Reviews tagging 'Rape'

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang

21 reviews

ani_raven's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Trafficking, and Abandonment

Moderate: Dysphoria, Violence, Alcohol, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Classism, and Death

Minor: Rape

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Grief, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Racial slurs, Violence, Colonisation, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Excrement, Self harm, Sexual content, Vomit, and Rape

quiettalker's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative 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

3.5

This was so disappointing. Everything from Sweetwater onward fell flat and felt underdeveloped. It was extra disappointing because the first 3/4 were incredible.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Death, Child death, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism

Minor: Rape, Child abuse, Animal death, Slavery, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Gun violence

booksinacottage's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Abandonment, Racism, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Child death, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Rape, and Violence

cass_lit's review against another edition

3.25

I know Sam is a child who wasn’t allowed to have a childhood, but I kind of hate them. I know people are complex and not all bad or good, but I wanted to skip Part III because I didn’t want Ba‘s side of the story. I know it’s probably accurate representation of what Asian immigrants/Asian Americans, especially women and girls, faced in that time but I don’t *enjoy* reading about blatant racism and violence (physical and sexual; references and mentions, not on-page). I sped through abuse (animal abuse included).

All in all, I think this is an important read. As with most historical fiction, you get to know people’s stories and histories. As much as I didn’t like Sam or questioned some of Lucy’s decisions, I loved the sibling relationship.  As much as their parents were messed up, I liked the discussions of familial issues and trauma. This wasn’t a time period I’ve read about before, and I certainly wasn’t taught it from an Asian American perspective. It just wasn’t an easy read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Drug abuse

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Rape

jialianyang's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

A moving, gritty odyssey of two Chinese American children during the gold rush era. They reflect on the question of 'what is home' as they fight in different ways for survival after their parent's death/ losses in a hostile society where everyone wants riches and will do violence to secure it. This story is wild, made with flesh blood and bone, dusty, muddy and captivating as gold and flowers in the hills of California. It is poetry in story, a confessional, an obituary, a wish, a dream. Read only if you are prepared to be haunted by truths and lies, ghosts, gender, beasts human and animal, fear and desire, hope and hopelessness. Nothing is clean in this book, yet there is beauty.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Death, Eating disorder, Blood, Excrement, Racism, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Gun violence

Moderate: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

majo_hun's review

medium-paced

4.0

Liked the way it was written. Wanted more details since some parts are vague. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Rape and Sexual violence

jamesdavid's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Racism

Moderate: Sexism, Rape, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual violence, Animal death, Transphobia, and Sexual assault

lorenag5's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, and Grief

kaneebli's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

2.5

very depressing and upsetting historical fiction western that almost ends with a bittersweet, hopeful ending

but at the last second, Lucy decides to sell herself into sexual slavery in order to pay off some wealth-hoarding bastards that Sam stole gold from. and then when she finally gets out of the forced prostitution (after an indeterminate amount of time) Lucy decides to not follow Sam across the ocean after all. and I guess she just stays in the California desert with no friends or family.

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Content Warnings

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