Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

145 reviews

iqrasaied123's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

This book was so interesting to read from start to finish. The main character June, represents the white supremacy ideology so well that it was uncomfortable to read at times😂 I never thought I’d feel anger while reading a story. I will say it’s difficult to like most of the characters in the book, they all have their own reasonings for their behaviour which is valid and invalid at the same time (of course June had a victim complex so not her💀)  
At times I did think the book was slow paced but it fit the context of the book as it’s written in Junes POV and shows the complexities of being an author. 

The ending caught me off guard, i had a feeling Candice would return after being fired. She was very clever on how to get revenge for June basically making her homeless. Overall, I enjoyed the book and liked how it spoke about tokenism. It shows the effects of racism from the victim and oppressor

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Rape

Moderate: Alcohol and Bullying

emilywemily6's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This was so good, I listened to this entire audiobook in just one day. It’s cringey and realistic, with lots of micro aggressions and covert racism. It was a fascinating read, and as a white person, I could see the slippery slope of racism/appropriation. This is a book I will think about for a long time. I didn’t prefer the ending (this book almost felt like it would end up as a literary horror but it didn’t go quite that far). The main character kind of descends into madness but I wanted more. Such a good read that talks about the sins of the publishing industry and the impact of race. The author did a beautiful job making me both hate the main character and feel for her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Racial slurs

Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Mental illness, and Medical content

poirot's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Xenophobia, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Vomit and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent

grunbean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

• 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

5.0

If I had a penny for every time I’d read a book by an amazing Asian author about yellow face this year, I’d have two pennies, but it’s cool that it has happened twice! 

I don’t think I’ve read a book where I’ve been so invested but so revoked by the main character at the same time. This isn’t a story of heroes, and every character can be viewed as shitty in some way. Which ultimately ties in to where this book goes!

This is a unique kind of horror, and I would really recommend trying it!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, War, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Grief

ellaxo's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Bullying

Moderate: Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Death, and Racism

Minor: Alcohol

gandalf_a's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Toxic friendship, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Grief, Bullying, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Confinement, Racial slurs, Classism, Cursing, Alcohol, and Colonisation

bubski_mcboo's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

Watching the protagonist dig herself into a deeper hole at every turn was hard to follow, but I did so with morbid and rapt attention. Perhaps it's because I see a version of myself in her that I slapped down at eighteen and have kept firmly in check for over a decade. Is there a shitty Juniper Song in me? Is she in all white women? What a dark thought.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Death, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Rape, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, War, Forced institutionalization, Incest, and Islamophobia

hellichipmunk's review against another edition

funny informative tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Sexual assault and Alcohol

marissasa's review against another edition

tense fast-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

3.5

This book is the definition of unlikable main character, to the point of being a horrible, racist, narcissist, entitled, crazy, dumpster fire of a character. The premise is interesting and hooked me because it genuinely could be something that happens in real life given the state of the traditional publishing industry and all the book twitter and booktok drama that happens nowadays. While it was fun to read along and cringe and gasp at how the narrator continuously gets herself into deeper and deeper shit, I do wish there was deeper social commentary and more objective points on how Athena wasn't a perfect person nor a good person at times. Since we only get to hear about her flaws through the biased eyes of the main character, some of the nuance about Athena being a very privileged, pretentious, rich kid with connections at the same time as being a well-loved talented author giving much needed representation in the industry is lost. I also don't think the book needed to be as long as it was, it did drag in some parts where the main character was trying to figure out to write next or was being paranoid. Overall, this felt like watching ugly drama that you can't look away from unfold so you end up staying for the whole thing with popcorn in hand.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Alcohol, and Bullying

jenniferbowman's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Cursing, Gaslighting, Vomit, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Violence, Alcohol, Classism, Sexual assault, and Stalking

Minor: Genocide, War, Medical content, Classism, Abortion, Abandonment, Ableism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Self harm