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rexpostfacto's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Classism, Body horror, Body shaming, and Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicide
Minor: Violence, Miscarriage, Xenophobia, and Sexual content
leannanecdote's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Pregnancy, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Drug use, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Grief, Sexism, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Cursing, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, and Abandonment
vixenreader's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Body shaming, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Grief, Police brutality, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Bullying, Death, and Drug use
If surgery makes you queasy, be prepared for some stomach-turning scenes, and whorephobia is something to watch out for as well.runawry's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Infertility, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Fatphobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Bullying, Trafficking, Drug use, and Body shaming
heynonnynonnie'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? Yes
4.0
Look I'm a sucker for a good female friendship book. I'm also a sucker for a good non-American/English culture immersion. And this book Delivered on both fronts.
Pros: strong female characters who have hopes and dreams and make mistakes and hard choices and sometimes you agree and sometimes you don't and I love them dearly. I loved how the four POV characters were extremely nuanced and sometimes typecast the other POV characters. Like it's easy to say that Miho is a daydreamer and isn't practical and sometimes the other POV characters will remark about how naive she is. But then Miho will get the reins and we'll see how she broke down every decision in her chapter. I was so excited to learn about the background story for each character. And I was so excited to see them support each other throughout the book. But even with this shiny, hopeful friend group, the author did a magnificent job of explaining and showing how cutthroat the world is for them. One thing that really strikes me is how carefully many words were used to give a non-Korean reader the exact impression of what happened. Words like "service" in the context of the room salons contrasted with the clinic. It's a subtle but thrilling difference.
Cons: A lot of what builds each POV character is their back story. The author carefully alludes to this or that to keep the reader interested in the beginning. But this kind of leads to a middle section that can drag a tiny bit because the book takes a passive shift. A lot of the character arcs are about finding hope and support, so the arcs are also at a stage where they aren't taking action. The two issues compound in the middle of the book. As a result, it can feel like not much of the actual story occurred. I think the book both is and isn't slice of life. Or at least, I think that the initial sections seem like a set up for a meatier plot, but the book ends up slice of life. I felt satisfied with the way the book ended, but I can see how someone else may be left expecting more.
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Drug use, Infertility, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, and Misogyny
trophywithabee's review
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence