We Were Dreamers – Pebbles Reviews ‘Shang-Chi’ Star Simu Liu’s Book
Shang-Chi star Simu Liu is a bona fide star. I read and reviewed his book We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story. Spoiler Alert – it’s incredible!
One day when my 8-year-old nephew was at my house, he wanted to watch Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I had heard good things about it, but hadn’t gotten around to watch it yet, so we did. I was not expecting to love it as much as I did. So much so, that I started doing all the googles on the movie’s star Simu Liu. He was so great and I wanted to know everything about this talented actor that was new to me.
I found out that he was going to be in town on a book tour, and I immediately bought a ticket to see him. The ticket also included a copy of his new book, We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story. Well, when the day came, so did COVID and I wasn’t able to go. I was heartbroken, but still wanted to read the book.
Listen to the audiobook
When I read a book about an author’s life, I want to hear them read it in their own voice, and I always listen to the audiobook. Side note – if you want to listen to audiobooks, check out your local library, or buy it from Libro.fm to support your favorite independent book store. Back to Simu Liu. I just loved hearing him tell his story, and I was all-in from the very first chapter.
What’s it about?
From Google Books: The star of Marvel’s first Asian superhero film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, tells his own origin story of being a Chinese immigrant, his battles with cultural stereotypes and his own identity, becoming a TV star, and landing the role of a lifetime. We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story is really special.
My thoughts
I loved it so much! It was brutally honest, to the point where I was uncomfortable hearing about his early relationship with his parents. Spoiler alert – they’re good now. He was also really honest about who he is and was, flaws and all. His story is incredibly relatable to anyone who has struggled to achieve a dream, and the rocky path on their way to that dream. He talks about being raised by his grandparents in China as a child, moving to Canada with his parents, all the while sharing how that path shaped his life, and who he would become.
We Were Dreamers is also incredibly inspiring. Hearing Simu talk about powering through failure and rejection and never losing sight of the endgame, pun intended, was powerful. His story of being a Chinese immigrant and dealing with stereotypes is a tale that I’m sure many immigrants can relate to. I adored this book and was so glad I listened to him tell it.
My rating 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
Personally, I judge a book by how much I want to hug it when I’m finished. We Were Dreamers got ALL the hugs when I was finished. Also, for the first time ever, I cried listening to Simu get choked up reading the acknowledgements. No question, I give this book 5 Hugs! (out of 5)
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