Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

49 reviews

debimorton's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

Difficult read. Calligraphy. Daiyu (Jacob Li), Nelson, Nam, Lum, Madame, Jasper. China to San Francisco to Idaho. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Confinement, Trafficking, and Slavery

Moderate: Violence

heledela's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

TW: 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Violence, Trafficking, and Physical abuse

laceyc1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Death, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual violence

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

I loved this book.  I knew a little of the information regarding girls kidnapped from China and brought to the brothels of San Francisco, but this taught me so much more.  What I didn't realize was how many Chinese came to Idaho in the late 1800s.  The second half of the book takes place in Pierce, Idaho (where my own great-grandfather, grandfather, and grandmother homesteaded starting in 1917.)

The author wove together the story of Daiyu and calligraphy (the four treasures).  While this book would probably be a good listen, you would miss something by not being able to see the Chinese characters as the author describes their meaning.

This book will break your heart and stay with you after you finish reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Vomit, Classism, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Genocide, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual assault

sasisaskia's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Violence, Xenophobia, and Hate crime

miniaturephilosopher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Murder, Violence, Xenophobia, Torture, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Confinement, and Body shaming

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Vomit, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, and Cursing

wordssearched's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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? No

5.0

This book is so beautifully crafted, so poetic and evocative—not just of a particular time in America but of the tug between hope and despair when your freedom has been stolen—that the tragedies it contains feel surprising despite their inevitability. Built around an actual event in Idaho in the 1880s, this story focuses on a Chinese girl who loses her family and then gets kidnapped and brought to the United States against her will. Shifting identities to hide herself, she struggles with an alter ego, a name she was given that suggests her life was bound for tragedy but that also wills her to survive. 

The history of the American Frontier West has long sought to erase the people of Asian descent who helped build this country, along with the atrocities committed against them. Jenny Tinghui Zhang took the seed from a historical fact and created the kind of heartbreaking truth that only art can produce. Like the best "Westerns," this novel is not for the faint of heart, but worth the journey it will take you on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Vomit, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Trafficking, Slavery, and Xenophobia

bandysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

This is a book set in late 1800s China and America. It is set during the Chinese Exclusion Act and follows the story of Daiyu who is forcefully immigrated to the USA. The story is at times difficult and at others hopeful. it mingles with folklore from China.  

TRIGGER WARNINGS: heavy trigger warnings, please read the warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, Classism, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Death, and Rape