"We spend out whole lives changing ourselves for some idea of being accepted - make me richer, prettier, more successful, make the enemy of my enemy my friend - when all we can do is belong to ourselves"

From the first chapter, Ghost Girl, Banana is intriguing and engaging. I was hooked by the cliffhanger chapter endings and the quickly established strong character creation. Lily and Sook-Yin were both incredibly layered personalities whose lives unfolded throughout the novel to great effect.

A highlight of the novel for me was the relationship between Lily and Maya which appeared to be an underlying story below the plot of the money but was actually the real crux of the story. The way this development plays out makes for a great read.

This is a powerful tale of what people will do for the people they love and how they can be let down by members of their family.

It follows two women - a mother and her daughter - through two separate timelines. The daughter, Lily, lost her mother when she was just 4 and has suffered for it the rest of her life.

When Lily is invited to go to Hong Kong to collect a sizeable inheritance from the estate of a man she's never heard of, it's an opportunity for her to uncover her mother's past and learn more about who she is and where she has come from.

I found the first quarter of the book hard to get my head around. I had a couple of characters completely mixed up in my mind, but it all resolved later.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I wanted to tell the mother to kick her waistrel husband to the kerb multiple times, but the book made me care, and for that I commend it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this enjoyable read.

4.5 stars

A great book. Thoroughly absorbing, different, harrowing at times but enjoyable.

I only knocked off half a star because the moves from one timeline to another came too fast at the beginning; I was just getting into one story when we jumped. Towards the middle of the book I became grateful for those quick changes.

Anyway the story is split between Lily in 1997 and her mother, Sook-Yin, from 1966 to 1977. It's a story about discovering who you are, where you fit in your world, love and betrayal. Lily was too young to remember her mother who died when she was four but a mysterious letter offering a huge inheritance gives Lily a chance to escape her fractured life to find out what really happened to her mother in Hong Kong.

This book started slow for me but it builds momentum throughout until I was racing through it, unable to pit it down until I polished off the second half in one sitting.

This may be Wiz Wharton's debut novel but I certainly hope it won't be her last. She has an undoubted talent for story telling and even though this was based on her own ancestry it became a novel through an obviously vivid imagination.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book stays with you long after you have read it and is a perfect example of why I love Historical Fiction. I learnt things and it brought to life a point in time that I knew little about. It adds the human element about feelings, emotions and the human impact of the handing over of Hong Kong back to China. Even though this happened relatively recent, I knew little about its effect on the citizens of Hong Kong. This novel sweeps between Hong Kong and London, between the 1960's to the 2000's. It centres around Sook Yin, how she was exiled to London as a young adult. How she tried hard to fit in ...in the 1960's, where her accent and mannerisms were the butt of jokes. If you love a strong female (and who doesn't), you will love Sook Yin, she is fierce, strong, intelligent and has oodles of resilience.

Sook Yin's daughter is struggling to remember her mum, she is desperate for information to help her feel a sense of belonging. She is trying to find her way in a world when she is made up of 2 cultures, but only looks like 1 - Ghost Girl, Banana. You will be hooked with her pursuit for facts, you will be rooting for her, as she draws on her courage to chase the memory of her mum.

A great book club pick!

2023 Is looking to be the year of debuts because Ghost Girl, Banana, in my humble opinion, is a masterpiece. I often struggle to read ebooks, but Wiz Wharton's storytelling had me completely captivated.

Told from two perspectives, Sook-Yin, as we follow her through her life and then sadly her death and her daughter Lily as she returns to her Mothers homeland of Kowloon, Hong Kong after being left a mysterious inheritance.

I absolutely adored this book. I knew little of the Chinese Windrush, so to read a novel with such a great sense of place and history was fascinating for me. I loved both perspectives from Sook Lin when she was exiled from Hong Kong to London and how she navigates quite a tumultuous life as a Chinese immigrant and marrying a westerner to how Lily her daughter navigates growing up as a bi racial woman and not really knowing where she feels she fits in.
This is often a heartbreaking read from the racism both women face and the effects that has on someone's mental health to living a life full of secrets and deceit due to gambling addiction Ghost, Girl, Banana doesn't shy away from important topics.
The characterisation is done very well, and I found the relationship dynamics interesting, especially between Lily and her Sister Maya.
This is a slower paced read and is more character driven, but if you enjoy those kinds of reads, I would wholeheartedly recommend Ghost Girl, Banana. I hope this book gets the recognition it deserves because Wiz Wharton can really really write. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Intriguing layers of stories within stories revealing family secrets and difficult relationships. It's a wonderful and engaging read.

This is my favourite book of 2023 so far (OK it is only the very beginning of February, but even so, you can take it that this means that I did really like this book). This is a dual timeline book - but as the timeline is 1997 to 1960s I'm in two minds whether to call it historical fiction or a thriller - as it certainly has elements of both. What I really liked about this book was the unpicking of the different stories that people tell ... and the many truths that people may believe (which are in fact not the truth at all). The setting of the book part in Hong Kong and part in London also appealed to me - and setting it in HK at the time of its handover to China was, to me, particularly interesting - I have enjoyed trips to HK both before the handover and shortly after and well-recognised the HK described in this book and have to say that the excellent descriptions evoked a sense of nostalgia for a HK that no longer seems to exist.

A beautifully written story of a daughter who parallels her mother's story when she visits her now deceased mothers homeland, it takes you on the journey of dual heritage, racism, mental health and a longing to find out the truth of who she truly is and who her mother was, a brilliant debut novel by an author who I feel has a lot more brilliance to come

A very enjoyable debut novel in which a daughter travels back to Hong Kong to discover the truth about her Mum’s death. She and her sister were sent to England after their Mum’s death but she doesn’t know why.
The setting of the book partly in Hong Kong is interesting, set at the time that Hong Kong was given back to China. The writing makes it easy to get emotional about the difficulties of being an immigrant, a mixed race marriage when it wasn’t so acceptable and the difficulties of marrying someone you don’t really know.
I’d definitely recommend this book. My thanks to Netgalley for the advance reader copy.

Anyone else find it difficult to review a book you really loved sometimes? Well when I tell you I read this one 2 months ago and am only now finalising the review it will give you an indication of how much I loved it!

When I first heard about this book I added it immediately to my wish list as it sounded so up my street. I’m glad to say I was not disappointed

It's a truly wonderful story made even better by having its basis in the real history of the author's family. A book about the struggle to find your place in the world and the long shadows cast by family secrets across the generations

The story runs on parallel lines -

In 1966 Sook-Yin is sent by her family to England from Hong Kong to embark on a new life. When life doesn’t work out the way she hoped, Sook-Yin finds herself back in HK with her husband and two daughters.

30 years later her daughter Lily, now orphaned, travels to Hong Kong after receiving an unexpected bequest and uses the visit to discover more about her family and herself.

It’s a really rich read with evocative descriptions of time and place. Hong Kong in particular is effortlessly brought to life and the sights and sounds so eloquently evoked that I felt as though I was alongside Sook-Yin & Lily

I loved the development of both the main characters in this book as their story unfolds and they uncover not only secrets but also learn about themselves. A great supporting cast too. You know a character has been well done when they provoke strong emotions and boy did I want to slap a couple of them - ah-Chor and Julian I’m looking at you!

The writing was just incredible & effortless -how is this a debut?! I cannot wait to see what she does next.

One of those books where I wanted to take my time with and savour but I had such difficulty putting it down, I already feel the need for a reread. Although it is only January, I’m pretty confident this will be one of my reads of 2023.

Huge thanks to Wiz & Hodder for an advance review copy.

A lovely debut novel.
There are two storylines - one for Lily, who English and Chinese, but doesn't feel she belongs to either race, and one for Sook-Yin (Lily's mother) who left Hong Kong as a young woman and tried to make a life for herself first in London, then in Hong Kong, but dies when Lily was five.
When Lily finds that she and her sister have been left a substantial amount of money by a mysterious benefactor, Lily goes to Hong Kong to find out why.
I felt that the story really came alive when Lily went to Hong Kong. The mystery subplot kept things moving. I loved that the handover of Hong Kong (from Britain to China) that happened in the background allowed small side discussions about the freedoms we take from granted in the West.
The title is absolute genius too.
The characters are interesting and flawed - Lily, who is clawing her way out of depression, and Sook-Yin who is a determined fighter but plagued by bad luck, are both vividly drawn.
I enjoyed this book a lot and expect to hear a lot more about it once it's published.

A novel set between 1960’s-1990’s, set across London and Hong Kong. This is a dual viewpoint book with most chapters flipping between time and character, Sook-Yin and Li-Li/Lily.

The themes that were strongest for me were
belonging and identity with Li-Li trying to find her personal identity whilst visiting a country that was confronting a changing identity. Women quietly dealing with problems created by men also came through loud!

At times I struggled to get through this book, mostly because you know the fate of one of the character’s and spoiler alert…it’s not good! Towards the end I read quickly and overall it’s an important story told well.

This book was a slow burner for me, but half way through I suddenly realised how much I was enjoying it! I appreciated how the different themes of the book played out through the story, like immigration, mental health, family secrets etc. and I think the formatting of the book lent itself well to the slow discovery of each characters past.

Ok I had to gather my thoughts to write a thoughtful review. What an incredible book! My first 5 star read of 2023.
This book is a family saga set in two time lines, with two narrators, Sook-Yin from Hong Kong starting in 1966. The second is her second daughter Lily from London about 30 years later.
The chapters are short, snappy but still in depth and profound. The world building made it very easy to imagine what their worlds looked like and what it was to live in them.
Sook-Yin moves to London by force and finds England to be harrowing.
After Lily gets a mysterious letter, she travels to Kowloon and discovers more about her mother and her family.
The relationship with Lily and her older sister Maya felt very very real and recognizable, and one of the best written sister-relationships I have ever read.
The book really has everything, history, heart, feeling, sadness.
It will make you feel all the feels. I cannot wait to read more by Wiz Wharton.

Ghost Girl, Banana by Wiz Wharton is a dynamic and compulsive multigenerational story that moves back and forth in time and place, between mother Sook-Yin and daughter Lily, between Hong Kong and London, spanning four decades from the 1960s to 1990s. It’s a story of love and betrayal; of the struggles of dual-heritage identity; of the power of memory and the connections we search out to better understand ourselves; of the stories we are told and the stories we uncover; of belonging, acceptance and what our worth is built in on; and of being torn between duty and following our own hearts.

Lily, struggling with her mental health and with finding her place in the world in contrast to her highly successful and ‘together’ sister, receives a letter that a stranger has left her money in his will. The only condition is that she must travel to Hong Kong to accept the money. In alternating chapters, her story unfolds in tandem with her mother’s story one generation before, whose journey initially took her in the opposite direction, from Hong Kong to London.

Wharton skilfully leads us along a vivid path of storytelling as Sook-Yin seeks to create her future, while Lily seeks to discover her heritage and unravel her past, at a pivotal time in Hong Kong’s history; a place, so richly brought to life by Wharton, pulled between countries just like the leading characters in this story are pulled between their homes and heritage.

Sook-yin, sent forth to London by her family to make something of herself, is both an admirable and lovable character; as tenacious, practical and frank as she is vulnerable, and full of ideals and dreams. Despite the adversity and racism thrown her way, she perseveres, uses her initiative, and begins to find her place in this new city; but she always longs for home.

Lily, decades later and with barely a memory of her mother who has since passed away, is struggling with who she is now. The letter from the stranger provides an opportunity to finally take charge of her present, and rediscover her past. However, the visit to Hong Kong brings more than expected as family history and secrets come to light, revealing all is often not what it seems.

Wharton has such a vivid, dynamic and pictorial writing style; whether it’s the sights and sounds, culture and traditions of Hong Kong, or the lively dialogue her characters engage in. She beautifully, and with a keen eye, explores the complexity of family dynamics, and the inner struggles experienced by both mother and daughter. This is a really enjoyable, engaging and thought-provoking story, with vivid and fully fleshed out characters, that draws us along at great pace on Sook-Yin and Lily’s revelatory journeys as they unfold.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC.

What a brilliantly vivid and sensitively told story!
I was immediately sucked in by Wharton’s prose. Her characters were real and the story and sense of mystery kept me hooked until the very end. Even the Acknowledgements was a treat to read!

Great read. Think this will take off in 2023. I enjoyed the pace of this book and the representation of cultures. The characters were well written and endearing.
Thanks for the advanced read.

Ghost Girl, Banana tells the story of Sook-Yin, who is sent away to England by her family in the 1960s, and her daughter Lily, who returns to Hong Kong for the first time since childhood when a mysterious inheritance comes to light. What unfolds is an atmospheric, suspenseful family drama, plotting the years leading to Sook-Yin's untimely death, and Lily's attempts to find connection with her mother's story, her roots, and her elder sister.

I loved the character of Sook-Yin. She puts up with a lot from her completely useless husband, and is resourceful right to the end.

The writing is beautiful too - "Judging by the red of the trees the picture had been taken in autumn and like everything viewed from the past there was a terrible inevitability about it, the sense that the moment had gone and could never be recovered or undone."

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and #Netgalley for a proof copy of #GhostGirlBanana

What a beautiful debut novel from Wiz Wharton. The novel has a split timeline following Lily in 1997 and her mother Sook-Yin from 1966 when she is forced to move to London from Hong Kong.
Lily is her mid-twenties and having battled with her mental health for many years, her life is beginning to stagnate. She received a letter stating she is a benefactor of a wealthy businessman in Hong Kong, her mother's homeland. Having lost her mother at a young age, and her father and sister shutting down any discussion of the same, this offers Lily the opportunity to connect with and unravel her mother's past.
Sook-Yin leaves HK in 1966 to her (horrible) brother's demand to make something of herself and restore respectability to their family. We follow Sook-Yin's struggles as she tries to develop her life in an alien and often hostile city.
The path of both mother and daughter mirror each other beautifully and the battles faced by dual heritage families in 1960s London and a daughter of dual heritage in a tense Hong Kong during the 1997 handover.
The author's writing style is stunning and immersive and pulls you along through Lily and Sook Yin's stories.
Ghost Girl, Banana will be a must read for Summer 2023
This is an honest review in exchange for a NetGalley ARC

ThIS debut by Wiz Wharton is truly super! Incredible writing - with the two different timelines and cross cultural references. The cast of characters aware all very real and the two protagonists were exceptional.

The book was very well paced and for me, completely riveting. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Hodder & Stoughton , for the ARC.