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toofondofbooks_'s review
- 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
3.5
This book of short stories chronicles the lives and friendship of Fiona and Jane, two Tawainese women who grew up together and are now trying to find themselves out in the world. They navigate their friendship, relationships, sexuality and family dynamics along the way.
I don't usually have a great relationship with books of short stories, but I liked this one. I think that the stories actually being related and tying into one another really helped. The first story, right off the bat, broke my heart, and I was both scared and excited to read the rest. The stories were all very engaging, but my favorite was "Cold Turkey," which occurs around the halfway mark. I also liked that the side characters who fleshed out the worlds of Fiona & Jane felt complete and real, for better and for worse.
The only reason why this didn't end up getting rated higher for me was - for it being a book about friendship, I didn't see a whole lot of....well, friendship. Fiona & Jane are supposed to be best friends, but in some stories, they don't interact at all or seldom mention each other. When they do. have scenes together, you can tell that there is love there, but it doesn't feel like they should even still be friends - the chemistry wasn't really there for me. However, overall, I did enjoy this read!
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, Outing, Infidelity, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Fatphobia, Grief, Death, Child death, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Biphobia, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Cancer, Alcohol, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Vomit, Violence, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Dementia, Trafficking, and Abortion
stevie'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
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Toxic relationship, Biphobia, Infidelity, Outing, Suicide, Cancer, Death of parent, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts
sydneybedell'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
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, Outing, Racism, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Cancer, Alcohol, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Biphobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion
krys_kilz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I also thought the story lines unpacking Jane and Fiona's relationships with their parents were really strong. Fiona as her mother's "own heart, walking outside her body" and Jane trying to save Julian in an attempt to save her father - the complexity and messiness were translated beautifully.
My favorite stories in the collection were: Cold Turkey, Clairvoyance, and the title story Fiona and Jane.
Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Drug use, and Fatphobia
camillatd'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
3.0
Graphic: Outing, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Xenophobia, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Cancer, and Child death
Minor: Abortion
joana'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Suicide, and Alcohol
Moderate: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Physical abuse, Abortion, and Toxic relationship
hayleyvharrington'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
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Cancer, Grief, Drug use, Infidelity, Outing, Xenophobia, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Classism, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Racism
leighannebfd3b's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
haleysversion's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Mental illness, Homophobia, Grief, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Child death, Cancer, Abortion, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
lit_with_lauren's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Cancer and Sexual assault