The Original Daughter- Blog Tour

 

Author: Jemimah Wei 

Publisher: W&N / Orion Books

Publishing Date: 5th June 2025 

Many thanks to Random Things Tours and the publishing team for my physical copy and a spot on the tour

Blurb

Before Arin, Genevieve Yang was an only child. Living with her parents and grandmother in a single-room flat in working-class Bedok, Genevieve is saddled with an unexpected sibling when Arin appears, the shameful legacy of a grandfather long believed to be dead. As the two girls grow closer, they must navigate the intensity of life in a place where the urgent insistence on achievement demands constant sacrifice. Knowing that failure is not an option, the sisters learn to depend entirely on one another as they spurn outside friendships, leisure, and any semblance of a social life in pursuit of academic perfection and passage to a better future.

When a stinging betrayal violently estranges Genevieve and Arin, Genevieve must weigh the value of ambition versus familial love, home versus the outside world, and allegiance to herself versus allegiance to the people who made her who she is.

My Thoughts 

I knew from just reading the blurb that I would enjoy this book!

The plot surrounds Genevieve and Arin and their nuclear family that harbours a secret that causes more disruption. 

Both the sisters had different traits and at times came across selfish but the deeper undertones to this came through. Genevieve who starts off life as a single child and lives with mum, dad, grandmother in a small flat trying to make ends meet. At the age of 8 the title of only child is taken away from Genevieve as Arin who is the granddaughter of her grandfathers secret family and is sent to live with them. 

The friction between the families starts to come through as they all battle their own emotions and feelings on the situation and as time passes. This is a character driven plot which was needed for this book and came across well. 

The story touches on just more than dysfunction sisters but estrangement, feelings of abandonment, guilt, rebuilding a life and family dynamics and bonds. 

A the girls get older situations cause them to drift apart and cause resentment, however Genevieve's mother encourages her to reconnect with her sister. This however brings forth the issues both did not solve and at times it feels they can never let some parts go. 

An emotional family saga that was well written and enjoyable to read.