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crystalisreading's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Death, Deadnaming, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Child death, Blood, Grief, Violence, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Homophobia, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, and Transphobia
Minor: Deportation
litletters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Police brutality, Deportation, Classism, Gun violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Abortion
mcire's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Homophobia, Murder, Deportation, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, and Physical abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
kirstym25's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Xenophobia and Classism
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Confinement, and Classism
Moderate: Police brutality, Gun violence, Transphobia, Murder, and Homophobia
Minor: Sexual assault, Medical content, and Slavery
sakisreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
But Kindle or not, what an INCREDIBLE insight. Based around 3 Filipina domestic workers’ lives in Singapore, which is infamous for the ‘crazy rich Asians’ scene, this ties in so many interesting themes. Classism and racism are rife and it was fascinating to see how this all arose in Angel, Cora and Donita’s lives.
I’ll put the content warnings for this one down below too 😳
One to DEFINITELY get into. Thank you to Balli Kaur Jaswal for this ✨
Graphic: Pregnancy, Racism, Transphobia, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, and Misogyny
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Classism, Confinement, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, and Xenophobia
mysterymom40's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Grief, Bullying, and Classism
Moderate: Police brutality, Sexual content, Murder, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death
Minor: Infidelity
bookdragon217's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Thanks to @williammorrowbooks and @bibliolifestyle for the gifted copy.
Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal was a lighthearted and captivating read that I really enjoyed. It's the story of 3 Filipina domestic workers who go to Singapore for better work opportunities and end up trying to find justice for another domestic worker, Flor, who has been falsely accused of murder. Jaswal introduces us to Cora, Donita and Angel, their lives before Singapore and the plight of Filipina domestic workers. I couldn't help but fall in love with them, their humor and their love of their culture. Jaswal's wittiness and sharp writing kept me invested in their unique story arcs above the mystery.
Visibility is a strong theme in this one. On the one hand, the Filipinas yearn to be seen in their full humanity, but the classist society in Singapore relegates them to permanent outsider status and poor treatment. On the flip side, they have to try to be invisible because they are immigrants and stereotyped negatively. Jaswar really does a nice job of showing how invisible service workers are to the rich. They only notice them when they want something done.
Feminism, religious intolerance, trans and homophobia, and xenophobia are other important themes explored. Jaswal illuminates the struggles of women as a global issue and shows how religion continues to promote anti-LGBTQIA sentiment and eliminates body autonomy for women. I loved to see how poetry and arts movements are always at the forefront of civil rights movements. Filipino politics and history were also woven into the story but never felt loaded or distracting. The star of the show was Jaswal's storytelling and the character driven angle of the story.
Overall this was an engrossing contemporary tale with mass appeal. The character voices were so rich and lush that solving the murder took a back seat.
If you love female driven stories, Filipino culture, humor mixed with mystery and a little bit of history with social commentary, then pick this one up. I really enjoyed this one and can't wait to read the author's previous work.
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Murder
ninjamuse's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Classism, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Grief, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Deadnaming, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Mental illness, Deportation, Abortion, and Murder