45 followers

Jean Kwok

Jean Kwok holds a BA in English and American Literature from Harvard University and an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University. She taught at the University of Leiden and is an alumnus of the Amsterdam Writing Workshops. Jean's debut novel, Girl in Translation, will be published in 2010 by Riverhead, an imprint of Penguin. Riverhead's authors include Khaled Hosseini (Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns) and Junot Diaz (Pulitzer Prize winner for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao). Jean's novel has already been sold in eight countries.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult Fiction

Novels

   Girl in Translation (2010)
   Mambo in Chinatown (2014)
   Searching for Sylvie Lee (2019)
   The Leftover Woman (2023)

Collections

Marple (2022) (with others)

Jean Kwok recommends

Knife River (2024)
Justine Champine
"Beautifully written, gripping and poignant, Knife River is a moving debut about love, women and buried secrets."

A Great Country (2024)
Shilpi Somaya Gowda
"Poignant and propulsive, Shilpi Somaya Gowda's A Great Country grips you from the very first page and refuses to let you go. Filled with empathy and nuance, this thrilling exploration of immigration, the American Dream and the model minority myth will touch your heart and mind. A gorgeous read!"

River East, River West (2024)
Aube Rey Lescure
"A searing and intimate exploration of both China and the American Dream."

Hard by a Great Forest (2024)
Leo Vardiashvili
"Profoundly moving and rich with humor and heartbreak, Hard by a Great Forest mesmerized me from the very first page. It will capture your heart."

What We Kept to Ourselves (2023)
Nancy Jooyoun Kim
"What We Kept to Ourselves is both a suspenseful page-turner and a poignant family drama. Kim's beautiful, thoughtful prose illuminates themes of immigration, identity, love, and loss. A gorgeous, thrilling read!"

Under the Tamarind Tree (2023)
Nigar Alam
"Tender and beautifully written... Alam explores class, family and passion in rich cultural detail. A captivating read."

Happiness Falls (2023)
Angie Kim
"A sublime literary mystery that is a mesmerizing update to the missing person story, a layered and innovative exploration of family, love, happiness, and race."

You Can't Stay Here Forever (2023)
Katherine Lin
"Katherine Lin's You Can't Stay Here Forever is compulsively readable, so much so that it's easy to overlook the astute intelligence that permeates every page. Reading this novel is like falling in love: delightful, poignant, and thrilling."

What Remains (2023)
Wendy Walker
"In addition to being a heart-pounding page-turner, Wendy Walker's What Remains is an exploration of love and fidelity and of the secrets that bind us and tear us apart. The engine that keeps us riveted is not simply the masterful plot but our empathy for Walker's complex characters as they test the fragility of the ties that tether them to not only the ones they love but to their own identities. A gorgeous and compelling emotional thriller."

The Puzzle Master (2023)
(Mike Brink, book 1)
Danielle Trussoni
"Addictive and effervescent . . . A tantalizing and delightful read that engages both heart and mind."

Lucky Dogs (2023)
Helen Schulman
"Written with Schulman's characteristic brilliance, subtlety and social insight, Lucky Dogs is an exploration of the complicated and twisting relationship between women on opposite ends of a high-profile scandal. Unapologetic, searing, lit with humor and wit,it is a novel to be savored."

Hedge (2023)
Jane Delury
"Reading Hedge is like spending time with your best friend: the daring, smart, compassionate one whose wisdom opens your eyes even as her secrets stun you. Part love story, part thriller, this novel kept me entranced until the very last page."

Our Best Intentions (2023)
Vibhuti Jain
"With subtlety, humor and piercing insight, Vibhuti Jain creates a propulsive page-turner that will touch your heart. A must-read!"

Now You See Us (2023)
Balli Kaur Jaswal
"Tender and heartfelt, Now You See us also manages to be laugh-out-loud funny... An uplifting story of courage and hope that will keep you enthralled until the very last page."

Dirty Laundry (2023)
Disha Bose
"Disha Bose's Dirty Laundry is not only a propulsive page-turner but also an intimate exploration of love, race, immigration, and class. . . . Twisty, smart, and moving: a wonderful read."

More Than You'll Ever Know (2022)
Katie Gutierrez
"With beautifully written prose and razor-sharp insight, Katie Gutierrez draws us into More Than You'll Ever Know's gripping and complex world. Even as the dual storylines left me breathless, I found myself more captivated by Gutierrez's intimate and compassionate portrayal of these women, their men, and the many secrets they kept. Passionate, supremely intelligent, and thrilling."

Her Last Affair (2022)
John Searles
"Her Last Affair is filled with wry humor and compassion even as the novel sweeps the reader from charm and romance to the depths of dark suspense. I was captivated from the first page and watched with awe as Searles wove the three storylines into a single, heart-pounding climax. Devastating, and yet at the same time, utterly romantic."

Thank You, Mr. Nixon (2022)
Gish Jen
"An absolute delight. Jen's luminous, deeply moving stories are filled with insight and humor, heartbreak and love. Her elegant prose creates characters who not only endear themselves to us but also illuminate our common humanity. Gorgeous."

The Family Chao (2022)
Lan Samantha Chang
"Lan Samantha Chang's The Family Chao is a modern-day Brothers Karamazov, a gorgeous and gripping literary mystery that leads the reader into a hall of mirrors, reflecting with its kaleidoscopic vision themes like family, betrayal, passion, race, culture and the American Dream. Devastating and searing, laugh-out-loud funny and profound, Chang's latest novel is infused with beautiful, evocative writing that will quicken your heart and mind. A masterpiece."

Swimming Back to Trout River (2021)
Linda Rui Feng
"Linda Rui Feng's Swimming Back to Trout River is a beautifully written, poignant exploration of family, art, culture, immigration and most of all, love. I was swept away by Feng's fierce intelligence and keen insight even as her characters captured my heart with their tender hopes and bold actions. A gorgeous book that I couldn't put down."

The Last Thing He Told Me (2021)
Laura Dave
"Laura Dave's The Last Thing He Told Me is a thrilling roller coaster of a novel. This smart, intimate exploration of love and family is the foundation of a beautifully constructed mystery filled with twists and turns. A must-read."

The Last Exiles (2021)
Ann Shin
"Ann Shin's debut The Last Exiles is an exploration of the moral boundaries good people must navigate when their survival is at stake. This powerful tale of two lovers from North Korea who struggle to be reunited is a searing interrogation of the price of love and freedom. A thought-provoking, poignant and unflinching novel."

Half Life (2021)
Jillian Cantor
"Jillian Cantor's beautifully written Half Life is a poignant exploration of ambition, family, gender, and love. I couldn't put down this tender, nuanced, and inspiring novel. This is a book for anyone who's ever been torn by conflicting passions and loyalties; in other words, this is a book for all of us. A dazzling must-read."

Nights When Nothing Happened (2020)
Simon Han
"In his beautifully written debut novel, Simon Han takes a keen look at immigration, family and love. Insightful and poignant."

With or Without You (2020)
Caroline Leavitt
"It was if I were falling in love: flushed, fascinated, filled with hope, fear and joy. Leavitt's exploration of the many ways in which we change over the course of a lifetime—and how we keep or lose those we love throughout these mutations—is compassionate, profound and moving. Beyond being utterly captivated, I felt like I had grown wiser and more humane after reading this beautiful novel."

A Good Marriage (2020)
Kimberly McCreight
"Filled with emotional urgency, sharp insights and profound revelations, Kimberly McCreight's newest novel is a marvel—both a compelling mystery and a discerning exploration of love and marriage."

Exile Music (2020)
Jennifer Steil
"Gorgeous and lyrical, Exile Music captures the delicate rhythm of one girl's coming of age while driven by war and exile. Heart-wrenching, tender and powerful."

Pretty Things (2020)
Janelle Brown
"I drank down Janelle Brown's Pretty Things in one greedy gulp, speeding through the pages even as the sharp, insightful writing made me feel compassion for each narrator. . . . Mesmerizing, provocative, surprising and thoughtful--a must-read."

The Library of Legends (2020)
Janie Chang
"Janie Chang's The Library of Legends is a delicious mix of history, myth and romance. Chang deftly intertwines Chinese folklore and historical detail to create a magical, heartfelt read."

The Jetsetters (2020)
Amanda Eyre Ward
"Heartwarming, funny, and poignant, The Jetsetters kept me up late turning the pages. . . . Compulsively readable."

Disappearing Earth (2019)
Julia Phillips
"Brilliant, spectacular—a wonderful book. Julia Phillips’s exquisite, detailed writing drew me in from the very first page of Disappearing Earth. I fell in love with each and every poignantly rendered character, even as I couldn’t keep my eyes off the central mystery of the two missing girls. The novel is both a riveting page-turner and a gorgeous exploration of love, one that circles around a magnetic core of loss. It has lodged itself deep in my heart."

Mother Country (2019)
Irina Reyn
"Beautifully written, wise, poignant, tender and filled with humor, Irina Reyn's novel Mother Country about mothers and daughters captured my heart from the very first page. Despite the heartbreaking urgency of this timely story, Mother Country is infused with hope, originality and most of all, love. A gorgeous book."

The Atlas of Reds and Blues (2019)
Devi S Laskar
"The Atlas of Reds and Blues is an unforgettable exploration of what it means to be a woman of color in contemporary America. Laskar describes the climate of lingering racism that surrounds her narrator and family in a wealthy suburb of Atlanta with a poet's touch. A searing, powerful, and beautifully written novel."

Everything Here Is Beautiful (2018)
Mira T Lee
"This heart-wrenching, delicately drawn novel is filled with family love, passion, pain and forgiveness. Mira T. Lee spins a story spanning oceans that draws us ever closer to her characters' generous, flawed hearts. Powerful and unforgettable."

More recommendations

Visitors also looked at these authors

About Fantastic Fiction Information for Authors