Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Rache im Herzen by Xiran Jay Zhao

194 reviews

squinnittowinit's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.75

A delightful book in every way. Full of drama and emotion, action and intrigue, with powerful characters who will fight tooth and nail to get what they want.

I thought this book did a very good job of immersing the reader in the very real misogyny that Wu Zetian experiences at every turn, but also not wallowing in those feelings. Instead, Zetian fights against the system at every turn and the reader can celebrate with her when she succeeds. Gao Yizhi and Li Shimin are great supporting characters as well, full of their own depth, but without taking away from Zetian's character in any way.

I especially loved how unapologetically bloodthirsty Wu Zetian was, so often the "dangerous woman" main character ends up just being misunderstood, or becomes tamed by love or something, which is just weak character development. Wu Zetian is a dangerous woman, and that never changes.

4.75 stars because some of the most dramatic dialogue moments were just a little too silly for my liking.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Murder, Confinement, Violence, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Misogyny, Death, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Classism, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Racism, Rape, War, Gun violence, and Ableism

Minor: Homophobia, Gaslighting, Vomit, Transphobia, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

mersymerci's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Top read of the year ! I haven’t been this ecstatic of the direction of a plot or a novels characters in a long time! Every chapter had me jumping in joy, rooting for Wu ZeTian! I think daughters should be allowed to kill people and seek revenge, just once or twice? Or as much as they want. As a treat!

I love the message of Wu ZeTian finding rage, vengeance, and insanity in her trauma yet choosing to live and making it the worlds problem. This is the world that shaped her, that was merciless in its torment, she is simply returning the favor. I love that her pursuit of revenge is never looked down on or shunned narratively. No “I am no better if I do this” None of those “this isn’t what i was expecting” moments. Instead she proves over and over she is so much worse and loves it. She is allowed to thrive in her story and never once falter in what makes her great. Never once has to apologize or change. She is fulfilled in all her conniving manipulative actions, in all her revenge and I cannot express how much I love it. I also really loved how she was allowed to still experience a wide array of emotions. That her anger did not bleed her of the rest of her humanness— it does the opposite in fact. Her anger propels her towards it. It opens her up to love, to possibility, to freedom, to complexity, her strength, her confidence, and tenderness. She would not have gotten anywhere if not for her anger. So many stories lean into the perceived thievery of anger and not the freedom of it, and I’m glad this story did not do the same. 

Wu XeTian is still able to discover that love is infinite and cannot be hoarded or controlled. That she is deserving of it and her love is also a gift. I love how in everything, even in her mercy (which is rarely given) she is fierce and demanding and never bends to the will of others for the sake of ease or peace. She looks at the horrors of the world, the horrors done to her, and she screams back at them that she is so much worse. I don’t read her as evil, even though she’s sexy for branding herself as such, she is more of a balancing scale, the rage of thousand generations in a body. That is what makes her terrifying. I understand the power of her language though. The power of becoming the worst people see in you because that it all they deserve because that is all they’ll believe. But as a reader it doesn’t seem fitting to treat her as a villain. What’s villainous about revolting, retaliation? About killing powerful men that use people as pawns, men that is the system that harms, kills, rapes and torture women? Men that make up the imperialist structures of their society? What’s evil about killing someone’s that killed your soulmate for the whims of said men? Who is deciding how we define violence and evil? 

I think this book offers insightful commentary on gender based violence and the many nuances held within it. For instance, even though men —-with or without power— cause harm disproportionately and on much larger scales, women are not always powerless— and how they decide to wield the relational and shifting power they hold can also be impactful or dangerous. Her mother, her grandmother, the pilot that betrayed her. All shining examples of when marginalized people turning their hatred towards each other, often times the more marginalized among us (ie. queer, disabled, poor, ethnic women) instead of dismantling the oppressive powers at hand and the consequences of doing so. 

It’s so fun seeing Wu Xetian lean into the negative imagery people paint of her because she’s a woman and knowing that she is only those things because they believe that of her but also because they made her this way. She is as cruel and exacting and conniving as the world is around her and to her. Yet she is not simply just the product of her environment she shapes herself into so much more off of her will. And the lives lost of innocent women. The moments where she is ready to give up to let them win and she thinks of the life she lives through and the lives other women have suffered— those moments where she finds her rage and her purpose in a bright spark of flames— have got to be some of my favorites. The narrative power of anger being the emotion that loves you is always so moving to me. 

I also love how the male love interests never expect her to be different or shrink herself or change her to be docile. They accept her, encourage her, lean into her insanity and apologize for ever trying to change her. 

When she says, “This body of mine is not big enough to contain the scale of emotion coursing through me. How could I feel a rage like this, and not be able to tear the sky open and scorch the earth?” When she says, “Redemption story, they said? There will be no redemption. It is not me who is wrong. It's everyone else.” And she says, “An earthquake could shake the ground, and I wouldn't teeter. I am the force that quakes the earth.” When he says “"When you cherish someone for how amazing they are, you don't pluck them from their roots just to watch them wither in your hands. You help them bloom into the incredible thing they're really meant to be.” 

And "You're my polar star. I'll go wherever you guide me.” 

This author has a delightful way of bringing about the most intense aspects of their characters. The ways they speak to one another and hold on another in their eyes, whether it is in love or rage is all very poetic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Alcoholism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Sexual assault

iane_reads's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Ableism, Death, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Child death, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Torture, Murder, War, and Hate crime

Moderate: Classism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, and Trafficking

Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Infidelity, Death of parent, Deportation, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content

oliviathebookwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, War, Murder, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Body horror, Colonisation, Cursing, Gore, Ableism, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcoholism, Genocide, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Gun violence

moonchild_cos's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, War, and Child abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

lisacanteven's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

When I sat down to think of words to express how I feel about this book I couldn’t come with anything worthy. I’m not an author after all, but I can appreciate brilliant writing. Iron Widow has some of the most beautiful and raw words. This book is proof that the label “young adult” should never dissuade you because the writing is just as impactful as “adult” content.

I’ve heard the comparison of The Hunger Games meets Pacific Rim, and I guess that is an okay observation. But this book is so much more than those stories. The amount I learned about Chinese history and culture made it more alone.

But then when you get into the queerness of it all, you realize just how valuable this book is for young (and old) readers everywhere. The queer rep is sweet and lovely. It’s a rough, hard, sharp story with a very soft, sweet queer love story at its core. This juxtaposition exists within the characters too. 

This story felt like the most real story I have ever read. Zetian, the MC, thinks and acts in a way I have always craved to see in a character. I felt every word written about Zetian. I felt every emotion @xiranjayzhao created for Zetian. 

Zetian, Shimin, and Yizhi are the three characters I want to have dinner…and dessert with. I have never felt more connected to three characters. This is why representation of all kinds is so fucking important, and I will never stop fighting and expecting it.

tl;dr- This is a story about a badass woman and the two men backing her up as she takes down the patriarchy in a society yet to come. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Classism

mel_j's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad fast-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? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Ableism, Blood, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Grief, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Toxic friendship, and Alcoholism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

sparrowhearted's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

I really enjoyed the premise and appreciated a book that tackled so many complicated and often difficult-to-address topics while not always treating them as the sole center of the story. 

The writing felt somewhat underdeveloped and a little dissonant in many places, something I assume was both encouraged given its target audience and is also very understandable considering this is Zhao's debut as a published author but it did frequently take me out of my reading experience, which I thought was a pity. I also think that due to its stylistic shortcomings, the more serious aspects that pertain to inequality and other more sensitive, nuanced topics took somewhat of a preachy tone, not unlike the one you would find on Twitter. I personally did not enjoy that, but I can yet again also see why that would resonate with a YA audience that I no longer fall into.

The book's premise and ideas overall make up for my gripes with its writing and structuring, however, and I'm both very willing to read its continuation once it is published but have also recommended it to multiple people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Sexism

Moderate: Classism, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

emilb's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-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

3.75

It wasn't at all what I expected it would be, but I enjoyed it tremendously, and will be reading the next book, too.

My rating might be a tad unfair - I'm just generally not a fan of YA. But as YA goes, this is definitely up there.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, War, Murder, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Classism, Sexual assault, and Rape

themiscyra_anna's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexism, Rape, Trafficking, Drug abuse, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Classism, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Body shaming