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harymouck's review
dark
emotional
informative
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
4.0
Sophisticated prose, well-developed characters, darkly witty, highly original concept. There's a long, slow section in the middle that almost made me give up, but I''m glad I persisted because the ending is just beautiful. Will definitely read more from this author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Suicide, and Drug use
Minor: Racism, Vomit, Gun violence, Grief, and Genocide
trippalli's review
adventurous
reflective
tense
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
3.0
An interesting and perplexing adventurous drama with lots of drugs and an oddly magical addiction to drinking lemonade me with melted refined gold, not any gold but the gold of fine jewelry full of memories, hopes and power from previous owners and the original goldsmoth's skills and intentions?
Also lots of soap opera drama on love relationships, so many I lost track.. Overall the characters are seeking to make something of themselves and find love.
It seems to have a mostly happy ending although I admit I didn't follow all the drama through it's twists and turns and I lost some of the plot points along the way.. I might've also gotten distracted a bit.. But it was good in a miriad of ways. Especially strong character development...
Also lots of soap opera drama on love relationships, so many I lost track.. Overall the characters are seeking to make something of themselves and find love.
It seems to have a mostly happy ending although I admit I didn't follow all the drama through it's twists and turns and I lost some of the plot points along the way.. I might've also gotten distracted a bit.. But it was good in a miriad of ways. Especially strong character development...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Suicide
Moderate: Eating disorder and Bullying
emoryscott's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Drug use, and Addiction
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Gun violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, and Body horror
rkpkili_14's review
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Interesting enough that I wanted to finish, but the plot and climax fell flat
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Drug use
debbitomsk's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse
Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
tesslw's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
TW; suicide, substance abuse
Gold Diggers holds a fascinating premise; an Indian-American coming of age tale, seeped in magical realism, and cross cultural myths and legends. Neil Narayan, our central protagonist doesn’t share his parents drive to achieve - he doesn’t particularly care about conquering academia, he just wants and easy life; and Anita, his neighbour and classmate. HOwever, when he discovers that Anita’s mother has a penchant for alchemy, and can brew a potion made from stolen gold that claims to harness the ambition of the original owner… Well, then things get interesting.
In theory, anyway. In reality, this book really did not do it for me. I’m finding it hard to pin down what exactly it was that meant it really didn’t hit home for me. I love magical realism, I loved the idea of exploring the Indian-American experience and learning more about the cultural heritage and mythology of many Asian immigrants, along with the divide between the younger generation’s approach to life, wellbeing and parenting as opposed to their parents and grandparents. All of these things were present as themes in Gold Diggers but somehow it still just felt slow, convoluted and frankly, boring for a large portion of the book.
As soon as we left the section in which both main characters are in high school and skipped forwards, I felt that all pacing and momentum had been lost; so much so that even the promise of a heist could barely drive me to continue turning the pages (well, metaphorically because by this time I had switched to audiobook so that I could listen and not have to make myself focus so hard on not getting distracted). I did enjoy the writing, and there were many really lovely descriptions - however it just wasn’t enough to sustain my interest unfortunately. However I have seen plenty of glowing reviews for this and there a certainly some really interesting elements so check it out if you’re interested!
Gold Diggers holds a fascinating premise; an Indian-American coming of age tale, seeped in magical realism, and cross cultural myths and legends. Neil Narayan, our central protagonist doesn’t share his parents drive to achieve - he doesn’t particularly care about conquering academia, he just wants and easy life; and Anita, his neighbour and classmate. HOwever, when he discovers that Anita’s mother has a penchant for alchemy, and can brew a potion made from stolen gold that claims to harness the ambition of the original owner… Well, then things get interesting.
In theory, anyway. In reality, this book really did not do it for me. I’m finding it hard to pin down what exactly it was that meant it really didn’t hit home for me. I love magical realism, I loved the idea of exploring the Indian-American experience and learning more about the cultural heritage and mythology of many Asian immigrants, along with the divide between the younger generation’s approach to life, wellbeing and parenting as opposed to their parents and grandparents. All of these things were present as themes in Gold Diggers but somehow it still just felt slow, convoluted and frankly, boring for a large portion of the book.
As soon as we left the section in which both main characters are in high school and skipped forwards, I felt that all pacing and momentum had been lost; so much so that even the promise of a heist could barely drive me to continue turning the pages (well, metaphorically because by this time I had switched to audiobook so that I could listen and not have to make myself focus so hard on not getting distracted). I did enjoy the writing, and there were many really lovely descriptions - however it just wasn’t enough to sustain my interest unfortunately. However I have seen plenty of glowing reviews for this and there a certainly some really interesting elements so check it out if you’re interested!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use and Suicide
jeanbpdx's review
emotional
mysterious
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
3.5
Engaging, thoughtful story about first-generation immigrant children seeking identity and connection in a coming of age story with magical elements. Some difficult topics, see content warnings
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence
mandkips's review
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Drug abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Sexual content, Bullying, and Drug use
eli_is_trying's review
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Addiction, Death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Misogyny, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Physical abuse
kazli's review
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? Yes
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide