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sorcha's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Vomit, Grief, and Car accident
Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, and Pregnancy
aliciae08's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
At the same time I felt really complicated feelings around Little Dog, his relationship to his family, his relationship to Trevor and his relationship with himself. There were times I was confused as Vuong brought us back to the past and forward to the present with no story fully complete. However, if this is a letter to L.D.’s mother, then she’d know some of the stories so they wouldn’t need to be fully complete. It was still sometimes a little frustrating.
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Grief, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Excrement, Abortion, and Abandonment
mxlodique's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
It's not at all a "regular" book, meaning that it's much more focused on the characters rather than on telling a common story with a plot. It jumps from flashback to flashback quite abruptly I'd say, which at first might be unsettling.
It tells a variety of stories: from the war in Vietnam, to domestic abuse, to living as an immigrant in an unknown country, to sexuality and sex, to drug abuse and death.
I personally loved it.
For my foreign readers/non native english speakers: If you're not really fluent in English this book might be a bit challenging, I'd say I'm a B2 and at times I found it difficult to understand. I'd suggest reading it in your native language if you're not confident in English, it's truly a beautiful novel.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
Moderate: Excrement
thecatconstellation's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Excrement, Dementia, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Medical content, Colonisation, and War
montyalmoro's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
fengxin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
hannahga's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Abortion, and War
It is HEAVY and deals with a lot of intense topics.leoniekross's review against another edition
- 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? N/A
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, and Blood
edgaranjapoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Excrement, Vomit, and Abortion
cobwebshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, and Excrement
Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War