Ellen Oh

Fantastic modern fantasy where the lines between an artist’s webcomic and real life blur and crossover.

The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee is author Ellen Oh’s magical story of a young artist drawn into her own webcomic with unforeseen results. With relatable characters experiencing extraordinary situations in a remarkable setting, I was riveted to the story from start to finish.

High school senior Mina Lee is a talented artist stymied in her desire to attend art school after graduation rather than going to college and preparing for what, in her father’s mind, is a more practical future. Mina’s artist mother had passed away a couple of years earlier, and both father and daughter are still grieving her loss. Mina’s father has thrown himself into work and business travel, leaving Mina alone often. Mina misses both her mother and her father but is a capable young woman with a good head on her shoulders with definite goals. She hopes a successful webcomic will help convince her father of the merit of allowing her to follow her dream.

Mina is surrounded by a diverse group of friends and classmates in both her reality and the webcomic. There are a variety of personalities and physical types for readers to meet, especially in her alternate timeline, and the magical powers they display there are imaginative.

The author is a wonderfully skilled storyteller, and she clearly conveys the intricacies of an alternate timeline: the mechanics, the collateral effects, and the rules of the new world, so I had no trouble understanding the action. The technical aspects were never overwhelming and were easy to follow. The grief the various characters experienced felt so authentic that some scenes were emotional reading. On the other hand, it was fun seeing the different storyline tropes identified and put into action as the story progressed. I thought the resolution/epilogue was amazing and was left wondering if there might not be more to this story in the future.

The plot involves some serious scenarios, such as the death of a parent, the death of a child, and an abandoned child. These may be hard-hitting for younger readers or those sensitive to these situations. I recommend THE COLLIDING WORLD OF MINA LEE to upper middle-grade, young adult, and adult readers of fantasy fiction.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.… (més)

This story collection discusses how everyone is connected and we must stand up for everyone's dignity, specifically Asians. It's not a page turner but thoughtful readers will enjoy these stories.

The titles of each story represents the person you are meeting. None of the stories tell who wrote the story; you must look on the verso for the information. All of the stories contain an Asian main character, representing different Asian countries. Everyone waits for a plane and all of the flights are delayed or cancelled, so the concourse is very crowded and people get irritated quickly due to the circumstances. The first story becomes racist fodder in other stories. A boy and his family are going through security and his grandmother creates a stir. The TSA agent treats the grandmother with respect and care when he discovers that she's carrying her husband's ashes. Others act quite differently, not knowing what she actually was transporting, but they make plenty of tacky comments throughout the book. Every character is mis-treated in some way and stands up for himself, unlike the parent. The elders all believe one should not make a scene and move on. The younger generations, our characters, disagree and politely and firmly disallow the behavior. It's best to read it all together so that you remember the characters when they make a side appearance in another story. There are many beautiful moments, where humanity shines. We are all on our way somewhere (like in an airport), and we don't know the people around us. As stress builds, making negative assumptions about others and believing you are superior to others does not connect you to humanity. You lose the connection and we lose as an entire group. If you see poor treatment, insist on better treatment. Help others. Don't judge. Be kind.… (més)