Reclaiming Lily by Patti Lacy is about an American couple (a TEXAN couple!), their adopted Chinese daughter, and the daughter’s bio sister who tracks them down. She (the sister) has discovered they potentially have a genetic kidney issue. So really, it is the story of how they all become family. It’s an interesting and creative story idea, a refreshing change of pace from your standard Christian fiction.
I do have a few bones to pick, though:
- Joy/Lily was a little difficult to believe. She has a pretty rapid change of heart; I was not even a rebellious teen and there is no way my attitude toward my parents would have changed that quickly, tornado or not. Also, I know teenagers say “like” a lot but hers seemed to be, like, in the wrong places or something.
- She doesn’t go by Lily in the book, so why is that the title?
- Near the end of the book Lacy mentions driving to Waco on I-20 and maybe I misunderstood, but to get from Ft. Worth to Waco you take 35. 20 doesn’t go through Waco.
- The Christian message is pretty heavy-handed, so be aware of that if you find blatant Christianity offensive.
- SPOILER ALERT!!! I am really confused at why Joy was allowed by the medical community to be a kidney donor. She is very young and has plenty of time to manifest symptoms later, and she’ll already be down a kidney then. Kai herself tested negative earlier in life so Joy’s present absence of symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a good candidate.
- Do Chinese people really call each other First Daughter and Second Daughter?
Overall, like I said, I thought this was a really interesting idea for a story. And I think it was pretty real in acknowledging that adoption isn’t the end of the story, adoptive families can still have problems years later (because all families have problems).
You can read other reviews on the blog tour here…and there’s also a giveaway for one of the new Kindles and an Amazon gift card!
This book was provided for review by the LitFuse Publicity Group.
suzannesaphone 
October 6, 2011 at 11:52 am
Suzanne, girl, you nailed some things!!! I only wish I would’a sent the book for review to you ahead of time.
1. I can see why you doubted Joy’s changes. Perhaps we apply some of our own experiences as a teenager to our characters. Suffice it to say I was majorly rebellious and volatile:)
2. You are right in sensing confusion over the Joy/Lily double naming of Kai’s lost sister. My point was to again contrast East and West, Kai’s dream and Gloria’s dream. Perhaps it fell flat and just wound up being confusing.
3. No, you absolutely did not understand. I blew the delineation of the highway…and definitely know better. My husband, a Dallas native, zipped through the book, strode into the kitchen, and said, “There’s a glaring error.” Keep in mind that while attending Baylor I bee-lined on many weekends from Waco to my husband’s (then my boyfriend’s) various abodes in the Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington area. And if I wasn’t driving north on I-35, I was driving south to Austin or on down to my Corpus Christi home! Duh. My brain went dead and the Michigan-based proofreaders didn’t catch this error. It happens, and it’s my fault!
5. You are correct that the transplant team would question this issue. Amazingly, they’re granted freedom to consider familial connections and other factors in their decision, especially if a possible donor has passed the psychological components of the testing. I did pose this question, and others, re donor eligibility. It would take a miracle but COULD HAPPEN that a) Joy would be allowed as a donor and b) Kai would be allowed to adopt a baby from China with her previous health problems. In this way, I hoped to show the miracles availed through trust in Christ Jesus and test the bounds of a story with the freedom of fiction.
6. Research showed that Chinese used the terms First Daughter, Second Daughter, Suzanne, ESPECIALLY during the time frame during and immediately following the Cultural Revolution. My bottom study shelf sags with 20 research books, and I also visited China last May (though, in the words of a Chinese national who was returning after a several-month absence, “I do not know this place.”) Imagine the changes in several decades!
Thank you for investing your time and effort into this book and into this tour! Blessings, Patti
October 6, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Oh, I believe you did your research! I have just never heard my Chinese friends call each other that – but they’re younger than the Cultural Revolution era, and I don’t understand when they speak in Chinese anyway. 🙂 That’s the sort of thing that is so foreign it’s hard to believe, even when it is real.
October 6, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Suzanne, what a delight you are. And I meant to put in my response that you definitely did not misunderstand re the highway. Even nonwriters know about those double negatives!!
Speaking of double, may, as the Chinese love to say, you have double blessings:)
Patti