Book Reviews

Book Reviews, Commentary, Opinion, Raffles Reviews

Raffles Reads: Daughter of the Moon Goddess
Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Nicolle Yeo (23A01D)

Rating: 3/5 stars

Walking past the local bookstore, one might be easily tempted to pick up a copy of “Daughter of the Moon Goddess” just from a quick glimpse of its spectacular cover illustration. Upon flipping through the pages, readers will be transported into a fantastical world which combines ancient Chinese mythology and modern thriller. 

This debut novel by Sue Lynn Tan made waves in the Young Adult literature community, even earning a coveted place on Goodreads’ list of “Can’t Wait Books of 2022” before its publication in early January. 

But readers should be warned not to judge a book by its cover (literally). While the book does have its merits, it fails to live up to its alluring packaging and stellar reviews.

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Book Reviews, Raffles Reviews

Raffles Reads: The Unvisible
Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Venkatesan Ranjana (23A01D)

Raffles Reads is a collaboration between Raffles Press and Times Reads which aims to promote a reading culture among Singaporean students.

Rating: 3/5 

In his breakaway novel about an aspiring journalist discovering the secrets of an invisible human race, Fredrik Haren explores humanity’s unwillingness (or perhaps inability) to acknowledge a world beyond our presumed realm of possibility. 

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Book Reviews, Commentary, Opinion, Raffles Reviews

Raffles Reads: A Terrible Kindness
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Raffles Reads is a collaboration between Raffles Press and Times Reads which aims to promote a reading culture among Singaporean students.

By Jolene Yee Xin Yi (23S03A) 

Rating: 4.5/5 

“When we go through impossible things, someone, or something, will help us, if we let them.”

A Terrible Kindness is a simultaneously heart-wrenching and heart-warming tale of a volunteer embalmer’s road to redemption and reconciliation. As a literary fiction novel, this book appeals to those interested in unique storylines, gripping narratives and fresh story settings.

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Book Reviews, Opinion, Raffles Reviews

Raffles Reads: The House Of Little Sisters
Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Faith Wan (23S02B)

Raffles Reads is a collaboration between Raffles Press and Times Reads which aims to promote a reading culture among Singaporean students.

Rating: 4/5

“Don’t let them get away with it.”

Set in 1930s British Malaya, award-winning children’s novelist Eva Wong Nava’s The House of Little Sisters is an immersive work of historical fiction. It centres on our protagonist, Ah Mei, a 16 year-old girl who has been sold to the wealthy Lee family as a mui tsai, or unpaid domestic servant, and is tasked with taking care of Precious Jade, the family’s youngest daughter.

From the first chapter, Wong Nava establishes palpable unease and tension. The Lee family seems to be hiding a secret so grievous even Ah Wan Jie, the head mui tsai of the family, skirts cagily around any mention of  it. In addition, Ah Mei starts to see visions of a certain spirit, who pleads with her to “take action”—though against what exactly is a revelation only uncovered later in the book.

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Book Reviews, Opinion, Raffles Reviews

Raffles Reads: Daughter of the Deep
Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Tang Lanyun (23S05A)

Raffles Reads is a collaboration between Raffles Press and Times Reads which aims to promote a reading culture among Singaporean students.

Rating: 4/5

Rick Riordan’s rip-roaring sci-fi debut pays homage to one of the genre’s founding fathers, Jules Verne. Inspired by “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”, Daughter of the Deep imagines a world in which the fantastical events Verne envisioned in his novel were indeed historical fact. The book itself spins a riveting tale of teenage ingenuity against impossible odds, whose high school characters break the mold of typical middle-grade (and Y/A) protagonists. With a clear love for the source material, Riordan deftly reinvigorates Verne’s classics for a modern audience, while also appreciating the diversity present in our society.

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