Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang

20 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

mighty_lizard_queen's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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? Yes

3.0

A cross of As I Lay Dying and Grapes of Wrath

The book is very good for the first part, but once the father is buried I think it lost its way a little bit. I suppose the father was supposed to be redeemed but I didn't buy it. The ending was also unsatisfying and felt disconnected to the earlier parts of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Deadnaming, Grief, Trafficking, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Bullying, Blood, Outing, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Sexism, Racism, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death of parent, Classism, Physical abuse, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Gun violence

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

scifi_rat's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Violence, Racial slurs, Bullying, Abandonment, Misogyny, Dysphoria, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Sexism, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Sexual content and Transphobia

brynpemery's review

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Grief, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Grief, and Abandonment

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

2.75

The book is set in the 1800s so I don’t expect the cis character to have a big vocabulary on gender but it does seem a bit ridiculous at some point that she doesn’t understand or get that her sibling that addresses themselves as a boy and later a man, dresses to be seen as a man and introduces himself as her brother is a trans guy. I understand the character thinking initially her little sibling maybe was trying pretending to be the son the father wanted or because pay was better or society was kinder to boys but it continued his entire life and including in entirely private manners that her confusion or denial seemed like it would get addressed or confronted just not to which was frustrating to feel like the character was being misgendered???

The fourth part is the weakest and honestly somewhat seemed like a female protagonist suffering in a very gendered way just to suffer even if it was used to discuss gender and racial violence. The family dysfunction was really interesting. But I also felt like Lucy was constantly acting like she didn’t care or look out for her family despite being literally her only family member that basically made every decision considering their well-being first or literally being child. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Transphobia

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

kananineko's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Transphobia

Moderate: Misogyny, Dysphoria, Grief, Trafficking, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Animal death, Deadnaming, and Outing

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

lela's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.5

I adored this book. I was so drawn in by the beautiful writing and compelling family dynamics. All the familial relationships were so rich and juicey with such an interesting reflection on belonging and ownership (of land, oneself, and each other). The nonlinear telling of the story was also very impactful.

The ending kept me from giving a full 5 stars (

While I'm glad Lucy stayed, her abandonment of Sam felt regressive for her character in a way that was really heart breaking after their reunion.  Maybe it speaks to her following in her mother's footsteps?

I just think the very end of the book was flagging both in plot and pace) but I really loved this and am looking forward to Zhang's next release 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Miscarriage, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Abandonment