Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

677 reviews

hdkroon's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

paigerini's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

As someone half white and half Thai/Chinese, I found this an interesting book. (Spoilers)

One of the complaints I have seen in other reviews has to deal with the fact that June is unbearable, which she is and is supposed to be. June is horrible for stealing Athena's manuscript and taking ownership of all of her research and hard work and is definitely racist, but I would also hate Athena if I ever met her in real life. She was judgmental and hateful towards other Asian people in her field and stole the stories of others. Even June picked up on the fact that she was disingenuous, despite Athena's enthusiasm. The whole point of this novel is to show that both sides (June and Athena) can be cynical and rotten as well as genius, and I found myself hating and feeling sympathetic for both characters.

Another one of the complaints about this novel is that the whole premise seems extremely melodramatic, yet I believe that this is also the point. June should have stayed in therapy, but the result of not doing so leads to her anxious and self-pitying perception of herself and the world around her. Being in such a tough situation and such a competitive industry as publishing and writing without therapy or medical help would deteriorate even the strongest of people, so it makes sense that June (the narrator) freaks out and constantly makes mountains out of molehills. 

I connected to both June and Athena in different ways, but I also do not like both of them. Growing up mixed with my dad being second-generation American (who didn't bother teaching me about the culture at all), I found it hard to interact and find things in common with Asian kids. I didn't know a second language, had the same struggles with parental pressure, and had all AP and honors classes, so I felt like an intruder - too white or too American. However, I found a group of friends of all sorts of people who couldn't care less about what ethnicity I was and just liked my company. I liked how Athena was a brilliant writer who wanted to share untold stories, but she also seemed elitist and almost too proud and too focused on the fact that she was Asian. I liked how June obviously knows what she does is wrong but doesn't stop it due to the pressure to be successful, but she is also definitely racist and constantly makes bad decisions, not utilizing the team she's been working with.

I think that this book is a thought-provoking commentary on the link between diversity and success in the real world, and I think it is definitely worth the read, especially if you want to go into the publishing and writing industry. I didn't like the ending too much, but leaving it open-ended lets the reader infer whether she fades into obscurity or tumbles violently into a fiery pit. Overall: 4/5 stars, reading this as a mixed person was sort of weird but sort of captivating at the same time.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, and Stalking

Minor: Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

kkqrma's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Sexual assault

_ren's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body shaming, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Stalking, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

wordswoods's review against another edition

challenging dark lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, and Cultural appropriation

theebster's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.5

Couldn’t put it down! Unreliable narrator that I was angry at the whole time. I really wish that

the ghost had actually been Athena and taken down June

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Colonisation

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

katlinstirling_reads's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

3.0

A bit disappointed with this one.. I wanted to enjoy it but I think it’s a BookTok book that is unfortunately overhyped, which is a shame because the story/plot is there. The genres are ‘thriller’ and in the acknowledgments ‘horror’ but this book is far from either, it’s more of a drama in my opinion. I actually really enjoyed the bookish aspect and although I’m not sure how true those parts were I did like to read about the publishing process and huddles authors have to face. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

startjpw23's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad 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

5.0

This review is for the audiobook version of the book. This book is told in the first person by Juniper (June) Song Hayward. June and Athena Liu met while students at Yale and became friends. They were both aspiring writers. Athena became quite successful and had several hit novels. June's first novel tanked.  Early in the book, Athena dies. June takes the manuscript of Athena's latest novel. The story goes from there. June is not a very nice person. She is jealous of Athena's success. She believes herself a great victim. Primarily that she is discriminated against because she is a white woman. She does recognize that some of the things she does are wrong. But she repeatedly justifies them in her mind because of her victimhood. It has to said that she has a Yale degree! June is an unreliable narrator. The book reveals details of the publishing industry and entities surrounding it. A lot of people and organizations come off bad in this book. The audiobook narrator, Helen Laser, does a fantastic job. She helped keep me interested in a character I didn't like. I suggest this book for anyone who wants to read a book with an unlikable, unreliable narrator. And a book that gives an unflinching look at the publishing industry and surrounding entities. It takes great skill to make a book like this hard to put down. R.F. Kuang shows that skill in this book. If you do decide to get it, I suggest you get the audiobook. If you have a problem with the main character being unlikable, this book probably isn't for you. If you have a problem with a book that questions the idea of white victimhood, this book probably isn't for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

rushh's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Grief, Stalking, Alcohol, and War

cryptofauna's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

literally perfect??? i was trying to find flaws in this book that would make it not five stars and i literally could not think of any. perfectly executed for what it was. 
thrilling and tense with such an interesting narrative and protagonist especially. 
follows lowkey (HIGHKEY) evil protagonist who felt so realistic, and obviously she sucks but somehow you're vaugely endeared to her because you're only hearing her side of the story throughout.
it has genius and amazing writing with such a clear line of thought throughout, i was so hooked on it. 
not the main point of the book but i enjoyed the look into the world of publishing lol. 
read the whole thing in one sitting on the camp bus. 
(with coco in the background which also has a stealing work plotline so that was silly)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Stalking, and Toxic friendship