Black Water Sister
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho is a contemporary fantasy novel published by Penguin on May 11, 2021. This first edition spans 384 pages and is written in English. The story follows Jessamyn Teoh, who, upon moving back to Malaysia, begins hearing the voice of her estranged grandmother, a spirit medium connected to a deity known as the Black Water Sister. As Jess navigates her new reality, she discovers that her grandmother has unfinished business with a powerful business magnate, compelling Jess to confront both family secrets and supernatural challenges.
Readers will find a narrative rich in themes of family, identity, and the supernatural, as Jess grapples with the complexities of her relationship with her grandmother and the demands of the spirit world. The novel intertwines elements of ghostly encounters and Asian American experiences, presenting a unique exploration of cultural ties and personal agency. As Jess strives to reclaim her autonomy while dealing with capricious spirits, she faces the dual challenge of fulfilling her grandmother’s wishes and asserting her own identity in a world filled with gods and ghosts.
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A finalist for the 2022 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
One of BookPage’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2021
One of Tor.com Reviewers’ Choice Best Books of 2021
One of Book Riot’s Best SFF Standalones of 2021
“Ghosts. Gods. Gangsters. Black Water Sister has it all…a wildly entertaining coming-of-age story for the twentysomething set, with a protagonist who is almost painfully relatable at times.”—Vulture
“A twisty, feminist, and enthralling page-turner.”—BuzzFeed
“A sharp and bittersweet story of past and future, ghosts and gods and family.”—Naomi Novik, New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly Education
A reluctant medium discovers the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power in this compelling Malaysian-set contemporary fantasy.
When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, she chalks it up to stress. Closeted, broke and jobless, she’s moving back to Malaysia with her parents – a country she last saw when she was a toddler.
She soon learns the new voice isn’t even hers, it’s the ghost of her estranged grandmother. In life, Ah Ma was a spirit medium, avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she’s determined to settle a score against a business magnate who has offended the god—and she’s decided Jess is going to help her do it, whether Jess wants to or not.
Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business, but dealing with her grandmother is just as complicated. Especially when Ah Ma tries to spy on her personal life, threatens to spill her secrets to her family and uses her body to commit felonies. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she’ll also need to regain control of her body and destiny – or the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good.
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