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emmagreenwood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Self harm, Stalking, Classism, Death, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Sexism, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
theyannibannireads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Classism, and Sexual assault
rnbhargava's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Murder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual content, Eating disorder, Medical content, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, War, Drug use, Grief, Biphobia, Classism, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, and Rape
The entire narrative of this book is about a White American woman excusing and justifying her actions against a college friend and writer colleague who is Chinese American plus the varying moods and swings in action to conceal what she is doing. We are in the mind of the white woman character the whole time and it’s intentionally uncomfortable to be in this character’s head. Pace yourself if you need to though this novel isn’t that long.raven_writing_desk's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death and Racism
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Suicidal thoughts
te_ss_i's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Death, Classism, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Cultural appropriation, Vomit, Mental illness, Bullying, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Racism
winterwoodbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Violence, War, Rape, Sexual assault, Addiction, Murder, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Biphobia, Bullying, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, and Sexism
daisyfont's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: Murder
joanna_banana's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Sexism
Minor: Abortion and Blood
thatswhatshanread's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Although my review may be full of basic bookish rambling about the perpetual spiral of the so-called delulu in regards to the main character who is a writer, the writing in this book by the witty R. F. Kuang is so sharp, timely, and addictive that you certainly feel like you’re delulu too. (Okay I’ll stop using that word now.)
So this novel is basically a ridiculously well-written reddit thread of “AITA for stealing the manuscript of my dead Asian friend and passing it off as my own since I’m a woman, but I’m also very much a cishet white woman?”
GIRLLLLL. Kuang crafted such a punchy, visceral novel about race, loneliness, envy, and the pros and cons of the publishing industry. I was glued to every page, almost like watching a train wreck. It’s like, chapter after chapter, our white MC (June) goes deeper and deeper into her web of lies and you’re like “there’s no way she gets away with this” in a non-Scooby Doo villain kind of way, and then SHE DOES!! She just keeps at it!! The secondhand embarrassment and utter frustration was so real, especially in the way that could absolutely happen in real life, which is messed up but also shows the reality of diversity in today’s society—not always as advanced or progressive as we perceive it to be when it’s not directly related to us. This narrative was such an interesting piece on how far someone will go to save their reputation, when said reputation is a fabricated construct in and of itself. Fascinating.
Parts did remind me of “American Fiction”, which is another great example of the assumptions made about POC writers, just in a sort-of opposite form. In any case, I highly recommend both.
TL;DR June Hayward is kind-of the Hannah Horvath of this story, but somehow even worse. If you liked HBO’s “Girls” for the writing and not for the characters, this book is for you.
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Hate crime
Minor: Alcohol, Self harm, Death of parent, Abandonment, Murder, and Suicide
juliesleseecke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Mental illness, Bullying, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Grief, Gaslighting, Death, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Stalking and Rape
Minor: Addiction