Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Paper Names by Susie Luo

4 reviews

vaekay's review against another edition

sad tense fast-paced

• 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

2.0

Heavy groomer/borderline pedophilic (maybe not-so-borderline pedophilic) content. Stuck in extremely gross, misogynistic mens' point of views for the majority of the book. Bounces from the POV of a 9 year old Tammy to an adult Tammy having sex with her fiancee then back to a childhood Tammy. Lots of casual racism towards Black and brown people of color as well as other Chinese people. I understand that the internalized Sinophobia/racism is a plot point of the book, but myself and my Chinese partner were very disturbed by it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Classism, Death of parent, Child abuse, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Blood, Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, and Fatphobia

Minor: Gun violence, Deportation, Injury/Injury detail, and Islamophobia

telepathyjmin's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

For the most part, this was a pretty good read. I don't normally like books that change pov and show flashbacks/jump around, but i like the way it was done in this.

Lots of moments showing morally ambiguous characters, which i always find interesting to see.

The main reason i didn't give this a higher rating is for the last part of the book. 

The pacing was pretty steady for most of the book, but all of a sudden all these major plot points start happening. Tony's dad dying, Kip running over Tony, Oliver hiding it all from Tammy etc. 

I wish we would've gotten to see more of Tammy visiting China after her father's death, as i feel that would had provided a more satisfying(?) ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Xenophobia

Minor: Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Medical content, and Physical abuse

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Classism, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Violence

cc_shelflove's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I literally cannot get over how much I loved this book. Wow. Debut author Susie Luo gives readers a non-linear timeline and multiple points of view. We follow Tony and his daughter, who came to the United States with dreams of a better life, and Oliver, a privileged white attorney who lives in the building where Tony works. As their lives begin to intertwine, shit gets real. And I mean REAL. There is so much more to this book than its synopsis gives away. I found myself gripping it with white knuckles and misty eyes. When I read THE chapter (you’ll find out soon enough…), I could not believe that Earth was continuing to orbit as usual. I was so shattered; how could life simply be continuing on like any other day? 😭 I also learned so much about Chinese immigrants. Tony and his wife were actually in the upper class in China, but when they came to America, they had to start at the bottom again. Why would they want to go from being rich to being poor? For their daughter, of course. The only thing this book was missing was an acknowledgements section! I wonder how many pieces of her own story Susie Luo included in Paper Names. Overall I cannot recommend this enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Child abuse, Car accident, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Medical content and Toxic relationship