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clemrain's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The ambition of talking about Chinese immigrants as well as the butch/queer scene of America as well as communism and America all in one novel was high. These three big ideas can coexist but in this novel they were not fully realized. There was too much going on and majority of it had no time to truly be resolved.
The ending was too rushed. The first half of the book took a while to ramp up. But I enjoyed it. It was so deeply researched and written. The intimate and realistic depiction of Lily learning about her queerness accompanied by the harsh reality of being Asian was gorgeous and relatable. But what was set up so carefully in the first part of the book did not pay off with such detail and satisfaction in the last part of the book.
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Sexual content, Classism, Racism, Bullying, Hate crime, Misogyny, and Outing
Minor: Medical content, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Racial slurs
filipa_maia'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? It's complicated
4.0
Malinda Lo created a story with so many layers that is impossible that you don't feel connected with the characters. The way Lily discovers her sexuality and her love for Kath is so well written that makes you root for them. I spent half of the story rooting for them not to be discovered and the other half just wishing that they could tell the world about their love (and also very worried about the implications of that love for them and Lily's family).
Discovering this "underground world" with Lily was very interesting and such an important and informative reading.
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Outing and Abandonment
Minor: Miscarriage
terrestrial_river's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Racial slurs, and Sexual content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
sapphicreaderlucy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Homophobia and Abandonment
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Grief, Outing, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, and Abandonment
scrunklyguy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I really liked this book even if the pace is slower than what I usually read. I actually quite enjoyed reading all the little details and even if ever so often I remembered a detail that turned out to not matter all that much story-wise it didn't feel like I wasted my time reading words for nothing.
And if you're like me and you dislike reading spicy scenes this book is great because it barely contains any (explicit that is, there of course are mentions of sex and sometimes it's more than others but overall I didn't feel like it was too difficult to read)
A thing that shocked me was the language use in this book. Many words that today would be considered very offensive were used and at first it made me upset but I later realized it was simply the author trying to stay true to the 50's, so naturally that kind of language was used back then.
This book definitely made me reflect on many things and I really recommend reading this book.
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Outing, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and Drug use
kshertz's review
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Colonisation, Homophobia, Violence, Bullying, Hate crime, Outing, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Deportation, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Racism, Sexual content, and War
mikki_9's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol and Outing
Moderate: Abandonment, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, and Sexism
Minor: War
mel_katz's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia
Moderate: Police brutality and Abandonment
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
alex_e's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Outing, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment
Minor: Police brutality