Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

82 reviews

meaghanslibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I’m between a 3.75 and a 4. Then beginning and middle of the book I thought were so good. The quips and short sentences were very engaging to read. The plot was very creative.

The back end of the middle started to drag. The end felt rushed and fell a bit flat, I guess I was hoping for more, but not sure what I would have preferred instead.

I think this book would lead to good discussions in book clubs about authorship, representation, and race. Hmm I guess for the beginning part of the book and convos I’ll give it a 4. I think if you asked me to rate it early on it was a heavy contender for a 5, but the ending really just lacked. To some extent I did feel like the authors other work Babel had a bit of a rushed ending. But in that book I thought the beginning and middle dragged and the end saved it. 

I give props to the author for branching out well into different genres.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape

abi_g_mac's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Ambitious metafiction that looks at issues of racism and cultural appropriation in publishing. To reinforce the message the plot can come across as a little contrived, but it is clear and effective, if a bit too obvious - subtlety can be just as powerful and can be more interesting for a reader.
June as an unreliable narrator is really unlikeable and her racism and lack of self awareness makes for uncomfortable reading (enjoyable, if like me you appreciate unlikeable characters).
Overall, good but I expected more which is probably the fault of all the hype.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual violence

kitausu's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• 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

4.5

This book is so hard to review. R. F. Kuang does an amazing job of keeping you off kilter and mouth agape the entire time. Did I have a good time? I don't know. Was it cuttingly written and doing fascinating things? Oh absolutely! 

Also, if you know much about any of the scandals of the book publishing world of the last few years, watch out for the references to real things! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Xenophobia

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Bullying, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racism, Rape, Toxic friendship, Classism, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual violence

broccoli_j's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

• 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

5.0

Wow, just wow.

This book is a must read for everyone!

Is is a well written genius critique in which we follow the „villain“.

June is an unreliable narrator and the definition of white women tears. You are meant to feel bad for her and in conclusion feel then bad, for feeling bad for her. 
This book is brilliant, shocking and most importantly of all not at all far fetched!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Death, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Bullying, Racism, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

jackieyvette's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is one of those books where I don't know where I'm headed. I don't know who to trust or where to turn to and that's why it's a hit.
At the surface it's pretty straightforward. A white woman stealing an Asian woman's book. Stealing is wrong, end of. But that's just scratching the surface of this book. The tale of Juniper and Athena is one every girl can relate to but elevated to the clouds. Every girl has had a friend they were jealous of. A friend who you feel has everything you want and happened to get it so easily it's blood-boiling. Yellowface is just that. 
The writing is so quick and sharp and inviting. And you can see the author being sensitive with the situation, but doesn't pull any punches with Juniper and Athena. 
This is the perfect beach read for someone who is looking for more than fluff. I wish I could clear my mind so I could read this again for the first time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia

saskiahill's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Rape, Bullying, War, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Grief

Minor: Vomit, Murder, and Death of parent

kristakp's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

The main character and narrator is VILE. Kuang is very masterful at crafting characters and weaving narratives; despite June being an objectively terrible person and the pinnacle of white womanhood, her story was still a compelling nail biter. Under no circumstances are you meant to root for this character, but her unlikability didn't detract from the plot. It was like a train wreck that you couldn't look away from.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, and Sexual violence

cdo499's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

HOLY FUCK

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Bullying, and Misogyny

another_dahlia's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Rape

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, Xenophobia, Bullying, and Grief

Minor: War