Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

14 reviews

leannanecdote's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

typedtruths's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Alcohol, Misogyny, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Child abuse, and Cursing

alicelalicon's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Classism, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Sexism, Medical content, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, and Toxic friendship

ionamcewan's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

A haunting often harrowing book that is ultimately a message of how to live in the day

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Suicide, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Death, Blood, Body shaming, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Body horror, and Sexual content

incorvusveritas's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual content, and Body shaming

issyd23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Being a woman in Korea seems tough! Korean beauty standards are BRUTAL 3🤕

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Classism, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, and Miscarriage

dyllimm37's review

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming and Medical trauma

Minor: Classism

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

3.75

It has a great commentary on beauty standards and gender politics for women in South Korea. 

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Content Warnings

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.

helliepad's review

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The story is so short but it's like buying an assortment of donuts in one donut box. You get to enjoy all of them even if you wanted more. I am also very fond of the theme that it's women looking out for other women in this world. We have each other's faces, etc.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Abandonment, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

Minor: Classism, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Grief

gofortori's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

4 stars. Challenging / emotional / reflective / medium-paced. 

“Multifaceted portraits of working women in Seoul reveal the importance of female friendships amid inequality.”

My second literary contemporary cultural debut novel this year (the first being “In Every Mirror She’s Black” which focuses on Black American and Black African women in homogeneous Sweden)! This time around, we explore the impact of impossible beauty standards and male-dominated family money on South Korean women. 

I had no idea how normalized intensive plastic surgery was in South Korea. I looked it up and apparent it’s the cosmetic surgery capital of the world. I can’t imagine the pressure these expectations have on financially struggling women. Especially sad was Kyuri’s and Sujin’s ready acceptance of the side effects of their surgeries, including permanent nerve damage. 

These portraits of four working-class women in modern-day Seoul reveal an array of societal constructs that are difficult to overcome, such as class, patriarchy and inequality — in addition to impossibly high beauty standards. 

The story definitely highlights the differences in individualistic Western & collectivist Eastern cultures! I took a college course on Chinese culture and media, and one of the main tenets was unlearning that Western culture is better just because it’s what we grew up with. To the individuality-loving Westerner, Eastern social structures and hierarchies can seem rigid and harsh. Whereas vice versa, Easterners may view Western society as isolating and unsupportive. It’s disorienting but enlightening to read about the lives of Korean girls our age from within a Western bias.

“…a powerful and provocative rendering of contemporary South Korean society, one that might be considered bleak if not for the women themselves, who occasionally surprise with their compassion and bravery. At heart, “If I Had Your Face” is a novel about female strength, spirit, resilience — and the solace that friendship can sometimes provide.”

I’d love to know what happens to Ara, Kyuri, Wonna, and Miho — did Miho get her revenge? Did Kyuri achieve the career she never thought she’d grasp? The novel ends seemingly right before the conclusions to their arcs, but I also liked the nod to the reality that life continues on. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Ableism, and Abandonment