Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Private Label by Kelly Yang

6 reviews

atamano's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful 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

3.5

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maple_dove's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? Yes

4.0

Private Label by Kelly Yang @kellyyanghk is a YA  realistic-contemporary about two Chinese-American teens trying to find their place in the world. One of them is Serene (She/Her/Hers), whose passion is fashion like her mom. One night, she finds out her mother has pancreatic cancer, and everything changes. The other is Lian (He/Him/His), who enjoys doing stand-up comedy.  He moved to from China to a mostly white southern California area. He doesn't fit in at school, and kids mispronounce his name. His parents are traditional Chinese parents and don't care about what he wants to do, pushing him to do MIT.

For me, I loved how relatable this was in terms of being Chinese-American. A lot of this resonated with me. WeChat is a real app btw!

Favorite Quotes:
I look up at my mother, appreciating her empathy, but nauseated by my stupidity. She didn't get to where she is by making mistakes. She got to where she is by being in control. Never letting a weak moment get the best of her.
Mom gets up and goes to her room. "I want to show you something."
She returns with the framed sketch from her desk. It's a picture she drew of women in the Victorian era wearing various lavish, colorful dresses and evening gowns. I always thought she was paying tribute to Little Women, one of our favorite movies. But Mom tells me, "See those colorful dresses? Before the Victorian era, it was extremely expensive to dye fabrics. But then one day Walter Henry Perkin Jr. accidentally mixed oxidized aniline with wine. That's how synthetic dye was created."
Mom puts a hand to the picture.
"I keep this on my desk to remind myself, it's OK to make mistakes. Some of the best innovations in fashion came as a result of desginers daring to experiment."


I hate that even when a guy threatens to do something totally demeaning, a girl still feels like she has to be nice in order to get the guy to not do something illegal.

"Because she doesn't make me choose between two things I love, she accepts all of me! That's what love is, it's not expecting perfection and punishing flaws. It means being for them always."
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anna_23's review against another edition

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

3.0

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maggies's review against another edition

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

4.0

There was so much going on in this book—cancer, abandonment, revenge porn, parental pressure, racism and microaggressions, and of course romance. At times, it felt like too much, but most of the time it was handled with remarkable care. Serene and Lian were such sweet protagonists, and the voice actors reading their perspectives were amazing.
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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Thanks to HarperCollins for an advanced copy of Private Label by Kelly Yang to review! I feel like most people know Yang from her middle grade work, but this is her second YA novel and she's not afraid to delve into difficult topics. We saw that in Parachutes and it's just as true in this book.

Yang excels at writing emotions. We see Serene's struggles with her mom's cancer, all the while trying to figure out how to save her business. We see Lian struggling with his parents expectations and what he really wants to do with his life. Both characters need each other as they try to figure out how to move forward, and the way their relationship evolved felt very realistic.

Not only do we get to see the emotions playing out between Serene and Lian, but we also get to see both of their different family dynamics. They are complicated and ever evolving and conflicts that a lot of teens deal with. There are so many emotions in play in this book, and Yang nails every one of them.

My only complaint is that the book feels a bit long at times. In the middle, it felt like the pacing lost itself a bit. But other than that, this is absolutely a strong, emotional read that you'll want to have on your radar for summer! 
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bookwormbullet's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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