Scan barcode
erinmcav's review
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse and Transphobia
Minor: Sexual assault
kaneebli's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Colonisation, Grief, Sexism, Death, Animal cruelty, Violence, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual violence, Child death, Animal death, Trafficking, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Child abuse
Minor: Emotional abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Genocide
tangerinetea's review
- 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: Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Racism, Animal death, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, and Animal cruelty
lucyebradley7's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Alcohol, Racism, and Child abuse
Minor: Animal cruelty
zombiezami's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Bullying, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Blood, Racial slurs, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Xenophobia, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Sexism, Grief, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, Genocide, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Trafficking, Sexual content, and Cultural appropriation
emergencily's review
- 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
- really interesting to read about the experiences of chinese miners & railroad workers who came to North America
- themes of being the "perpetual foreigner," the threatening "yellow peril," of being written out of the history for so long despite the blood and sweat that went into building key early infrastructure for "western civilization" to "tame" the frontiers. black indigenous and chinese labourers in the mines and railroads were underpaid and exploited and multiple exclusionary legislation were passed
- really liked how much the book talked about the natural world and how important it is to respect our connection to the lands we live on and how the land is a part of us too. how wrong it is that we exploit and extract all the resources until nothing is left. the emphasis on wildness & nature in this book is very special
- interesting look at the connections & relationship btwn chinese migrant labourers & indigenous peoples of america; at times contentious, at times in proximity
- themes of gender nonconformity & transness
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault
ember_amber's review
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Trafficking, and Transphobia
calster'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? No
5.0
“She hears the cheer that goes through the city the day the last railroad tie is hammered. A golden spike holds track to earth. A picture is drawn for the history books, a picture that shows none of the people who look like her, who built it.
“The mountain man said that no man in this country could complete the railroad. He was right, after all.”
Beautiful, heartbreaking book. The first few chapters were hard to get into. They felt cold and disjointed, and I couldn’t help but feel indifferent towards the characters. After those initial chapters, however, the story blossomed and I fell in love—and at times, hated—all of them. The words Zhang carefully uses to tell their story are absolute perfection. This is a book that deserves to be read 3, 4, 5 times to fully grasp the meaning behind every sentence.
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, and Racism
anna_m_k'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Racism
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Transphobia, and Sexual violence
Minor: Miscarriage
vicki_'s review
- 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
Moderate: Child abuse and Violence