Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Rache im Herzen by Xiran Jay Zhao

128 reviews

amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Fun mix of fantasy and tech. Angry new adults wielding fury like a weapon in all its shapes. I DNFED (did not finish) this one back when it came out. GLAD I CAME BACK.

The only reason it wasn't a 5 star is the end felt rushed to me, but it's great!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Confinement, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Chronic illness, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and War

p_ttyb_tch's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

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

2.0

what did i read 😭 i would give it 5 stars for the sheer number of times i had to laugh out loud. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Misogyny

Moderate: Murder, Racism, and Domestic abuse

Minor: War, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual violence

bujo_bellel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

OMG I seriously really enjoyed this book, the world building, how things work, the characters SO GOOD. I really loved the characters, even though I think that Zetian is low-key going too far sometimes but I still love her. I really liked seeing how Zetian and Shimin bonded and seeing how Shimin slowly started falling for Zetian. I also liked seeing Yizhi and Zetian together like Yizhi is SO sweet!!  The magic(?) system was really well built and unique like DAMN. I really liked that there was Yin and Yang and all the different types and the mechas are so cool. I was so entertained reading this book and the world is literally so interesting. I really liked the build up and introduction of the world and its characters and I will be reading the next book. Also all 3 of them were so badass in the end love love!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Alcoholism, and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Torture

starlireads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Sexism

Moderate: War, Vomit, and Torture

Minor: Rape

tekoppstok's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad fast-paced

• 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: Sexism, Violence, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Death, Gore, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Chronic illness, Torture, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and War

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

The content warnings make the story seem like a downer. It very easily could have been a very depressing book. Instead, the passionate rage and desperation of the main character buoys the narrative into something much more fierce and addictive than doom and gloom, even at the very darkest moments. It's fight or flight the whole way through, with heavy emphasis on fight.

taque's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Grief, Torture, Violence, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Death of parent, War, Confinement, Alcohol, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Racial slurs

tifftastic87's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.5

 

Wu Zetian is born low in the caste system, she is "just a frontier girl," and thus has two options in life: get sold as a bride or sold as a concubine to a mech pilot. Ignoring her family's pressure for years, she finally agrees to become a concubine, but only to avenge her fallen sister. Killing the first pilot she's paired with, and avenging her sister gets her paired with the most violent pilot in the military. Li Shimmin is known for having no surviving female pilots, and as her punishment she will be condemned to serve with him. Zetian will not be sacrificed and attempts to use Shimmin to topple the violent and patriarchal system that has wronged her and every other woman in Huaxia. 

Iron Widow is a truly YA book that focuses on the themes of gender, race, and power. I feel a bit uncomfortable with the reviews that refer to this as a feminist story and the reviews that are harsh because of how they view the feminism in the book as not portrayed correctly. I don't think this is feminism, this is a woman fighting back against the powers that have been suppressing her and everyone like her. In a way that could be feminism, but it isn't modern feminism - at least from a white American perspective. Currently, we (white American women) are not being violently oppressed, we are not literally sacrificed in war for the success of men, we are not forcibly maimed for the male gaze. If we were, violent feminism would be the answer. Radical, systemic change does not happen through peace. It never has. Wu Zetian is not a feminist hero, she's an antihero. 

That being said, I do feel like she is going through similar stages of feminism that many of my age range went through. Rage when she realizes her culture is being used to oppress and silence her, that male violence is used as control to make women passive wives and daughters, that she will never be anything that her husband does not want her to be. She starts off as the “how dare you open my door” type of woman, but as she meets more men she learns that what she was told is not always true. Just as women are multilayered, men are and not all of them are out to control her and use her body for their pleasure. She has a moment where she asks herself after a severe injury:

Can I really call myself a strong girl if I’m relying on two boys?

Which is something everyone of us who has gone through that phase of “I’m a strong woman” has asked. Can we still be strong while relying on others? Can we truly be for empowering women if we let men do things for us? Is this bringing down the movement? All you have to do to see that this is a stage of young women coming up to realize what the world is like is to look at the comments of any woman creator on TikTok or YouTube. If a woman is talking positively about a man the comments will be full of things like this. 

As Zetian comes into her own, her anger starts to be placed in the correct directions. We go from just hate radiating through her pores to be aimed at targets within the systems of oppression. She goes from just a rage machine to very Arya Stark, with a kill list to avenge those important to her. The male characters are there to prop her up and are not the stars of the story, but they too go through some growth, especially Shimmin. 

I like to think of this story as told through Zetian’s perspective, especially because it is told in first person limited. That makes her a bit of an unreliable narrator as everything will include her bias. That could explain some of the ways the other characters talk and their perceived reactions to things. I think it is really important to always consider the point of view the author takes when telling a story, and Xiran really uses Zetian’s voice very strongly. There was so much of the story that my inner damaged teenage girl ached with reading. Talk of shame and manipulation and what it means to be strong. 

People who refuse to break under any number of harsh strikes and any amount of loud words, but crumple as soon as someone touches us gently or speaks to us softly.

Was a line that got me particularly, in the feels as my elder millennial self would say. I could feel that person I used to be, who felt shame at being a woman, who didn’t trust any other women and thought they all disliked me. That girl who didn’t trust men because I was told for all of my life that they wanted nothing more from me than sex. Some parts of this may have felt immature to many reviewers, but I genuinely believe that is done on purpose and serves a purpose. 

That being said, some of the writing style was a little off putting to me. It did feel very millennial in the language used, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but there would be some really pretty prose followed up by something harsh and it felt a little jarring. 

Ex: 

Each tap feels more scandalous than being alone with him on a frontier mountain, shrouded by greenery and spring heat, breathing the same thick eddies of earthy, intoxicating air. My village elders say girls shouldn’t touch these heavenly devices, because we would desecrate them with, I don’t know, our wicked femaleness or something.

But not enough to take me out of the story. The descriptions were clear and I could understand what was happening. The pacing was really good as well. It was just some of the dialogue could have been better. 

I will certainly be reading the next book and am looking forward to reading more of Xiran’s work. They are an author I think I will continue to enjoy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, War, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Sexism, Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Body shaming and Suicide

Minor: Rape and Sexual violence

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

bold_badger's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism and Vomit

Minor: Gaslighting

msradiosilence's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Racism, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Alcohol, Confinement, Blood, Violence, Alcoholism, Classism, Colonisation, Gore, War, Misogyny, Cursing, Torture, Vomit, Body horror, Child abuse, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts