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alexisgarcia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Classism, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Medical content, Alcohol, Addiction, Infidelity, Cursing, Alcoholism, and Grief
laurataylor's review against another edition
- 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? No
2.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical content, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Homophobia
himangi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Medical content, Racism, Racial slurs, Grief, Sexual content, Dysphoria, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Physical abuse, and Alcohol
sakisreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The Japanese food made throughout the story was a real comfort to me ✨ I also adored how Benito and Mitsuko started to cook together as their relationship progressed 🥰
What really made me fall in love with this book though was probably everyone’s ‘humanness’. Everyone had their flaws, everyone sometimes skirted around their flaws, everyone felt their flaws, etc. It was an insight into everyday human life and how we could push away the people we love, whether intentional or not. I felt Benito try to numb his flaws through conversations about work and about Ximena, whereas I felt Mike try to numb his flaws through escapism (going to see Eiju or Tan).
All in all, a fantastic book. I can’t wait to recommend it to more people 🏳️🌈
Moderate: Homophobia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
whatannikareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Cancer, Vomit, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Medical content, and Abandonment
alonadadonut's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Not 5 stars because the book ends on a sort of cliffhanger and I would prefer to know what ends up happening. On the one hand I understand why we don't get told what happens and on the other hand I desperately require closure.
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, and Racial slurs
kaii's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Cancer, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Medical content
Minor: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Fatphobia, Grief, and Body shaming
greatu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Grief, Racism, Sexual content, Cancer, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
gabbygarcia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Racism
menomica's review against another edition
- 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
I feel like the book wanted to do things, but never really delivered. The book itself suffers from not having a proper ending, like much of the storylines in it. I think the most obvious example is with Tam. He’s introduced, as if he’s going to a huge player and very influential, but then he fucks off for 20 pages, and only comes back for three lines before Mike ditches him.
Other things/themes I felt like this book pointed at but never actually took the time to elaborate on:
- Racism: Besides the “racist jokes” and that instance with the racist waiter, the biggest moment of this for me was with the Workers at the play center and how they interacted with Ahmad/Benson was giving very much let’s antagonize the black kid cause it’s easiest to do. Also, even though it was a joke, them referring to Ahmad as Ben’s because they’re the only black people in the center felt… racially motivated. But it was never really elaborated beyond that. The theme of race itself was prominent throughout the book, and I think that was done well because it was obviously from an observational lense, and not with the intent of making commentary, but sometimes it felt like they’d touch on racism and then drop it like a hot potato
- Tam. Wtf. What was the reason for him being there. For Mike to have a potential love interest?? Nothing developed between them, and yet he was introduced as someone who was going to be super big and important for Mike.
THEY DIDN’T EVEN HAVE SEXThey exchange very minimal conversion and it just felt like there was supposed to be development there but it just never happened. And then Mike just left (like his dad did with him)!
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Infidelity
Minor: Bullying, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Racial slurs