While I wanted to scream at Genevieve most of this book, I also could not put it down and loved reading about her relationship with her sister.

There was a lot of character development and backsliding throughout this book and you will be able to connect in some way or another.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

"The Original Daughter" by Jemimah Wei is a well written, powerful, and poignant debut.

Genevieve Yang spent the early years of her life as an only child in Singapore, where she lived in a one room flat with her parents and grandmother. Then seemingly out of nowhere, the family learns that her grandfather had a second family and that this family is sending Arin, a girl just a little younger than Genevieve, to live with the Wangs. The novel follows the relationship between the girls as they grow from school children to adulthood. As they grow, the girls face complications of family, relationships, their sense of self, and their need to achieve. There are tensions created by beliefs and culture, external events, and the needs of family members as well as by the way the girls see themselves reflected in each other's personalities and their perceived importance in the other's life. Eventually the girls become estranged and each is forced to take a hard look at what matters most to her.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have finally finished this book! The concept was interesting but I honestly ended up skipping paragraphs and then a quick skim over a page or two and then read a few chapters, skipped again and so on. I couldn’t relate to either daughter or their lives. Mmm just not my type of story. But I did finish the book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

Elegant prose that screams for a heaping helping of levity and an edit for length. Genevieve and Arin, bonded as young girls through familial scandal, develop a competitive but co-dependent relationship. While I appreciated the depiction of quotidian Singapore that wasn’t through the lens of cartoonish wealth, halfway through, I struggled to keep going (although I did complete the arc; thanks to the publisher and net galley). The dialogue felt stilted and unrealistic in parts. The surface tension between the narrator and each member of her family begged for even a modicum of lightheartedness. Overall, well-written but didn’t need to be 80 chapters long.

THE ORIGINAL DAUGHTER by Jemimah Wei follows Genevieve, the older sister of Arin, as she recounts their unconventional coming together in Bedok and eventually, what causes them to come undone. Trekking through vivid landscapes and cultures of Singapore and New Zealand, we travel the world with a family filled with people constantly wondering about their potential and ambition.

The themes of love, jealousy, betrayal and regret that filled the lives of these characters from page one was masterful. I can’t overstate the sense of melancholy I felt and heartache that crept in slowly at first then crashed as I finished the last page. I’m also admittedly not a big crier when it comes to books, but as I scurried through the last few pages I couldn’t fight the tears! I desperately wanted to change Gen and Arin’s lives for the better and mend what was broken in the family.

The whole way through I fought the urge to text my own sister, and by the end, that’s exactly what I did (swipe for photos of me and my big sis). Families aren’t easy or simple. I haven’t read a book recently that’s woven such a dynamic tale of sisterhood and the circumstances that might force us apart.

Also!! I feel like people are not going to be a fan of my girl Gen, and hear me out, does she make bad choices? Yes. Could she be a better sister? Absolutely, but she is just a girl!! And she’s living with the choices she made - with regret and remorse. I think people that turn away from the complicated and messy feelings we have with the people who are supposed to be closest with us aren’t engaging thoughtfully! People make choices and decisions we don’t agree with, and then they live with those choices. I hope people read this story and allow themselves to sit with the choices Gen made and feel how she feels rather than criticize what she did or didn’t do. Personally, I’ve never needed to “like” characters to love a book - but I truly did love Gen and Arin and the whole family!

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

In this impressive debut novel by Jemima Wei, a Singapore native now living in San Francisco.. we meet two half sisters who come together when one of them is given up by her family. Their intense, relationship forms the heart of the novel, with the two girls sharing space in a tiny flat with their grandmother, Gen’s mother and father. They are devoted to each other, but the relationship (and all of the relationships in this family) is fraught, due in part to their unusual living circumstances, in part to the academic pressures they face in Singaporean society, and, as we gradually learn, the psychological baggage each one brings to the relationship. This leads to a (probably) inevitable break in the relationship, which is only partially healed by the time the book ends.

The story is told through Gen’s eyes (“the original daughter”). I came to believe that her relationships, and indeed all of her life with school, work and friends has less to do with her circumstances and more to do with her inner demons. She is unable to keep good jobs or form healthy friendships, and she frequently questions Arin’s motives for decisions. It is this trait that leads to what Gen believes is a supreme betrayal that threatens to sever the sisters’ relationship forever. Throughout, I wondered if Gen’s psychological issues magnified Arin’s actions in her mind. I also wondered how much of the relationship between the sisters, and between the sisters and their parents, was cultural. Would the story have been the same if the girls lived in Michigan, or if Gen had access to a good school counselor? The complexity of this is, I believe, what we as readers need to grapple with.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This complicated family drama and coming of age story is set primarily in Singapore. The author does a great job fleshing out the characters and making you feel the tension of the academic expectations of the parents and girls. The relationships between the mothers & daughters and the two sisters are layered with love and expectations, that are strong and complex. The ending is sad as the selfishness of the main character plays out, but the final resolution was satisfying.

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei is a well-crafted debut novel that explores generational trauma in a very specific place and time. Set in Singapore at the turn-of-the-century, the original daughter, 8-year-old Genevieve (Gen) Yang is joined by a 7-year-old cousin (Arin) whose family has abandoned her. The girls share a grandfather who deserted Gen’s father and was presumed dead. Gen’s grandmother, who lives with her family in a small apartment in Bedok, the largest city in Singapore, makes the decision to accept Arin into their family without consulting any of the others. Arin’s arrival is understandably disruptive but in time the two girls form a close bond and become very dependent upon each other as they pursue academic success to better their situation in the rigid “caste” system of Singaporean society. As they get older and progress in their studies, their grandmother dies, and their father walks out on the family after his participation in an emotional affair was revealed publicly. When Gen fails to thrive in Junior College and Arin flourishes as an online influencer, the pair begin to grow apart. Their dramatic rupture occurs after Arin seemingly betrays Gen to further her career as an actress. When their mother is dying from complications of breast cancer, she desperately tries to get the girls to reconcile. The family reunites but true forgiveness and reconciliation remain elusive.

While the story was engaging, it was over long and could have benefited from tighter editing. The characters were carefully drawn, yet all seemed to suffer from untreated mental illness. In particular, the wife and mother (Sue Yi) was so positive and optimistic as to be delusional. The husband and father was extremely depressed and both daughters – the original and the spare – were petty, selfish and without personal insight. Sue Yi’s mother, who makes a cameo appearance in the story, was a classic case of narcissistic personality disorder.

Based on reviews from early readers, I am an outlier.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the eARC in exchange for this review.

A beautiful debut, but I will say I kept finding myself thinking, "this is SO LONG."

I think the problem was I wasn't expecting this book to be quite so EPIC. It meticulously explores the vast majority of these sisters' lives and the way their relationship changes over time. Ultimately, it's a fascinating story of inter familial power-dynamics, backstabbing, and jealousy between sisters--all meaty stuff to explore in a plot.

Perhaps the reason the book felt long to me is we spend time in the head of only one sister, Genevieve (ostensibly the one that has the less dramatic life--upon the book's opening we learn that her adopted sister Arin, has ultimately become a famous movie star.)

Gen at times behaves atrociously, at other times, inspiringly. She's fully human and we can both understand why she carries so much pain and shake our heads at the bewildering choices she keeps making to shut people out of her life. But it is at times hard to like her since her struggles seems, at face value, not as challenging as her sister's (but maybe simply being "the less interesting sister with the more aimless life" is challenge enough.)

Ultimately, the book is interesting, well written and moves at a nice clip. And I loved this quote: "love is an action word, I thought. It can be committed, like a crime." Nicely sums up this challenging sister dynamic.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Based on reviews from early readers on this 2025 release, I am definitely in the minority. The story took hold of me right from the beginning but became a bit drawn out and so depressing. This debut novel is the story of a Singaporean working class family in which eight-year old Genevieve (Gen) Yang is an only child. When seven-year old Arin, the granddaughter of Gen’s presumed deceased grandfather arrives at their apartment, the Yang family must take her in. The girls become sisters, forming a close bond but as they grow older, tensions arise from the academic and social pressures put on them. This story is a deep exploration on the relationships within families, with an emphasis on the sister’s betrayals toward one another and the subsequent effects on the family.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the opportunity to receive a digital copy of The Original Daughter in exchange for my honest opinion. Publication date: May 25, 2025

Outstanding, impressive debut novel. So many layers (sisterhood, mother/daughter, father/daughter, family, career) and an ending that tied up the story without sugar-coating the relationships or characters.

Impressive debut novel, The topics of ambition, sisterhood, family ties, guilt - all combined in one book! Great character development and complicated and emotional interactions.

An 8 year old only child suddenly acquires a 7 year old younger sister; a cousin who has been abandoned by her family. Set in Singapore, this is the story of their bond and their eventual estrangement. Beautifully written, it is also the story of complex, brilliantly rendered characters, their relationships, life choices loves, despair and human needs and foibles. This is a powerful debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to preview this novel prior to publication. I was a little concerned about whether I would like this novel when the first chapter discusses a mother’s battle with breast cancer. But, the remainder of the book is a flashback telling the story of two “sisters “ and how the rift in their relationship developed. This was a very touching story. The setting is Singapore in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The writing is so beautiful and it was so easy to get emotionally invested in the relationships. It is a story about family, love, desertion and reconciliation. This is a novel I will be recommending to readers.

Jemimah Wei has given us a book about a bond between two sisters that is so strong that it seems nothing could break it. However early in the book it is apparent that they are estranged and one has grievously hurt the other. Gen is at home taking care of their dying mother while her half sister is living life in the spotlight as a famous influencer and movie star.
It is their mother’s dying wish that Gen reach out to her sister to heal the breach and allow her to see her daughter one last time before she dies. The story takes place in Singapore where filial duty is strong but even here that obligation does not appear to be enough to set aside Gens anger and personal grievances.
The sisters grew up loving and protecting each other. They swore a blood oath of “til death do us part”. It seemed as if there was nothing they would not do for one another. And still there is clearly some sort of betrayal. As we read the book there is foreshadowing as to what is the basis for the pain. The question begins to arise, what value does one place on ambition and what currency are they willing to use to get there? On the other hand one asks how tightly should one hold on to their grievances? This book is about love and forgiveness. It is beautifully written by a debut writer who takes us on an emotional roller coaster as the story plays out. I was surprised who I empathized with in the end. 5 stars

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei is a captivating exploration of the complex dynamics of family, ambition, and the enduring bonds of sisterhood. Set against the backdrop of Singapore's rapid modernization, the novel delves into the lives of two sisters, Genevieve and Arin, as they navigate the challenges of their personal aspirations and family tensions. Wei's masterful storytelling draws readers into the heart of the Yang family, a household marked by both love and conflict. The author skillfully balances moments of tenderness with instances of harsh reality, creating characters that are genuine, empathetic, and flawed. This was a stunning debut!

As a reader, this book had all of the elements I love in a reading experience. It took me a while to get into this book but once through the first third, I was really absorbed in the Yang family's story. For the most part, I found the novel's exploration of family dynamics and societal pressures compelling. However, I was put off by Genevieve's self-destructive behavior. Her actions were, at times, unsympathetic, and in many instances her self-centeredness and lack of empathy overshadowed her redeeming qualities. It made it challenging to root for her and when many of her friends and family finally turn against her it was hard for me to sympathize with her. With that being said, I am an older sister, and I appreciated the opportunity that the book gave to reflect on my relationship with my own sister. Though Gen was the narrator for most of the story, Wei does a beautiful job of showing the way that Arin looks up to her big sister even as her [Arin's] own career takes off, and the effect their strained conflicts have on their mother. Wei did a beautiful job writing the nuances of these complicated relationships, and for the reflections they inspired for me, I am grateful.

Thank you to Doubleday Books, NetGalley, and Jemimah Wei for an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was disappointed in this book. It felt like a long not very interesting account of two girls living their lives with the normal sibling issues. I didn’t like any of the characters, they seemed shallow and self-served. The book does give us a good look at growing up in Singapore through the eyes of Gen, the original daughter and does a good job on dysfunction, abandonment and other issues the characters faced. Although the book was long I continued to read this book to the end in the hopes it would reveal what I was missing. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

A beautiful, sweeping epic about sisters and fame.

Jemimah Wei's sentences sing and sing. She is the real deal. I gobbled this novel up!

Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley!

a brilliant debut! jemimah wei is a WRITER. from the first page, there's tremendously strong voice, a strong and kind of dark set up that makes you go 'how did they get here?'. the book does a great job of answering that question- there's so much pain, love, jealousy, hate, sisterhood. singapore is such a vivid setting here and i adored the new zealand chapters. the book is kind of giving ferrante's neapolitan novels, in the absolute best ways. it took me a while to get through this in the year of my reading rut, but only because there were so many strong negative emotions lol.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. It's a well-written book with well-rounded characters. Gen is about 8 when a distant young relative is thrust into her family and suddenly Arin is the younger sister that Gen never wanted. They are able to become close over time. Unfortunately circumstances and life choices divide the two women and Gen forces Arin to make a lasting decision. I found it rings true for family relationships. The patterns of leaving and loss echo in the different generations.