Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

19 reviews

lizzyreadz's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Vanessa Chens’s debut novel is a moving and confident work of historical fiction that I don’t know much about. Chen’s perspective is an important one that brings to life a part of history through the story of a family’s tragic journey. Colonization, power, and agonizing choices create the spirit of rebellion and resistance but without true redemption. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, War, Violence, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, and Torture

Moderate: Infidelity, Vomit, Child death, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, and Sexual assault

thrillofthepage's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.0

The Storm We Made is a beautifully written, yet heartbreaking historical fiction novel that takes place in the mid 1930s through the end of WWII in Malaya (present day Malaysia). The dual timelines offer a slow unfolding of the way decisions can impact lives for years. The multi-POVs of Cecily, Able, Jujube, and Jasmine provide an inside and unfiltered look into what life was like during both the British and Japanese occupation.  Vanessa Chan fully immerses her readers by writing about the devastation of colonization, occupation, and the horrors that come with it.  I was left in tears realizing the tragic full circle of our title, The Storm We Made. This book and its characters will stay with me for a long time. Please check TWs.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Slavery, Physical abuse, Rape, Classism, Colonisation, Violence, Death, Child death, and Confinement

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Deportation, Grief, Torture, Alcohol, Infidelity, Child abuse, and Racial slurs

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

rosarachel's review

dark emotional informative sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, Colonisation, War, Slavery, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Grief, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Kidnapping

Minor: Torture, Pedophilia, and Trafficking

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad medium-paced

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

3.0

This one didn’t quite work for me. The characters felt one-dimensional and like they were written for the white gaze. I appreciated the setting in WWII Malaya though, which we need more books about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Slavery, Blood, Confinement, Gore, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Racism, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, War, and Vomit

audaroundtheworld's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Violence, Rape, War, and Murder

jasminegalsreadinglog's review

challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan, a historical fiction, is a story of a family who is affected by the Japanese invasion of Malaya, currently Malaysia. It's a story of survival amid the knowledge that one evil was traded for another.

Set in the period 1930s and 1940s, this novel is Cecily's and her children's story. Alternating between timelines and characters, this book gives us a glimpse of both the British rule and the Japanese rule of Malaya during this period. 

This book is not an easy read by no means. But then, topics of colonialism, marginalization, and colorism are not supposed to be easy. Topics of slave labor camps, racial profiling, and child exploitation are handled this book. My heart literally broke into pieces for Jasmin and Yuki. Without expressing the emotions of these characters, the author has conveyed a lot because the reader is prompted to think.

Thank you, Simon Element, MarySue Rucci Books, for this book.

CW: Infidelity, Spying, SA, graphic description of child abuse, betrayal, starvation, death

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Blood, Sexual violence, Bullying, Violence, War, Kidnapping, Confinement, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Classism, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Animal death, Racism, Hate crime, Rape, Grief, Death, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

beranceknows's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Racial slurs, Violence, Trafficking, Misogyny, Vomit, Torture, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Pedophilia, Excrement, Pregnancy, Blood, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Classism, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, and Child death

theoceanrose's review

emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Blood

Minor: Infidelity and Sexual assault

heidirgorecki's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-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

3.0

While the story was interesting and realistic, it was really sad and fairly depressing watching the brutality unfold of both the Japanese in Malaysia and the utter selfishness of Cecily and how destructive her decisions were. It really kind of felt like one bad situation after another, both from her own making and from her family members. I didn’t like any of the characters to be honest. 

The writing also wasn’t my favorite - it was more of a Tell rather than Show - as you watched from the outside. Overall I liked learning about the Malaysian people’s experiences during ww2, but it was a very dark book without any real redemption in the story. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Violence, and Rape