Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Rumor Game by Dhonielle Clayton, Sona Charaipotra

15 reviews

themoodreader's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Car accident, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Vomit

lias_library22's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Racism, Sexual assault, and Fatphobia

awenya's review

challenging dark emotional informative 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

3.75

I usually hate multiple points of views, but in this case it works well. Just when one person's life and point of view starts to swallow you whole and drown you, you get a miniature reprieve by jumping to another. 

This book was pretty dark, and while comparing it to Gossip Girl is apt in some ways, I would argue it's much heavier and darker. Pay attention to the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Racism, Toxic friendship, Rape, and Fatphobia

Minor: Self harm, Hate crime, Body shaming, and Car accident

thegreatpike27's review

emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Racism, and Bullying

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, and Body shaming

Minor: Car accident

puffy_'s review against another edition

dark emotional 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

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, and Xenophobia

Minor: Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Alcohol

underage sexual assault

yk_cadence1's review

emotional tense medium-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: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Car accident, Fatphobia, and Racism

Moderate: Addiction and Drug use

tomiwaslibrary's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Rape

sunsetcity's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Body shaming, Mental illness, Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Racism, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Vomit, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

badger5's review

emotional tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Vomit, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Body shaming, Car accident, Drug use, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexual assault

plumpaperbacks's review against another edition

challenging mysterious 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

3.0

[Early copy from Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinions/review.]

My feelings on this book are complicated. On one hand, I think it was an (unfortunately) accurate portrayal of how vicious high school can be, of flawed teens making questionable choices when under social and mental duress. On the other hand, though, I found most of the characters extremely frustrating, which hindered my reading experience.

I will say that the final third of the book revealed one very unexpected plot twist that single-handedly saved the book for me. Up until that point, nothing had shocked me except how horrible some of the characters were being. It was all very cleverly done on the authors’ part.

One aspect I have mixed feelings on is Georgie’s character. While she did end up being one of my favorites—alongside Riley and Baez—I question the authors’ choice to make her narrative what it was. Prior to the start of the story, she was a fat girl sent to a summer weight loss camp, which already isn’t my favorite thing. Then the new school year starts, and suddenly, despite being ignored when she was fat, now that she’s lost weight and started dressing differently, she becomes more popular. I realize it was in part a commentary on fatphobia in society, and one of the most significant parts of Georgie’s journey was her realization that she’s beautiful and worthwhile no matter what she weighs or how she looks. But I ask: why was any of it necessary? Why, in 2022, are we still giving this rather offensive cliché any attention? Why couldn’t Georgie realize those things without losing any weight? Alternatively, instead of any sort of self-image character arc, she could’ve been a transfer student, new to the area, and that was why she was attracting attention. I don’t know—maybe I’m over-analyzing this, but I just didn’t really like it regardless.

Also, I would’ve liked to see a bit more about Cora’s queerness. I am completely aware that it’s not meant to be a focal point in this story, and I accept that. However, it’s briefly mentioned a couple of times that she previously, secretly dated a girl, and that’s it. I think it would’ve been interesting to see more of that part of her.

Ultimately, I did like the ending. I liked where each of the characters ended up, and even liked most of the major players by the time I was done, which was a huge improvement from the first half of the book.

As for the book as a whole, I’m not sure. My criticisms of the first half combined with my unexpected investment in and the surprise improvement of the second half equal an overall neutral rating. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great. I would recommend it if you’re a fan of prep school mysteries and contemporaries with social commentary, but it’s not my first choice recommendation either. So yeah—50/50, basically.

Representation

• Indian protagonist
• Black queer protagonist
• side characters of color (includes Indian, Nigerian, Black and Chinese rep)
• sapphic side characters

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Ableism and Alcohol

Minor: Car accident

Ableism—ableist language frequently used by the characters, specifically the word “crazy.” Alcohol—underage drinking semi-frequently. Car accident—severe, occurred prior to the story, mentioned occasionally.