Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Loveboat, Taipei

Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

19 reviews

shannahtan's review against another edition

emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

3.25

I have a soft spot for this book because it reminded me of Chinese Youth Camp. I heard a lot about Loveboat! I do think it was odd that Ever was going to Loveboat when her parents were in Fuijian China. Maybe I skimmed over how they are Taiwanese. I do think all the pinyin was odd for Taiwan since we generally learn bopomofo. Also, they used the simplified version of 愛 at points. Maybe that was an accident.

For the plot, I wanted her to be with Xavier because I feel like she had more deep conversations with him and overall, spent more time with him than with Rick? I also really didn’t like Sophie’s revenge plot. It was messed up that she shared Ever’s nude photos & that’s really unforgivable. She also lied to Ever about Xavier’s gifts and her relationship with him. Absolutely bananas that the resolution was Ever saying she was wrong too. It wasn’t the same at all.

I feel this book was way too dramatic. Jenna’s depression made Rick stay with her until he realized he loved Ever. But, he’s a “good guy” because he just almost kissed her not actually kiss her?! Also, the car accident with her dad before she performs bo staff in the talent show on basically a sprained ankle and dislocated shoulder was ridiculous.

I do love how Ever finds herself and focuses on what she wants in life rather than doing what her parents want or doing the complete opposite. I also appreciate and can relate to rejecting your Asian side growing up in the United States then visiting Taiwan and falling in love with that Asian side of yourself. Also, experiencing life as a majority visually over a minority.

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thelittlesnowdrop's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

3.75

Somehow, this is the wildest YA book I've ever read!! 🤯 A solid 3.95/5 for me!

This story is so messy 🫨🤭! A love triangle (questionably a love quad?), new experiences (love this), toxic friendships (don't love this), & then many turns were taken... Other topics include mental illness, suicidal thoughts, bullying, physical abuse... phew. I think these are important topics to highlight, but I do wish the author dove further into this because it felt brushed over.

As far as the characters go, I do like that the main characters, Ever, Sophie, Rick & Xavier, have decent character arcs. I'm not going to dive into all the characters, but I think Xavier had the best character development - I was surprised by this at the end!! The author really had me in the first half 😮‍💨

Nevertheless, this was a fun read & I found it refreshing to read this!

As a side note: I watched Loveboat in Taipei & I wish they made this book into a series instead of a movie! Why? I would have loveddd to see more of the backstory of the characters. Plus, I like the book ending better lol. Still a cute movie though - so, go watch on Paramount+! 🫡

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carebearnecessities's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-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

3.25

Don’t let the 65% fool you, I really did enjoy this book and what it represented—the story the author wanted to tell. However, I just think with all the topics covered throughout the book (facets of Asian American identity, connecting to culture, mental health and general YA/coming of age), sometimes the more serious conversations feel a bit condensed.

At one point towards the middle of the book, Ever is like- I feel like I’m learning so much about my heritage! And I’m like, ??? By this time you’ve skipped like all your classes after week 1– and we didn’t even get a lot of scenes with the Mandarin and calligraphy and Chinese medicine classes because more time was spent detailing the nights out and love triangle!

In the first third of the book I liked the way it was setting up Ever to exposure and immersion in Chinese/Taiwanese culture and bond with other Asian Americans, but then most of the second and final thirds of the book seemed to focus more on dance, teenage shenanigans, and the love triangle. And then maybe in the final 100 pages we got back into the discussions of “heritage” and Asian (American) identity again.

Also, I feel like with the serious topics such as n*de leaking and severe depression, there should of been a little more care in its depiction? By this, I mean that for me—and maybe it’s subjective—but we forgave Sophie too soon. At one point Ever was saying, “we both hurt each other.” But I feel like kissing a guy that your friend likes and distributing p*rnography are two completely different levels of betrayal??? Plus, that “moment” with Xavier returning the last picture… was him admitting it to it supposed to be this sad, forlorn thing? Like him keeping the picture is not “romantic” or simp-y or teenage, love triangle angsty in any appropriate way, regardless of her already having slept with him. Lastly, with the portrayal of Jenna, maybe it’s just me but I really had this negative itch towards her continually being described as “frail” after her situation (with Rick) is finally revealed. And maybe there’s not much that could’ve been done since she wasn’t part of the camp, but her story seemed to be used to elevate Rick’s character development and tie that to the pressures in his life. Again, since she wasn’t a central character, maybe this could’ve been harder to incorporate through her lens, but still…. Anyways, I do appreciate that the book tried to cover these sensitive topics that should be discussed through literature. I think it’s just the fact of “”adult”” topics (granted, struggles with mental health, p*rnography, domestic abuse, and identity issues are things ’much younger people deal with also but I mean) told through a more “YA” lens.

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loftyace's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted 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? No

3.0

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catreads247's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Loved this one!! A fun read with a lot of emotional depth and social commentary. Can’t wait to read book two!

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revengesrose's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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

4.0

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sampetsdogs's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective tense 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

4.5

This was such a fun, quick read. Coming of age stories can get a bit redundant, but this one felt fresh. The character development was excellently written and well-paced (I find a lot of the time in YA novels that this gets rushed to the point that it isn't believable), and I absolutely loved Ever, Sophie, Rick and Xavier.

The friendship between Ever and Sophie was so perfectly imperfect and I enjoyed reading through their ups and downs. Really all of the relationships, romantic and friendly alike, gave me all the feels in all the best ways.

One of the major themes in this book is forgiveness, and I really appreciated how it was handled in such a moving and reflective way without coming across as too corny, especially in regards to Ever's tense relationship with her parents.

I'm excited to see the film adaptation and read the companion novel following Sophie and Xavier!

Recommend: Yes

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maple_dove's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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 really enjoyed the romance, plot twists/unexpected events, discussion of racism, and things a lot of Asian-Americans (youth) experience. I could NOT stop making up an AU of Ever being an anti-hero/villain. 😈

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bburger's review against another edition

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lighthearted 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

3.0

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lejam's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Despite all the drama, I truly love how the author centers this book on reconnecting with a culture and simply falling in love with being Asian American. I loved how she interweaves the stories of the Asian diaspora and the relationship first generation kids have with their parents. It was very well written and I’m so happy this book was recommended to me.

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