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clemencepct's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Torture
traa'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
4.25
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Racism, Rape, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Moderate: Deportation, Excrement, and Stalking
ifelove's review
- 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
4.25
Minor: Domestic abuse
tenten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i enjoyed "We Love You Crispina", the first story in the collection, because of the voice. Zhang is so so so good at it. the narrators are vulgar, naive in the way children are, but also mature in the way that children from marginalized backgrounds tend to have to be. all of the narrators are pre-teen/teen girls, ages ranging from 7 to 15 (except two stories that follow the narrators into adulthood), who grew up in poverty in Queens(Brooklyn in one case), NY as the child of Chinese immigrants. the stories deal with race, class, sexuality, family, and a score of other topics that a teen girl might encounter in her short life.
as other reviews pointed out, the stories are very similar. while i think Zhang is a strong writer of voice, all of the narrators kinda have the same one? the exception is the last story. that story follows the same narrator as the first story, "We Love You Crispina", but she is mostly an adult in the last story, rather than 11, which is how old she is in the first one. other than that, they do start to all sound similar. this would have maybe worked better as a novel-in-stories, or if she played with a structure like that, rather than attempting to make these distinct short stories/characters. though i will say, i really enjoyed how these are loosely linked–the narrator of the first and last story is mentioned in every other story.
my favorite stories were:
- We Love You Crispina
- Why Were They Throwing Bricks?
- Our Mothers Before Them
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, and Cursing
ayesha1816's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Very strong trigger warnings for a LOT of stuff throughout/
Graphic: Rape, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Gaslighting, Gore, Emotional abuse, Blood, War, and Torture
Minor: Domestic abuse and Suicide
This book is very violent and graphic, just a warning.pang'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
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Torture
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Excrement and Vomit
queertrash's review
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence