Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang

9 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

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

cerilouisereads's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Child abuse, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Death, Racism, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Blood, and Death of parent

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

lucyebradley7's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Racism, and Child abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty

darkmattersoybean's review

adventurous challenging emotional medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, and Transphobia

Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Sexual content

thesaltiestlibrarian's review

emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Grief, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Hate crime, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment