Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

131 reviews

choicepotatoes_20231023's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

3.5

3.50 - enjoyable
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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death and Racism

Minor: Rape, Alcohol, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, and War

emilypolcyn's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

kuang does an excellent job creating a truly deeply unlikable character who still feels so real and grounded and convinced by her own logic. like she sucks so hard but kuang didn't make a strawman -- she built a real, convincing person and then eviscerated her. this was like watching a car crash and not being able to look away.

i took this ebook on the treadmill with me and accidentally stayed at the gym for two full hours. which was also great motivation because i felt like i was running away from june, which made me much faster

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Death, Cultural appropriation, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship

qrschulte's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A scathing indictment of the publishing industry, full of the least likable characters I’ve ever read. My favorite part was the examination of jealousy in the first chapter. Very validating due to my pregnancy loss journey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Racial slurs, Sexism, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Drug use and War

kelly_e's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

2.75

Title: Yellowface
Author: R.F. Kuang
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: May 25, 2023

T H R E E • W O R D S

Icky • Juicy • Insightful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Athena Liu is a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories by basic white girls anyway?

But now Athena is dead. And June has her unfinished manuscript...

💭 T H O U G H T S

I'd added Yellowface to my list of possible 2023 releases to explore after attending an online event with the author. The premise had me apprehensive, yet the author did a fantastic job selling me, so when it became available as a 'quick read' through my library I scooped it up.

The fact satirical stories are not my thing is something I knew going in, and yet I picked it up anyways. Another thing I don't care for are stories centered around social media and cancel culture, both of which are central here. So it's clear this novel was not meant for me.

With that said, Kuang's writing is incredible. She delivers a no holds barred account of the ins and outs of the publishing industry - a bold move that paid off. While not for me, I understand all of the love it is receiving. What this book does really well is give readers lots to think about, making it a fantastic book club selection, sure to spark interesting and engaging discussion.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for something fast-paced
• fans of the unlikeable narrator
• bookclubs

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic."

"Reading lets us live in someone else’s shoes. Literature builds bridges; it makes our world larger, not smaller." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexism, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Death, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual violence, Cursing, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Islamophobia

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Yeah this protagonist is super annoying. But that’s the whole point. This is such a deep novel on so many different levels and it brings up so many different excellent points. I’m really glad it’s getting the recognition it deserves because these are conversation topics that we really need to cover. Highly recommend 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Grief, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, and Racism

zoevjester's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

So, this was a tense and brilliantly written novel - Kuang states in the acknowledgements that it's centred around loneliness in a competitive industry, but I think there is more to it than that too - there is a lot of rage at the beginning, and no subtly regarding the pain of being a person of colour in the publishing industry. 
Reading this after reading Babel is a thrilling experience because of the author pointing a finger at all the readers who slammed the book for disturbing them with the racism that's written and shown. Seeing the dialogue in the book that's lifted from the reviews the author received? Absolutely delightful. 
However, the second half of the book shifts into the characters being the focus - and this is when my stomach soured as I read on. 
June is an incredibly well-written character. She is a thief and a liar and we are in her head for the majority of the story so we see her thoughts and mannerism. She's a horrible human being, adamant and persistent and her sin is Envy - over her friend, Athena Liu. 
Athena, for all of appearing in only one chapter before her death, she is prominent throughout the whole story. We see her life through the perspective of June, and of other characters, and they all comment on her whole life. 
It would have been nice, I think, if the final chapter of Athena's life was written from her POV, so we get an unfiltered perspective of her and who she is, but not doing so I guess adds the mystery of who she truly was. 
However, I dropped this to 4 instead of 5 stars. The second half of the story contains some topics that needed content warnings. I wouldn't have read this if I'd known these topics were written about. 
But, I'm curious about the quote, 'An Act of Translation is an Act of Betrayal'. It's the opener for Babel: An Arcane History, and also written in this book too. I'd love to know what this quote means for the author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Death, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Classism, War, Grief, and Physical abuse

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Bullying, Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Stalking

livimack's review

challenging dark funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

I was tempted to give this 4.75 stars because I wasn’t hooked at every moment, but then I realised - if I wasn’t going to give this 5.0 stars, then what would I ever give 5.0 stars?

I would love to speak to the people (who presumably do exist) who buy into the protagonist’s positive narrative about their self.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation and Death

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Toxic friendship

allisonz6's review against another edition

challenging dark funny fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Racial slurs, Violence, Death, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Minor: War, Death of parent, and Suicide

emelie0_0sofia's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Death, Violence, and Racism

pam_'s review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

A Caucasian author witnesses the accidental death of her Asian American friend and then proceeds to steal her friend’s manuscript and publish it as her own. This was addictive, thought-provoking and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation and Death

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual assault, War, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Gaslighting, Rape, Stalking, and Toxic friendship