Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

26 reviews

dmrains's review

adventurous emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Rape, Outing, Classism, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Bullying

lshort1230's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I have mixed feelings about this book. Mostly I think it wasn't really for me - it was a bit heavier than I would like, though I appreciate the generally happy ending. The main flaw with the book is that the world building doesn't quite work, and I kept being distracted by that. At least part of the issue is that these girls are only in the harem for a year but they aren't allowed to leave the palace after and the crown compensates their family to the degree they complete to sacrifice their daughters *and* this has been going on for centuries. That aside the characters are interesting and the action is good. Choices that characters make mostly make sense. I'm happy with where the book ended and I wish I hadn't read the epilog, as it adds a cliffhanger and I have no intention of reading the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Death, Colonisation, Bullying, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

Minor: Rape

jvalentine1386's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Xenophobia, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, War, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual content, Classism, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Rape, Alcohol, Pedophilia, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

rsb12's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal death, Classism, Homophobia, Murder, Death, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Outing

Minor: Death of parent, Infertility, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Animal death, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Slavery, Classism, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Outing, Medical content, Sexual content, Grief, War, Death of parent, Bullying, Colonisation, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Vomit

sweetchocolatez's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Violence, Torture, Racism, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Death, Blood, Medical content, Bullying, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual violence

Minor: Alcohol and War

cdoubet's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Slavery, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Vomit

galexy_brain's review

adventurous challenging hopeful tense medium-paced

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

3.25

The plot was alright but gahdamn can Ngan write a romance

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, Classism, Medical trauma, Animal death, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Infertility, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Slavery, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, War, Bullying, Gore, Outing, Sexual content, and Trafficking

poppywarphan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

Characters: 5/10
Enjoyment: 6.5/10
Plot: 6/10
Worldbuilding: 5/10
Writing: 8/10

This might as well have been a standalone. But it's not because of that extra page at the end. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm invested enough to read any further installments.

The idea was good, the execution not so much. The worldbuilding wasn't really explored. The plot and writing were simplistic. That's not a bad thing, but on one hand it read as a book for younger teens, on the other hand though it discussed mature themes. There's rape. It's not graphic, but there nonetheless. If there's anything that triggers me in books, its sexual assault.  The girls are taken as mistresses and must have sex with the king against their will. Yes, they don't object, but it's either that or be killed.

The characters were underdeveloped. The king as a villain was just stupid. He's evil. OK, and? That's it? The paper girls were pretty indistinguishable. Aside from Aoki and Blue whose personality was being a bitch. The relationship between Lei and Wren didn't really have any foundation. It was pretty much just lusting and attraction.

Now, what I did like was what was done with Aoki's character. Not that I like what happened to her, but the book highlights how easy it is to fall victim to an abusive man. Aoki is the youngest out of the paper girls and naive. The king makes her feel special, so she starts having feelings for him. I like how it pointed out (although in a pretty juvenile way) that such a relationship is, in fact, not good (side-eyeing all the romance books that romanticize toxic relationships). Aoki is probably the most nuanced compared to the other two-dimensional characters.

Overall Girls of paper and fire wasn't a terrible book, just underwhelming. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Confinement, Sexual violence, and Body horror

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Racism, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Classism, Bullying, Death, and Genocide

lajoy's review

dark hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Rape, Body horror, Classism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent