Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns

14 reviews

partlyclaudia's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny informative tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

this was such a weird read? i had hopes for it but i feel like guns wanted me to be invested in a relationship that existed for a week? they went on one date and im expected to think that damani would be THAT emotionally invested in a white girl???? also personal preference but the number of times i had to see the word cunt referring to pussy is just so weird… the book was trying to be so .. revolutionary but really it was performative :/. seemed really narrow and had no real conclusion, was weirded out by the fact that damani used jo’s blood money at the end. so fucking weird. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence and Xenophobia

the_lesbrarian's review

challenging dark funny tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Chronic illness, and Grief

Moderate: Xenophobia, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug use, Racism, and Vomit

shesreadingagain_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

2.75

This was a very quick read and rather entertaining but if I have to hear Domini talk about her biceps and pecs on more time I may just simply pass away. I love an unhinged fmc just as much as the next person but she was essentially

stalking her love interest the last half of the book.

I had a major problem with that, I feel like that scenario alone is a trigger for some people. I don’t feel like the author truly addressed the racism and xenophobia presented in the book. I saw the situation developing from a mile away and yet we were just suppose to accept it and with

Jolene calling the police on Sharif and getting him arrested and more people of color deported all because she thought the protest MAY be a bit violent. I feel like the whole time Jolene was virtue signaling and our FMC was still chasing after her? That didn’t sit well with me. Not mention the white knighting that Jolene was trying to pull. Ugh. I really feel like she was not challenged enough.

 

Sorry that half of this review is essentially spoilers for the plot but there were some plot points I felt needed to be addressed deeper and to combat those ideologies. This is the authors first book so I’m interested to see what others she releases in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, and Classism

l0v3lu's review against another edition

funny medium-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Deportation, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Classism, Physical abuse, Drug use, and Racism

Moderate: Stalking and Police brutality

lynxpardinus's review

dark funny reflective tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Police brutality

Moderate: Car accident, Violence, Ableism, Addiction, Blood, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Animal death, Drug use, Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, and Medical content

Minor: Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, and Mental illness

lizlizlizk's review

dark lighthearted tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Xenophobia

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Sexual assault

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

 Your Driver is Waiting is the story of Damani, grieving the death of her father, dealing with the realities of being a Brown woman in North America, and juggling looking after her mother with her job as a driver on a ride share app. This is not a book that’s at all subtle about its political messaging. Sometimes that can be hit or miss for me but here it totally worked. I loved the book’s focus on social activism, the way it called out a myriad of social problems and inequalities, most especially the way it highlighted the unfair and exploitative labour practices of ride share apps and business which run on a similar model. I also very much enjoyed Damani as a protagonist. She was kind hearted, smart, often cynical and sarcastic, willing to work hard to try and get ahead but all too aware that society and the government have stacked the odds against her. She was far from perfect, and her obsession with Jolene was one aspect of the book that did not work for me. The character of Jolene though was brilliant - such a perfect caricature, an example of exactly what not to do and how not to behave for any privileged white women who are trying to be an ally and support marginalised groups achieve social change.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia

Moderate: Deportation and Police brutality

madanxiety's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

This was funny, but it also had some serious/salient commentary on our society. I think I wasn't really in a place in my life to pay attention to it fully, but maybe I'll try reading it again some day to get a better sense of it. It's also been years since I've seen Taxi Driver, so it'd be interesting to watch that again, tho idk if I have the patience for that either - I remember falling asleep the first time I saw it (granted, it was late at night, but I do blame the monotony of the movie in part).

Anyway, what I'm getting at is I think I would've liked the book even more if I'd been able to pay better attention to it because it moves fast and is fairly disjointed, making it easy to miss key parts or lose track of what's going on if you try to passive-listen to it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

sarah984's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

This modern-day reimagining of Taxi Driver blisters right along Damani's wild, self-destructive path, but I felt like it pulled back a little too much in what should have been its biggest moment. Loved the ending, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Stalking, Violence, Classism, Deportation, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

Minor: Animal death, Cultural appropriation, Self harm, Ableism, Alcohol, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Police brutality

gabydoesgrowth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Vomit, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Xenophobia

Minor: Police brutality, Misogyny, and Drug use