Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu

9 reviews

marinajonesreads's review

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Simu Liu was already a darling in my eyes as a Marvel dork but this just elevated him even more. What a heartbreaking story. What an inspiring story. Not only was he heroically open with us, he infused this book with authenticity and humor in all the right parts. When he got excited, I got excited. When he was on the verge of tears, I was already bawling. That takes not just a good story, but a fantastic storyteller. I feel like I just had a nice glass of wine with a friend on the couch in my living room and spent hours laughing and crying until that last triumphant “Action!” Although he said you could skip his parents’ origin stories at the start, you shouldn’t. The payoff is indeed great. His love for them and his grandparents was so loud and beautiful and I couldn’t get enough. Bravo. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Grief, Racism, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Cursing

Minor: Death

qrschulte's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Incredibly vulnerable and heartfelt, this memoir is highly relatable to anyone who’s ever felt the weight of familial and societal expectations. The audiobook is incredible, and you can really feel how much the decisions his family made affect him. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Infertility, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy

Minor: Medical content, Animal death, Alcohol, and Death

felofhe's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Racism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

fromjuliereads's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

Usually I don't rate nonfiction but I really enjoyed this book! It was so interesting reading about Simu's past and family's story. Parts were so difficult to read but he mixes humour and serious life experiences so well. I can't wait to see what comes next for his career!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

Lots of Harry Potter references

kelly_e's review against another edition

funny hopeful fast-paced

3.25

Title: We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story
Author: Simu Liu
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: May 16, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Quick • Entertaining • Repetitive

📖 S Y N O P S I S

We Were Dreamers details Canadian actor Simu Liu's journey from China to Canada and the bright lights of Hollywood.

Beginning in China, where Simu was left in the care of his grandparents as his parents forged a future in Canada. It is out of the blue that Simu's father shows up, whisking him away from the only home he'd ever known. Life in Canada was a difficult transition for Simu, as he was separated from those around him by culture, language and values.

Growing up, he did everything to appease his parents, but over time it became harder and harder to keep up the charade. When as a young adult, he find himself unemployed and ashamed, it is an ad on Craigslist that will change everything for him.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I will admit to falling victim to the hype when it comes to We Were Dreamers, as I had no clue who Simu Liu was before listening to his memoir, but when it became available from my library as an express loan I decided to give it a try.

I definitely think that because I didn't know who he was, my experience definitely wasn't the same as other readers have had. Divided into three acts, I enjoyed the first section about his childhood, but found myself caring less and less as it progressed.

What I did appreciate is the exploration of parental expectations and cultural stereotypes. Parts were certainly hard to read, but I also had to remind myself that this was Simu's side of the story. I also think the reconciliation between himself and his parents definitely could have been explored more to make for a more seamless transition from one act to the next.

Overall, this memoir was culturally informative and entertaining to listen to, but I'd also have been completely okay having skipped it. If you're a Simu Liu fan you'll probably enjoy it a lot more than I did, and in my opinion this is a book made for audio as opposed to print form, as his expressive voice adds to the story.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• celebrity memoir enthusiasts
• Marvel fans

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Whether you like it or not, you're getting better at something every day." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Classism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Cursing and Suicidal thoughts

madisonfrank's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Classism, Cursing, Child abuse, and Grief

imstephtacular's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Hate crime, Cursing, Xenophobia, Violence, and Racism

Minor: Bullying, Sexism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Hate crime, War, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

theespressoedition's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Abandonment

Moderate: Cultural appropriation and Racism

Minor: Cursing