Reviews

Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America by Julia Lee

kellykane37's review

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

trippalli's review

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4.0

A beautiful personal story about growing up with racism, specifically focused on Asian American & Pacific Islander perspective as the author is Korean American and it's written about her childhood and family, school and social experiences growing up

catlove9's review

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hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

sahibooknerd's review against another edition

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5.0

 
I’ll be very honest, I just can’t write a review of this memoir. It is raw and honest and unflinching, while also carrying an essence of hope and solidarity, and it really moved me. I can only say that I highly recommend it.



jkmoses13's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

annamusgraves's review

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4.0

Interesting exploration of the Asian American experience in the Black/White dichotomy we have in America. Asian Americans have historically been perceived with the model minority lens, sometimes allowing them to benefit from some aspects of white supremacy due to proximity to whiteness. Julia Lee challenges what AA community can do to challenge these longstanding misconception to help dismantle white supremacy.

maralyons's review

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5.0

Biting the Hand is a fascinating memoir about Julia Lee, a Korean-American woman in her 40s, who has lived predominantly in Los Angeles. I loved her perspective as someone who was filled with rage, but couldn't quite pinpoint the cause, because there seemed to be many.

She was a teenager during the 1992 Los Angeles uprising, and frames her experience and the events well. I really appreciated her reflection on her childhood and how she perceived so many things through the lens of internalized racism, stereotypes, societal and familial expectations.

As someone who has always lived in the US, her perspective and history is so different from her parents, who were subjected to war in Korea in the 1950s and emigrated to the US in the 1970s. I listened to the audiobook, which is perfectly narrated by its author. Overall, a very gripping memoir spliced with historical and local context.

Thank you Henry Holt / Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this ebook/audiobook ARC.

foreverarose's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.0

lanimartinez's review

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emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

maddyrr's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

5.0