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I was really excited to discover this week that Lisa See's website announced the title and cover of her newest book! Dreams of Joy is the sequel to See's novel Shanghai Girls, which I read back in 2009. The first book told a wonderful story, but the ending was left with a rather large question mark and - as is the case with most great fiction - I didn't want the story to end. I've read most of See's books including her most popular ones (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love) and her writing is always quite captivating. Here's the cover of Dreams of Joy alongside Shanghai Girls:
I like how the cover art on the new one (left) compliments the style and form of the first (right). The pictures are beautiful and I like how the portrait style - which played a role in the plot of the first book - and the inclusion of flowers ties them together despite the vastly different color schemes. There's also a play on words in the title of the sequel as the main character (the daughter of the first book's heroine) is named Joy - so the titular dreams are both those of a hopeful future and those of a girl of a new generation Dreams of Joy won't be released until May 31, but I'm glad to have a date to look forward to that will continue the story begun two years ago in Shanghai Girls!
March 6, 2011 at 5:29 PM
Oh the cover of Dreams of Joy just makes me think it'll be a delightful read!
March 7, 2011 at 4:39 PM
I cannot wait for this book!!!! I love See's work and have more on my shelf to read!
May 29, 2012 at 10:29 PM
I think Dreams of Joy surpasses Shanghai Girls in terms of the historical details of China's Great Leap Forward. See is vivid in her descriptions of how people lived in great poverty. She expertly tells the story from Joy and Pearl's points of view, very much in the same way she told Pearl and May's stories in Shanghai Girls. However, I think the author goes to greater lengths in this novel to capture the extremes of starvation, hiding, and communicating with others during that time period.
Dreams of Joy also is different in that half the story is told from an artist's point of view, which brings much more imagery, color, and definition to the book. I seldom do reviews that have no drawbacks or negatives, but I can't do that with this novel. It's one of the best I've read. I look forward to the next installment in Lisa See's series.