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katrinalamothe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Islamophobia, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
rnbhargava's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, and Classism
The entire narrative of this book is about a White American woman excusing and justifying her actions against a college friend and writer colleague who is Chinese American plus the varying moods and swings in action to conceal what she is doing. We are in the mind of the white woman character the whole time and it’s intentionally uncomfortable to be in this character’s head. Pace yourself if you need to though this novel isn’t that long._meganrose's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death and Blood
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content
ninahuynh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Overall, I like the book. There were just some parts where the writing was a biz clunky for me and I had to re-read the sentence several times to understand it.
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
xgabrielle_hx's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual assault, Blood, Islamophobia, and Death of parent
abicaro17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Genocide, Homophobia, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
dsalazar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This reminded me of The Curse on Hulu with Nathan Fielder, Ben Sadfie, and Emma Stone, where everyone (including the audience) is in on the joke except the main characters. I especially liked that the whole plot revolved around the writing/publishing industry and how vicious it can make a writer. It felt like I was reading a fictional story but also questioning which parts came from Kuang’s lived experiences. This added depth and intrigue as I learned more about a failed v. successful novelist’s journey.
Aside from the language and pacing, diving into Junie’s psyche felt like watching that recent Golden Globes host flop horrendously. It’s as if I simultaneously hated her, needed to understand her more, wanted to stop reading cause of the overwhelming cringe, and pitied her.
Plot-wise, it was enough of a glimpse into Junie’s life, family, and background to move the story along but not so deep that I would get bored or lost in the details. There was just enough to bring me into the story and Junie’s head, which made this a fairly easy read. I do think the ending was a bit predictable but only insofar as (I think) Kuang intended. Any readers will enjoy this even more if they are super online and have used Twitter. Iykyk
Anyway, I loved it and everyone should read it!!
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Alcohol
glassflowrr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book does suffer from Kuang's typical pacing issues in the third act and leaves some threads a bit under developed, but overall a strong read and highly recommended if you already like this author.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Medical content, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Murder, and Lesbophobia