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lastokes61's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Outing, Classism, Vomit, Self harm, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Body horror, Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
vulgarboy's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racial slurs, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Child death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Homophobia, Abandonment, Classism, Body shaming, Alcohol, and Sexism
timetotalkbeauty's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Child death, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts
taysbooktalk'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
1.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Hate crime, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Body shaming, Car accident, Eating disorder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Cultural appropriation, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Grief, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Violence, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, and Vomit
petit_lecteur'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
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Classism, Racism, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Self harm, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders
yhteunice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This is a heavily plot-driven story about a mother, Frida Liu, who has a terrible day and made a mistake that led her to be separated from her child, later be part of a system the government made for bad mothers. The main themes of the story is the struggle of motherhood and her "coming-to-be" of her Chinese roots. The way society created a structured and constrictive system of the high standards and expectations of how mothers should be. Creating an unjust perspective that mothers have to be a robot to their children.
It is frustrating to see the instances of it and reading it makes my blood boil (which means the book did a good job expressing the unethical & suffocating standards a mother should pursue). However, the pacing of the book is unnecessarily long. The point has been stated, and it keeps being repeated, making the growth seems rushed and difficult to understand. The transitioning of one scenario to another is not smooth and does not give the reader (or me lol) time to take in a particular arc or chapter.
Over all, the premise of the book and the theme are interesting and great for today's society. It's just that the execution was confusing, and it does not sit right with me. However, since it is the first book Ms. Chan has even written. I give more understanding towards it.
I rated this book 2.5/5 stars (2/5 stars since it's the only option lol). Would I recommend it to someone? Yes, /only/ if they'd want to understand the difficulties of motherhood. And it is also great for group readings to have many discussions. But other than that, this book does not give me the spark to necessarily recommend it directly. Do I think it could be written better? Absolutely.
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Grief, Kidnapping, Eating disorder, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Classism, Death, Dementia, Dysphoria, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
janienejulia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Child abuse, Suicide, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders
sadiaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I think this is a story that would resonate with anyone, it's interesting how she included many different issues not only racism and sexism, but also the treatment of father's and how there is a double standard when it comes to parenting and the punishments they are given.
All in all I would recommend this book.
Graphic: Abandonment, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Child abuse, Classism, Racism, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime
sarwils's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Self harm, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Sexual content, Antisemitism, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Police brutality
alliecat1915's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Sexism, Suicide, Biphobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Lesbophobia