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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is five stars for a silly reason. The Takedown is not a brilliant book or unforgettable. It was just the book I needed to listen to today and it was fun. Just one of those perfectly constructed, light entertaining pieces of fiction that was great to listen to while cooking and cleaning on a Saturday. Dee is a Diversity Consultant, wet behind the ears and the 30 year old daughter of a Chinese father and a Caucasian mother. Her mother is into totally toxic positivity. Dee believes it is never okay to be unhappy. Dee's guilty pleasure is playing a game called Questy that involves solving a word puzzle through clues taking you to different locations to get each letter. She is almost always top of the leader board.
Dee meets Teddy, a competitor for the top of the board and they become friends. Through a series of coincidences they end up involved in a situation that affects their individual futures and an entertaining effort to address this together and with others leads to life lessons, coming of age and learning not have to always be grateful. The fashion industry is the backdrop for this and there are some great send ups of bad corporate cultures. The book is often funny, often sweet and a nice bon bon for my day.
Dee meets Teddy, a competitor for the top of the board and they become friends. Through a series of coincidences they end up involved in a situation that affects their individual futures and an entertaining effort to address this together and with others leads to life lessons, coming of age and learning not have to always be grateful. The fashion industry is the backdrop for this and there are some great send ups of bad corporate cultures. The book is often funny, often sweet and a nice bon bon for my day.
Lily Chu has become an auto-buy author for me. I loved her first two books, but this one is definitely my favorite! I really appreciate how she takes the time to develop a genuine friendship between the main characters before they get together. It’s a closed-door romance, too.
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
I read this while also listening to Anita de Monte Laughs Last, and realized that both of them were about diversity, feminism, and who gets "promoted" though life while others get buried. Two very different novels, but both with important messages, especially in this Trumpelon era of anti-DEI, anti-women, anti-inclusion.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
informative
inspiring
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:
Complicated
First of all the romance part was so adorable and cute and I loved it. There are so many layers to this story though. There is a lot of great representation surrounding DEI and everything that goes with it. There is also very well done generational trauma and working through it. This was such a well rounded story!
Good story but some holes in the plot that bothered me. All in all it was cute and fun read