This book follows mother Sook Yin and her youngest daughter Lily. It alternates between Sook Yin in the 60s/70s as she leaves Hong Kong to train as a nurse in England, and Lily in the 90s.
It us a book mainly about daily expectations/ deceptions and also about exploring ones identity
Although I enjoyed this book it took a while to read as ut was quite slow in pace and I felt some parts were very drawn out.
Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this read.

I was completely absorbed by this beautifully meandering story of a mother and daughter. A mother and daughter separated by death, by secrets, and by the social and cultural expectations of family.

We meet Sook-Yin in 1966, travelling to London from Kowloon - an instruction made by her family in order to improve their social standing, and to help with money. We witness her attempting to adapt to the language and the cultural differences whilst striving to keep a job, and we see the origin of her downfall take the form of an incredibly flawed and selfish man. Tale as old as time.

In alternating chapters, we meet Lily, Sook-Yin’s daughter. Anxious, lonely, and living life to around half of her ability, she continues to mourn the death of her mother and wonder about her life. When Lily receives a letter in the post, her pilgrimage to Kowloon begins, and her life’s purpose becomes the uncovering of her family’s skeletons.

This was a wonderful work of storytelling, so detailed and intricate. Wharton’s skill allows us to follow both women at once, compare their stories, and see their similarities and contrasts laid bare. Both lives are flawed, reserved, and it becomes plain to us as well as Lily that this quest for information is the only way we can heal.

There’s true examination here of belonging; Sook-Yin found herself too Eastern for London and too Western for Kowloon, stuck in a middling limbo where racial tensions were a constant force. This void of acceptance also stuck to Lily as a child of both Eastern and Western parents; giving us the heartbreakingly uncomfortable title. I thought a lot about this, but don’t have any clever conclusions, only sadness.

And yet, one thing which binds us all is family and their dysfunctions. Surely there’s no culture in the world which doesn’t struggle with family.

I adored Ghost Girl Banana, Lily was such a beautiful character, a delicate vulnerable young woman whose life appeared to be going nowhere.
A letter, an inheritance challenged Lily’s history, her memories of her mother, her father and Ben her own sister, Mei.
It was the way in which Wharton used the alternative narratives, Lily and her mother Sook-Yin to weave a wonderful story. The hardships, the battles Sook-Yon had to fight, her tremendous courage when faced with a reckless husband and a tyrant brother.
For Lily it was the scraps of memory, the acquired notes, objects given to her as she trawled Honk Kong for answers.
The emotions were raw, you wanted to wrap your arms around both of them, to strangle Sook-Yin’s husband, wish Lily’s relatives and acquaintances would just tell the truth.
I loved the historical background, a Hong Kong under British rule, the 1997 handover to the Chinese, the simmering tensions that floated beneath the surface.
They perfectly mirrored Sook-Yin and Lily, the reader wanting that happy ending.
Ghost Girl Banana is already one of my favourite 2023 reads.

This book had promise - an immigration story that featured a woman from Hong Kong, of which I knew little, family secrets, historical fiction - all the right ingredients for me. However, sadly I just wasn't gripped enough. I found the contemporary storyline boring, with hints into the less than perfect lives of the sisters, but not enough depth and detail for me to care. I did find Sook-Yin's story more engaging, but again found the characterisation lacked depth and I couldn't connect very strongly with her journey. I'm afraid I just wasn't enjoying the reading experience and DNFd after 25%.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

I have been dying to read Ghost Girl Banana ever since I first heard about it and it proved to be a remarkable debut novel, a moving story that had me absolutely enthralled from beginning to end.

Told from the perspective of Sook-Yin who in 1966 travels from Hong Kong to London to train as a nurse, and her daughter Lily who in 1997, returns to Hong Kong, a colony in the midst of transition, to discover more about how she has become the beneficiary of half a million pounds thanks to a legacy in the will of a man she knows nothing about.

Whilst there, Lily takes the opportunity to learn more about her mother who died in a car accident when she was young - and as the story unfolds she finds that there is much more to her family story than she ever imagined.

It’s a tale about family, family secrets and about identity and belonging. Wharton’s skill lies in bringing both her characters and Hong Kong at a pivotal point in its history to life thereby sweeping the reader up in the lives of both the women. It is an evocative and emotional read, heartbreaking at times but a testament to human resilience - and one that will stay with me. Wharton writes beautifully and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

An engaging and deeply moving debut. Following the journey of Lily, as she travels to Hong Kong to try and better understand why she and her sister have been left a share of a million pounds by a stranger. We observe as she uncovers a number of family secrets and forgotten memories which she's previously been told were false.

Featuring issues including racism, gambling addiction, death, jealousy, suicide and mental health. While perfectly capturing the feeling of not fully belonging anywhere, there are also big moments of hope, meaning this is an uplifting and delightful read.

Ghost Girl, Banana is an unforgettable and original family saga set across Hong Kong and London. Lily, in 1997 in London, finds out she has been left a mysterious inheritance of half a million pounds from someone she does not know in Hong Kong. The only term of the inheritance is that she must travel to Hong Kong to sign for it before the period of mourning for the deceased is over. Lily’s mum died in Hong Kong when she was young and her dad has also passed away so she travels to Hong Kong to find out more about her family and the reason for the inheritance. The story, set across two timelines, is completely immersive and evocative and I was completely absorbed throughout! 4.5/5

An incredible debut!

This is a dual timeline novel, following both the story of Lily in 1997 – at the time of Hong Kong's handover to China – as she receives a substantial inheritance from an unknown benefactor, and her mother, Sook-Yin, as she is exiled from Kowloon and makes the long journey to England in 1966.

Lily and her sister were raised by their English father after their mother's death and Lily has scant memories of her.
"Like a dripping tap or an unpaid bill, Mumma was the squatter at the back of my brain forever waiting to surprise me." So, when she receives news of the inheritance, she leaves England for Hong Kong to find out more about her family.

Sook-Yin is struggling to make sense of her new world and it does not embrace her. Her family back at home have high and unrealistic expectations of her, but when she is unable to pass her nursing exam she finds herself in the path of Julian Miller, her future husband and father to her girls.

The book is pacy and the writing is beautifully descriptive while also cutting to the bone. The relationship between the two sisters is one of the best I've ever read. I could have merrily gone through this book, underlining all the sentences that made me laugh, the ones that hit my heart and the ones that made me want to jump into the pages and shake some sense into someone. Sook-Yin and Lily will not be forgotten.


Ghost Girl, Banana is that rare thing, a beautifully written book that delivers cracking story too!

Thank you to NetGalley, to Wiz Wharton and to Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

This remarkable debut novel tells the stories of Sook-Yin and her daughter Lily. Sook-Yin is sent to Britain in 1966 by her brother to have a future as a nurse. Her life takes a different direction. She marries and has daughters Lily and Maya. Now the girls, whose parents died a while ago, have received news that they've been left a bequest in the will of someone they've never heard of, in Hong Kong.

Lily starts to find out more, travelling to Hong Kong. In parallel we learn about her mother's life, a woman who struggled to have a voice. The story unfolds from the perspectives of Sook-Yin and Lily.

The book gives a rare insight into women who are hidden, and those who question where they belong. It also highlights the difficulty of family dynamics, particularly in the 60s when men dominated their families, as in the case of Sook-Yin's brother. Relations become even more strained when it seems that Sook-Yin has made more of a success of her life than he expected.

A very different read from anything I've read before. A really well-written story set over two timelines, in two countries and from two POV's. A tough, moving story with wonderful characters.

In 1966 - Sook-Yin is sent from Kowloon to London by her brother to train as a nurse. Things don't work out as planned and she must carve out a path of her own.

1997 - In London, Lily mourns for the mother she lost as a small child. Her sister is guarded about their past so when Lily is named in the will of Chinese stranger she sets off to Hong Kong in secret hoping to learn more about her past and her connection to this stranger.

I thought this was a really interesting story about family secrets, identity and heritage. I really enjoyed the writing style and the pace. The alternating chapters between Lily and Sook-Yin coupled with the dual timeline made me race through it. I loved reading about the different family dynamics but most of all I loved seeing both women develop as the book progressed - their resilience and courage made for a heartfelt and poignant reading experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A very different read from anything I've read before. A really well written story set over two timelines, in two countries and from two POV's. A tough, moving story with wonderful characters.

A fascinating story, from two pints of view, a mother and a daughter. Sensitive and intriguing. A lovey read.
ARC copy

A very very unusual read, told over two timelines, two countries and two very different cultures.
I struggled with this at times, I didn't find it an easy read, but it was just too good to not finish.

Ghost Girl Banana takes us through the lives of several generations of women originally from Hong Kong and through the struggles they face with racism (both from the white and Chinese communities- being fully in neither community and always viewed as outsiders)

Each generation faces their own challenges in love, finding their place in the family and the wider world in the face of prejudice, and money looms large in their lives as debts are made and repaid over and over again.

I have no connection to Hong Kong or China other than friends with Chinese heritage and a schoolfriend who's dad worked on the transition in Hong Kong in the 90s so as a white British woman this was an education for me. The title is a reflection and reclamation of the racist terminology used against the family, and this is such a poignant story that will stay with me for a long time.

This debut novel from Wiz Wharton certainly had me picking it up at every opportunity. A dual time line starting in 1966 with a young Sook-Min travelling to England to train as a nurse and prove herself to her family back home in China, and then her daughter Lily, Li-Li, in 1997 who can remember very little about her mother and her early childhood. We follow brave Sook-Min’s many challenges as she desperately tries to fit in both in London and back in China. She is such a brave, resilient woman with such a passion for life and love for her daughters. Then Lily’s story follows her desperate quest to understand the truth about her mother and her Chinese heritage, as well as trying to learn to appreciate and accept herself. Both storylines are full of intrigue and unexpected surprises, and for me the pieces of the puzzle didn’t completely fall into place until the end. A story of family, love, heritage, belonging and forgiveness, Ghost Girl, Banana is a beautifully written book and I look forward to reading more from Wiz Wharton in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for a review.

I couldn't get enough of this story. It was so moving and had great characters, the plot was hard hitting, especially when you read the acknowledgements of where the story started. I was hooked from the beginning. A great and insightful read.

A literary read with alternating POVs.
What to expect?
- Alternating POV set in the Chinese Windrush (1966) to early 1970s following nurse Sook-Yin who comes to England from Hong Kong for a better life. Sook-Yin's younger daughter Lily in 1997 comes across a large inheritance and tries to find out more about the inheritance, her mother's history etc; set during Hong King's handover to China in 1997.

- Sook-Yin was an interesting character. She makes new friends despite her misconceptions that she might not transition into the England life easily (I loved the Marilyn, Clark Gable and movie stars talk between her and her roommate Peggy). She then works as a nanny, meets a white guy Julian and marries him. They start a business and try to build a life.

- Sook-Yin's brother's characterisation, though small, was shocking and punches you in the gut. He blames Sook-Yin for marrying a colonizer and also puts her down. These scenes show the contrast between how Sook-Yin is trying to find a new life in a new land and how her family's expectations of her are very different.

- The title draws from Lily being the ghost girl (perhaps Sook-Yin too in some measure, finding herself in a new country, and her decisions not accepted by her family). Banana is a derogatory term for a white person.

- The daughters are brought up by their father. Maya the eldest daughter with features that fit into Western standards has an easier life. Lily, the youngest daughter finds it difficult to fit in, being away from her heritage, and because of the way other kids/people treat her. (The scene where she tries to search whether a Western girl could be born with a monolid ). While Maya sails through life, Lily finds herself stuck. The author then transports Lily in a search for the truth about her mother. But she finds that she doesn't fit in there either. It was enlightening reading about the diff struggles Lily faced, and also how nice people can bring out the best in you.

What could've been better?
- I wish Lily had more things to say/feel about the other people in her life. She seemed reduced to pursue the truth about her mother. How did the death of her father affect her? While we see enough of Maya, I wished she was more fleshed out and her role existed not just to show how she and Lily were different, or to aid the fleshing of the character Lily. I would've liked Maya to have more individuality, perhaps like Sook-Yin's character sketch. While this is Sook-Yin and Lily's story, but I was curious about Maya beyond her role to aid Lily's story.

-I feel Julian, for his irresponsible, manipulative ways was toned down by the author. When Sook-Yin's brother was well written in a few dialogues, the father and husband in Julian could've been better written too. It was almost as if his faults are no big deal and toned down. Why?
Rating : 3.5 stars

The book follows Sook-Yin and Lily in alternate chapters. Sook-Yin moves to London in the 60s from Hong Kong to work. We follow her as she goes through different jobs but ends up marrying a British man due to an unwanted pregnancy. He promises her a good life but barely does anything
to make that a reality.We see how throughout her life in the UK she is victim of racism and discrimination and how she works to protect her daughters and herself against it. A series of events leads the whole family to move to Hong Kong where we see more and more how Julian is financially irresponsible and how Sook-Yin tries so hard to instead provide a safe place for her daughters and her family and herself to be in.

On the other chapters we follow Lily. After her mother's death she grew up with her dad and older sister back in London and she does not remember a lot about her mother and we see the different ways she was slowly robbed of her memories by her father and her sister. She gradually feels more isolated and like she does not belong. A biracial woman compared to her older sister who is instead white passing and has apparently reached more success.
She suddenly becomes the beneficiary of a mysterious inheritance that asks her to go to Hong Kong to receive it. So we then follow her to Hong Kong in 1997, the year of the handover to China, where she starts to discover more about her mother, the place she came from, her family and how she died.


This book was an impressive debut, except for a few things I would definitely recommend. I loved
seeing both stories unfold and how some things were missed from Lily's uncovering. How part of her mom's story would have remained unknown to her, how good part of Sook-Yin's story was erased or was attempted to by the people around her, her brother and her husband especially.
The mother- daughter relationship but also the older sister- younger sister relationships were explored beautifully.
A few things made this not a full 4 stars for me:
Lily's relationship with her dad was lacking, I would have liked to see that more, understand how her feeling might have changes as she discovered the pain he caused.
Lily and Maya relationship- despite towards the end this was explored in a nice way I felt that it would have been so much better if we had seen Maya more.
I felt that both Sook-Yin's brother and her husband were given too much grace. Julian was a terrible, manipulative liar who I did not have any compassion for despite efforts to picture him as somehow naive for doing what he did.
And the brother's reasoning for how he treats Sook-Yin throughout her life felt like it was meant to give him more grace than he deserved too.

However this was a solid good read. The depiction of messy family dynamics, the explorations of
identity, immigration and belonging were compelling and kept me curious to read more.

Wow! It's been a long time since I was swept away by a novel the way I was with Ghost Girl, Banana.

Wiz Wharton's captivating dual timeline novel tells the story of Lily and Sook-Yin. Sook-Yin is forced to come to England to start a new life in the sixties, and decades later her daughter, Lily, is summoned to Hong Kong days before its Handover to China in 1997 after she's left a fortune in a will by a stranger. Lily's trip to Hong Kong offers a chance to step away from her fractured life in the UK and to connect with the late mother she barely remembers, but she soon becomes entangled in a mystery that makes her question the narrative of her life she's been given back in England. I loved the themes of identity and belonging in this novel cleverly woven into a engrossing mystery.

Lily and Sook-Yin are such extraordinary characters, vividly portrayed from the off. The dual timeline allows for the parallels between the women to shine through, parallels that Lily is unaware of at the start of the novel, although she hungers to know more about Mumma. Both women struggle to find their place in cultures that place them as 'other' because of their heritage. The striking title references the derogatory names Lily and Sook-Yin are given because of who they are. This struggle with belonging is acutely felt by Lily, who has struggled with her mental health and who, despite aching for more connection to her past, is shut down by older sister Maya, who doesn't want to talk about Mumma or what happened when she died in Hong Kong.

The pacing of this story is excellent, with short chapters and many clever twists. The settings are perfectly realised, giving such a solid sense of place and time, But more than anything, this is a novel that is bursting at the seams with love. The love between a mother and a daughter, love between siblings and the journey to love yourself and who you are.

It's such a special book, and I can't wait to read more from Wiz Wharton.