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ceceska's review against another edition
- 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
Ce livre suit l'histoire de June, une femme blanche, qui vole le manuscrit non publié de son amie asiatique suite à son décès. Le manuscrit porte sur le rôles des travailleurs chinois lors de la Première Guerre mondiale. Elle publie le récit de son amie en le faisant passer pour le sien, mais en y faisant quelques modifications...
Les thèmes de ce livre sont : le racisme, la solitude, la jalousie et l'appropriation culturelle. Ces thèmes sont explorés dans un long monologue fiévreux et dérangé de la protagoniste.
Ce livre était unique puisque la majorité de celui-ci était le fil de pensées de la protagoniste, June. Les dialogues sont peu nombreux mais sont très efficaces. Dans ce cas-ci, moins de dialogue a rendu l'histoire très intéressée puisqu'on voit bien la psyché de la protagoniste ainsi que le raisonnement qui la pousse à prendre des décisions chaotiques.
J'ai beaucoup aimé détester June. Je ne sais pas quand est la dernière fois que j'ai autant détesté une protagoniste d'un roman. June était extrêmement raciste, méchante et qui pense que tout lui est dû. Elle est absolument horrible. Chacune de ses décisions est pire que la précédente. J'ai adoré ça.
Ce roman m'a tenue en haleine du début jusqu'à la fin. J'ai eu des réactions de surprise à haute voix plusieurs fois pendant ma lecture. Je n'en revenais simplement pas des événements qui se produisaient.
Ce roman était très bien écrit. J'ai beaucoup apprécié ma lecture. Le rythme était très rapide, ce que j'apprécie énormément. Je ne m'attendais pas du tout à cela considérant que la majorité du livre est ses pensées.
Bref, encore une fois, je recommande ce livre à TOUT le monde.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, War, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Colonisation, Bullying, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Genocide, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Deportation, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
pazfauxster's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The book was very insightful and I liked how real the characters were. On the one hand, not a single one of them seems very likable. On the other hand, sometimes you catch yourself empathising with one or the other, then halt and think: they're kind of a horrible person, though. Does that make me a horrible person, too?
It tackles the racism and the capitalistic greed of publishers, and it's also speculative and keeps you on your toes. After reading (or, rather, listening to) the book, I stumbled upon the author's instagram and couldn't stop thinking how much of this stuff she had to experience firsthand.
Whenever I see a book trending on tiktok now, I will wonder if the author will once commit a social faux pas that will send their entire career tumbling down. And perhaps it's a cruel thing to think, but so is the publishing world.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Racism, Rape, Toxic friendship, and Bullying
Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
jessife's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Rape, War, Xenophobia, Grief, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Racism, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts
historicalmaterialgirl's review
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship
fashi0nablefr0g's review against another edition
- 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
0.5
The second half of the book was incredibly rushed. There was no "plot twist" in the end, no sort of redemption or even real downfall of the main character. The cycle continues and you finish the book with no new ideas or knowledge, nothing to show other than time you wasted reading it. The final 50% was just a series of "shocking" events shoved in one after another, the author desperately trying to link them together to add depth after a flat first half. The only thing that kept me picking up this book was the desire to get it over with, but it was very nearly one I didn't finish.
Graphic: Death, Bullying, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, War, Vomit, Violence, and Sexual assault
erin__melissa's review
- 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
3.75
One thing that bugging me. Did the EMTs, doctors, and nurses not notice the bite mark on June’s arm?! It was bad enough to draw blood! It should have been mentioned again, or remove from the fight, because it doesn’t fit the narrative of falling down the stairs while jogging.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Racism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Death, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts
amandaboyer's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Grief, Hate crime, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Racism, and Death of parent
melniksuzuki's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Death, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual assault
Minor: Xenophobia, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Islamophobia, and War
gia0203's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
There was a lot of nuance in this book and I think it gave me a new perspective on intersectionality and white privilege. The protagonists complete unawareness of her own subconscious bias is so frustrating and yet every single white person, like myself, is guilty on some level of the same thing.
Also, the sheer amount of microaggressions, packed into this book is astounding! Some are obvious and some are not so much, and there will be some that, coming from a white lens, I won’t even have noticed.
It took a while for the ending to click with me, but once it did I thought it was genius. Those last two pages were just incredible, and in general the unravelling of the protagonist’s life was so satisfying. I like how you have to come to your own conclusions about what happened to her.
June’s love-hate toxic homoerotic relationship with Athena
The scene where June goes to that association club and feels deeply ashamed and embarrassed (as she should). I feel like that scene sums up the book as a whole.
The scene where June finishes The Last Front - it’s like you’re seeing into her mind as she writes! It’s an incredible few pages, it feels so real
Athena’s writing method and the controversy surrounding it - particularly when June was raped. This really elevated the novel as it added a complexity and nuance to the narrative, which before that was very direct and on the nose (I liked that too though!)
The way June’s inner monologue became increasingly more xenophobic as she gets away with more and more.
And finally, the scene where June refuses to get a sensitivity reader. I feel like this scene also sums up the book as a whole, and it’s one of the moments which directly defies the narrative June is trying to convince you of.
I read this for a social group in June so I’m excited to talk about it then.
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Grief, Rape, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
katrinalamothe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Toxic friendship, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Xenophobia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting, Slavery, Emotional abuse, War, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Bullying, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Vomit
Minor: Islamophobia, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail