was a grumpy ghost grandma and her interactions with Jess were mostly quite funny.

In the end, while there were some things that didn't feel upto the mark for me, this was still a well written enjoyable story and I would love to read more about the author. There were also times where I felt the resolutions felt too convenient, but I guess that's not too unexpected in a book full of ghosts and gods. With a very brave protagonist at the centre, the author has woven an intricate story of family, faith and identity that will transport you into the setting and make you believe in Jess's convictions.

I’ve never read anything from Zen Cho before, although I do have a few other books on my TBR. Now after reading this one, I’m definitely more intrigued about the ones that I haven’t read yet!

I liked Jess, but she wasn’t my favorite character ever. She was a bit annoying and didn’t make choices for herself, but instead let others dictate her life and her choices. However, her character development was enjoyable because she was starting to learn to stand up for herself and what she wants to do, instead of letting everyone take advantage of her and walk all over her. I liked that we got to learn about this world and the characters along side her in her journey to learn more about her family.

Jess is terrified of her family discovering that she has a girlfriend which, along with the distance, is driving a wedge between Jess and Sharanya, her girlfriend. I wish we had seen more of her girlfriend and their relationship, because I didn’t get a good sense of who she was as a side ch aracter. It’s clear she’s important to Jess, but at the same time Jess didn’t seem to really care too much about her or talking to her. It felt more like, “oh, by the way she’s also got a girlfriend”. I would’ve liked to see more of their interactions and how the relationship developed, I think that would’ve helped.

I did really like Ah Ma, she was a very strong willed and persuasive character. At one point in the story she makes a choice that I didn’t really agree with, and made me question how important Jess was to her as a granddaughter. That’s when I started to question her motives, and clearly Jess did as well because that’s really where the story took off.

I also liked the writing, it was straightforward and I think it complimented the story well. It was easy to fly through this book and it was really enjoyable. I loved the way that the paranormal aspects were woven into Malaysian culture. This got pretty dark at times, which I didn’t really expect. It also had a few twists and surprises along the way as well that I didn’t see coming! It did slow down a bit in the second half of the book, and I had some confusion with how Jess dealt with the Black Water Sister thing, but compared to the rest of the book that’s just a small thing.

The relationships that Jess had with all them members of her family and her girlfriend were very dynamic, and I enjoyed seeing Jess grow. I was a little irritated with her at times for not standing up for herself and basing her entire life around her parents, but I also understand that it’s expected in a lot of cultures to do that.

Much of this book is about vengeance – Ah Ma, the Black Water Sister, and Jess herself all seek vengeance in one way or another. I did like that they never just simply forgave those who wronged them, and followed through (for the most part).

Lastly, I do want to mention that there is sexual assault that occurs in this book, and it could be triggering, as it’s pretty graphic. I would also list potential trigger warnings for violence, homophobia, and death.

Overall, I do recommend giving this book a shot! It was ruthless and compelling, and I’m really looking forward to reading more from this author.

Note: Review will be live on my blog 4/21/2021

This was spooky and yet charming, but totally full of emotion.

This follows a medium who hears the voice of her grandmother right because she is travelling back to her home country. What does her grandma want? Find out, and more, when you read this.

I want to start and say that this is not a bad book, or that it's not worth reading. If you find yourself interested in it I still would recommend it. I personally didn't super enjoy my time while reading it. This is a major case of it's not you, it's me.

Black Water Sister follows Jess, a closeted, recent college grad who moves back to Malaysia with her parents, to find herself maybe haunted by her incredibly difficult (and deceased) grandmother. Jess unwillingly finds herself roped into a plot involving mob bosses and vengeful gods with potential massive consequences.

I don't think this was done poorly. Frankly I think Zen Cho is successful with what she sets out to accomplish. Her themes discussing family, culture, immigration, queerness, and how they intersect was great. I honestly wouldn't have minded if she leaned into them even more.

I didn't love the plot. Anything to do with the divine I was down for. But a lot of the story just had us waiting around for things to happen and the mob stuff wasn't leaned into enough. The plot just left me indifferent and a little bored.

Jess was a fine MC. I didn't have any real complaints. Her struggles were compelling and her character arc was mostly satisfying.

I wasn't in love with the writing style. Maybe that is where my disconnect comes from. I found the description to be lacking in places. And overall the prose just wasn't my favourite. I think there was an opportunity to really develop some atmosphere in places and I wasn't a fan of how Zen Cho chose to execute that.

A contemporary New Adult fiction with an emphasis of Malaysian spirituality, beliefs, and folklore, Black Water Sister is a solid story about generations, the choices we make, and the meaning we place into them. The plot moved at a quick pace, and the cast felt well-balanced for the quickness of the story. The MC's sexuality is a main point throughout and that added element creates added substance to the main character and how she claims her agency throughout the storyline.

Some content notes to be aware of: forced outing, family death, violence, and gore. Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review, a full review will be posted closer to publication date.

(I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Black Water Sister is a gorgeous book, as all Zen Cho's books are. The setting is vivid and the characters are dynamic, with their own lives and beliefs and irritations. I've never been to Panang, but Cho made it feel almost familiar by the end (not in the sense I would be able to get around if I went there, but more the spirit of the place), and readers got to learn it at the same time Jess did.

Speaking of Jess- I love her. She's a big mess in ways that I recognize, especially in her desire not to worry her parents even if doing so actively harms her. Her initial listlessness and passivity and worry were a cover for anger and stubbornness, and I could empathize with that too, although I can imagine some people might not enjoy her passivity. She makes some terrible decisions, and some excellent ones, and really grows. And her relationships with Ah Ma and her parents and her girlfriend! They were all so different and interesting to read (I was going to say 'fun to read,' but they're not always fun. Sometimes they were painful). Jess' family has secrets, and getting those secrets out of them is not easy. I also love the decision to make Sharanya another child of immigrants- it makes their relationship issues more complicated and interesting than simply 'nonimmigrant family expectations vs immigrant family expectations.'

Ah Ma...what a lady. She's tough, because she's always had to be, and she is more than willing to screw people over to achieve her goals and help her family- even if that means screwing her family over. But she's more than that, and her showdown with Ngi was a delight.

So much of Black Water Sister is about vengeance, whether or not it's actually warranted, and it was a relief that there wasn't a focus on forgiveness, the way such stories often have. People are hurt, and their pain is real, and they don't have to forgive that hurt. Instead, the story takes a different approach to healing.

There were some scenes that felt like they were out of an action movie, and while they were well-written, I'm not entirely sure how I felt about them in the greater context of the book.

Black Water Sister is not like Sorcerer to the Crown, or Order of the Pure Moon. It's its own story, and I think it's a great one.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First off, I am so excited to see an Asian woman on the cover of this fantasy novel! As an Asian(-American) reader whose favorite genre is fantasy, I really appreciate fantasy books with Asian protagonists, especially when they're written by #ownvoices authors. I feel like there are so few Asian fantasy authors being published right now, so I fully support Zen Cho and Berkley Publishing Group for writing and publishing this book. It felt amazing to read this novel and see myself and my culture being represented.

Black Water SIster by Zen Cho is an exciting and innovative contemporary fantasy set in Malaysia with an LGBT protagonist. Jess is a young Malaysian-American who recently graduated from college but can't find a job. She is traveling back to Malaysia, the country her family left soon after she was born, when she suddenly starts hearing voices in her head.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter One of the book:

"The first thing the ghost said to Jess was:
Does your mother know you're a pengkid?
The ghost said it to shock. Unfortunately it failed to consider the possibility that Jess might not understand it. Jess understood most of the Hokkien spoken to her, but because it was only ever her parents doing the speaking, there were certain gaps in her vocabulary."

Jess soon finds out that the word "pengkid" is actually Malay for lesbian, and the ghost that is speaking to her is her estranged grandmother. Their conversations are funny, at first, and they're a highlight of the book. Isn't that such a twisted family dynamic? The book only gets more exciting from there. It turns out that her grandmother, Ah Ma, was associated with gods like the ancient deity, Black Water Sister, who can take over people's bodies in the present. Ah Ma can also take over Jess's body for periods of time, during which Jess develops awesome fighting skills. It seems that Ah Ma bent on using these skills to get revenge on a man from her past..

Overall, Black Water Sister is an exciting and funny contemporary fantasy that I would recommend for fans of The Ghost Bride and Crazy Rich Asians. As a person raised in a Chinese family, I definitely felt the parts of the book that resonated with my personal experiences. I felt something when Jess's mother tells her "please don't say anything in front of the relatives" (about her being a lesbian) and Jess responds, "If they're anything like you... they'll do all the saying." Even the parts that I didn't recognize, like the Malay customs and words, were interesting and added authenticity to the novel. Of course, it's so important to support #ownvoices authors right now, but I honestly didn't expect how much I would actually enjoy reading this book. If anything in the description sounds intriguing, you won't regret checking out this book when it comes in May!

Zen Cho’s Black Water Sister is the diaspora fantasy of my dreams – funny, creepy, and heartfelt. Jessamyn Teoh never wanted to be haunted by her sassy, score-settling grandmother, but when she moves from America to her parents’ hometown in Malaysia, she must navigate family, gods, ghosts and old grudges in this compelling and heartwarming ghost story.

When I first started this novel I was having a really hard time getting into it. I wasn't especially attached to Jess or her family, but as the plot started to unfurl I found myself increasingly interested in where the story was going. I actually ended up reading the last forty or so percent in one sitting. I'm shamefully ignorant about Malaysian culture in general, but I found myself engrossed in the mixing of languages and cultures that this setting provides. I also found myself hungry as I looked up various foods that I wasn't familiar with. I hope to find some more books based in Malaysia in the near future.

Something that definitely needs to be mentioned is that there should be a content warning for one particular scene. Jess gets taken by some of the gang members that were previously mentioned and they attempt to rape her. She does manage to fight her way free, but I can see it being triggering for some. It's in Chapter 22, I don't have page numbers since I read it as an eARC, but I think that someone could skip that chapter and not lose too much of the story. However, since I am not a victim or a survivor, take this knowledge and do with it what you will.

Overall, I would recommend this for readers who are looking for some new urban fantasy, with Malaysian ghosts, gods, and spirits. I think this would be appropriate for both older Y.A. readers and adult readers based on content and the main characters age.

Thank you to Ace and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.75-4 star range

I love supernatural/paranormal books but add an LGBTQ+ Asian protagonist and a spiritual element wrapped around Chinese culture, and I am on board! New types of magic (to me) is my favourite!
TW: sexual assault, some brief racist/stereotypes from one culture about another & homophobia

The story follows Jess as her family moves back to Malaysia as they try and restart their life after a cancer battle & the loss of their financial security. If being in the closet from judgemental relatives & no job prospects wasn't enough of a worry in Jess's mind, maybe being haunted by her grandmother's ghost wouldn't be so bad. But you haven't met Jess's grandmother or the GOD-TIER trouble that she is dragging Jess into.

Jess's character has a lot of weight on her shoulders with normal and paranormal problems and many I sort of related to -the normal human ones anyway. Like Jess, my family and I immigrated and dealt with many financial struggles; I also dealt with relative homophobia and kept in the closet. So seeing her struggle between being herself and being a good daughter hit home for me.
The story had a balance of real-world, culture & magic that showed how both could mix well and not so well as I would imagine if we had magic in our world.

The reason it lost a star and a little more was because it lacked the lustre I had been hoping for/expected more from the story. It lost some drive in the middle and a little towards the end. And Jess, at times, could be unreasonable. And this really affected my enjoyment of this story.

However, ending on a positive note, the blending of paranormal and normal life problems was a newer side I've seen to the genre, and I appreciated that so much! Plus, Jess, even though she didn't explain everything, actually talked to her relatives (all of them on both sides) about the paranormal god mess that was happening to her and got some help; I literally said aloud, "Finally, someone does this!' when I read it!
MOVING FORWARD WE LOVE IT!

An email arrived in my inbox heralding and recommending Zen Cho's latest book to me several weeks ago. Obsessed with Cho's "Sorcerer Royal" series, I was intrigued by the title and the plot. This is a supernatural fantasy set in contemporary Malaysia and follows Jess, a twenty-something, who is having an identity crisis after graduating from Harvard. Following her parents back to their homeland, Jess is stretched thin between familial obligations, i.e. remaining closeted and taking care of her parents, and her girlfriend, Sharanya's wishes for a future together. However, this becomes complicated when Jess starts hearing voices.

Convinced it's the result of stress, Jess decides to ignore the voice. This turns out to be impossible as the voice ends up belonging to her Ah Ma, her estranged grandmother that her mother never talked about or visited when Jess was growing up. Jess quickly learns that Ah Ma was a medium for a dangerous diety known as the Black Water Sister. She discovers that Ah Ma cannot rest because a local gang boss bought the land, where the shrine of the Black Water Sister resides, and he wants to raze it and turn it into commercial businesses. In order to appease her grandmother, Jess must plunge into the spiritual world, uncover family secrets, and find a solution for the Black Water Sister, who threatens to take control of her body.

Truly <b>3 1/2 stars</b>. In some aspects, this story is absolutely fascinating because it deals with the weight of cultural heritage, the Asian-American experience, and the sense of loss that comes with growing up in a foreign culture. Jess is relatable because she represents the crisis of every adolescent, who graduates overqualified and cannot find a job. She returns to Malaysia, where she slowly realizes that she knows absolutely nothing about her heritage, but that does not mean that she exempt from it. Instead, Ah Ma takes her kicking and screaming into the depths of the supernatural and the transaction between people and the gods they serve. It's captivating as Cho shows the relationship between the mystical realm and ancestral lines.

Despite the environment and the likable protagonist, the story often jumped around and felt confusing at times. Until Ah Ma appeared, the story felt a little lost and it took a while for it to find its pace. Even then there were times I stopped to wonder, where exactly the plot was heading. The biggest flaw seems to be the fact that Cho created a fantastic environment, but failed to fully develop the world-building and how worlds of the gods, ghosts, and humans co-existed and crossed over one another. I kept waiting for the moment when there would be an in-depth explanation for the role of the medium, what exactly the Black Water Sister wanted, and other elements. Instead, the plot kept rolling with no promise of explaining and it was hard to become truly invested in a story that felt like it was trying to read certain events without delving deeper.

Following a move from the United States to Malaysia, twenty-something Jess finds herself at a loss, forced into a long-distance closeted relationship with her girlfriend and exhausted in her job search, all while dealing with the claustrophobia of her aunties and uncles, well-meaning yet socially draining. Unfamiliar with the majority of her family's traditions aside from belief in the supernatural, "superstition built into her worldview," Jess shakes the aged voice pervading her thoughts away, pinning it on stress and jet lag.

What unfolds is a fascinating glimpse into the world of a medium as Jess finds herself "haunted" by the ghost of Ah Ma, her estranged maternal grandmother. The gods are not revered, not by Jess, and instead seem to be fickle beings, mysterious and feared. Unpredictable.

The deeper Jess falls, the more immersed in the world, the more fascinating Black Water Sister becomes. Written with crisp clarity and an easy-going nature, Black Water Sister is a fascinating contemporary fantasy that breathes life into Penang; an eerie delight that explores familial obligation, revenge, and the spirits that lurk around every corner.