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drlainie's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Excrement, Vomit, Child abuse, Classism, Xenophobia, Deportation, and Animal death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Grief, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Cancer, and Racial slurs
Minor: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Misogyny, Stalking, Abortion, Bullying, and Sexism
hollydyer328's review against another edition
3.0
Because the story is so focused on these ~5 years of her life in the US, the memoir came off as her processing childhood trauma. It's pretty bleak throughout with little redemption or coming of age, except it is slightly mentioned by the very end. This story almost feels too personal for the general public to read (and purchase), and I'm not sure what the takeaways are other than awareness and empathy for one account of the undocumented immigrant experience.
I listened on audio read by the author, and the narration was helpful for the pronunciation of Chinese phrases, but the tone lacked the emotion that would have enhanced the story.
Graphic: Vomit and Deportation
Moderate: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Cultural appropriation, and Domestic abuse
maryclaire92's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Cancer, and Racial slurs
taylorfield's review against another edition
2.5
Long Story Short: At 5-years-old, Qian Julie Wang and her mother left China for the “Beautiful Country” to reunite with her father, who’d been in the US for two years already. This memoir follows the strife, sacrifice, and resilience of the next five years through the lens of a child’s eyes.
<blockquote>“There was a Chinese idiom I came to know later because Ma Ma and Ba Ba would repeat it to me in those moments: “Purple comes from blue but is superior to blue.” It was inevitable, they seemed to believe, that I would one day outshine them in the best and worst ways.”</blockquote>
I greatly admire Qian Julie Wang’s bravery to share her childhood trauma and the imperfections of her family, and as a random reader I’m not owed any further acknowledgement or explanations of her life’s story and experience in America. At the same time, because so many explanations were left out, I found myself having to guess about catalysts, intentions, and reasonings. <i>Beautiful Country</i> reads more like a child’s diary, which is fine, but not what I expected based on the blurb and “How It Began” sections. So many things were glossed over despite them feeling really important.
Enjoyment: 2/5
Craft: 3/5
Overall: 2.5/5
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Domestic abuse
Poverty, hunger, child labordominicangirl's review against another edition
Minor: Animal cruelty and Domestic abuse
shortstackz's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Medical content
danahuff's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Excrement, Body shaming, and Domestic abuse
xeniba's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Medical trauma, Child abuse, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
bookish_garden's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Pedophilia
Minor: Abortion and Domestic abuse
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Deportation, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Violence, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Racism, Sexism, Chronic illness, Grief, Hate crime, Pedophilia, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Excrement