Scan barcode
mezzythedragon's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
A constant reminder to be thankful social media wasn’t when I was in high school, because what Kiki goes through is horrible. Bullying unfortunately has been around forever, but social media amplifies it so grossly.
Aside from Kiki’s parents,and that’s not until the end when she can’t hold in her frustrations any longer , there was no trustworthy adult for her to turn to. The principal was a complete jerk-off. Frankly, this book is a lot more serious than marketing made it out to be. The romance was secondary.
Aside from Kiki’s parents,
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Gaslighting, and Misogyny
Minor: Ableism
Online harassmentalyssajp's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, and Cursing
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Cursing, and Sexism
xtsukix's review
emotional
tense
3.5
Charming with important but very palatable commentary on misogyny and on strict (particularly asian) schooling and societal norms. The love interest was so lovely I really have no complaints. The humour was a bit millennial which felt odd to me considering the age range of characters and the date published, but after 20% or so it didn’t really bother me anymore. I do understand the complaints that everything wraps up too quickly, but including the epilogue I didn’t hate it, although would have loved to see a little more of their relationship. Overall a solid teen romance book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Bullying
Minor: Rape
puddleshoes's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Bullying, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual harassment
cboddie's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
8th & up
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Sexism
ellaandcoffee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Sexism
Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Classism
serendipity421's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, Gaslighting, and Cursing
bookishmillennial's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Oh my gosh, this has to be one of my top young adult coming-of-age/romance reads of the year! Jesse Q. Sutanto writes fierce young characters so well, and I adored this story about Kiki fighting the patriarchy of her uppity, conservative private school!
Kiki's parents transfer her to a new private school (the same one George Clooney goes to in Well, That Was Unexpected) against her wishes and she tries her best to fit in. However, once she gets there, she quickly realizes that she is up against a vehemently strong status quo, which is led by billionaire nepo-baby and top student, Jonas. After she challenges him during a group project meeting, a target lands on Kiki's back for major bullying and side-eye from the rest of the student body, deeming her "Crazy Kiki". Kiki attempts to go to the school principal for assistance, but repeatedly gets gaslighted, mansplained, and dismissed.
On top of all this, she has been battling it out virtually via the video game Warfront Heroes as "dudebro10" and finds out her online bestie "sourdawg" goes to her new school too! The only problem is - sourdawg thinks dudebro10 is a boy because of the username! Kiki only did this to be treated with respect and dignity, as the rampant misogyny in the gaming world was exhausting emotional labor that she did not want to navigate - she just wanted to play the game!
Additionally, Kiki agrees to be part of her younger classmates'/friends' new app "Little Aunties," and hopes to be matched with someone she develops a friendship with, Liam! However, Kiki also makes new friends with Tris, who also likes Liam! At her core, Kiki is a girls' girl and gives us lovely examples of healthy and strong female friendship, which can sometimes be rare in high school representation! Gosh, so much going on hahaha.
Amidst all the hijinks and drama, Kiki's journey is unfortunately not unique. I felt this was an empowering, relatable, and timely story of a young woman fighting back for her agency, dignity, and respect in a world that was set up for men to run it. Kiki encounters misogyny and sexism in almost every space she enters - home, school, online, and she refuses to let it define her. The examples that JQS highlighted in Kiki's story were too familiar - during a time where more and more femmes and nonbinary folks are entering spaces that were once predominantly spaces for cis-men, we need more and more stories like this and more conversations about recognizing the harms of the patriarchy, and combating it in every damn space!
The final scene where Kiki gives a presentation about the ways in which she was treated differently when online gamers knew she was a girl versus when they assumed she was a boy was chef's kiss. I felt so satisfied with this ending, and I was so proud of her!
I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend it - the narration by Risa Mei is excellent!
Oh my gosh, this has to be one of my top young adult coming-of-age/romance reads of the year! Jesse Q. Sutanto writes fierce young characters so well, and I adored this story about Kiki fighting the patriarchy of her uppity, conservative private school!
Kiki's parents transfer her to a new private school (the same one George Clooney goes to in Well, That Was Unexpected) against her wishes and she tries her best to fit in. However, once she gets there, she quickly realizes that she is up against a vehemently strong status quo, which is led by billionaire nepo-baby and top student, Jonas. After she challenges him during a group project meeting, a target lands on Kiki's back for major bullying and side-eye from the rest of the student body, deeming her "Crazy Kiki". Kiki attempts to go to the school principal for assistance, but repeatedly gets gaslighted, mansplained, and dismissed.
On top of all this, she has been battling it out virtually via the video game Warfront Heroes as "dudebro10" and finds out her online bestie "sourdawg" goes to her new school too! The only problem is - sourdawg thinks dudebro10 is a boy because of the username! Kiki only did this to be treated with respect and dignity, as the rampant misogyny in the gaming world was exhausting emotional labor that she did not want to navigate - she just wanted to play the game!
Additionally, Kiki agrees to be part of her younger classmates'/friends' new app "Little Aunties," and hopes to be matched with someone she develops a friendship with, Liam! However, Kiki also makes new friends with Tris, who also likes Liam! At her core, Kiki is a girls' girl and gives us lovely examples of healthy and strong female friendship, which can sometimes be rare in high school representation! Gosh, so much going on hahaha.
Amidst all the hijinks and drama, Kiki's journey is unfortunately not unique. I felt this was an empowering, relatable, and timely story of a young woman fighting back for her agency, dignity, and respect in a world that was set up for men to run it. Kiki encounters misogyny and sexism in almost every space she enters - home, school, online, and she refuses to let it define her. The examples that JQS highlighted in Kiki's story were too familiar - during a time where more and more femmes and nonbinary folks are entering spaces that were once predominantly spaces for cis-men, we need more and more stories like this and more conversations about recognizing the harms of the patriarchy, and combating it in every damn space!
I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend it - the narration by Risa Mei is excellent!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gaslighting, Bullying, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Classism
mishale1's review
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.0
I think the author’s note at the end of this book kind of summed up what I thought about this book. She mentioned how she was expecting this to be a funny story and was surprised when she round up writing a much more serious story for Kiki. But, you know what?, it wasn’t what I was expecting but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
Here’s the premise which sounds potentially hilarious:
Kiki plays a video game online as a guy and has made a bit of a best friend in another play who goes by SourDawg. She feels bad about it but she thinks they are in different countries and will likely never meet. But then she gets enrolled at a new school and finds out SourDawg goes to her new school.
Sounds funny right?
But here’s the thing, Kiki has a reason for why she plays as a guy. And it’s because she was harassed as a female gamer.
And getting enrolled in the new school? It’s a nightmare. It’s the exact opposite school philosophy than Kiki has spent learning at her old school.
And if that isn’t bad enough, she gets immediately picked on by the popular guy. And it just elevates and elevates and gets so much worse.
In addition to all of the bad stuff, Kiki is trying to figure out who SourDawg is. And she knows when she finds out, she’s going to have to tell him the truth.
I found myself thinking, poor Kiki through so much of the book. But the thing is, the school needed someone like Kiki. It was the worst thing that could happen to her but she likely made things better for future generations. Kiki is a powerhouse.
Here’s the premise which sounds potentially hilarious:
Kiki plays a video game online as a guy and has made a bit of a best friend in another play who goes by SourDawg. She feels bad about it but she thinks they are in different countries and will likely never meet. But then she gets enrolled at a new school and finds out SourDawg goes to her new school.
Sounds funny right?
But here’s the thing, Kiki has a reason for why she plays as a guy. And it’s because she was harassed as a female gamer.
And getting enrolled in the new school? It’s a nightmare. It’s the exact opposite school philosophy than Kiki has spent learning at her old school.
And if that isn’t bad enough, she gets immediately picked on by the popular guy. And it just elevates and elevates and gets so much worse.
In addition to all of the bad stuff, Kiki is trying to figure out who SourDawg is. And she knows when she finds out, she’s going to have to tell him the truth.
I found myself thinking, poor Kiki through so much of the book. But the thing is, the school needed someone like Kiki. It was the worst thing that could happen to her but she likely made things better for future generations. Kiki is a powerhouse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
enting13's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
Definitely engaging and enjoyable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying