Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - You Truly Assumed

I'm a bit torn on this one. Some things I loved while others just fell flat. I loved the story, the characters and the intersectionality - aspects of characters' identities being called into question as they weren't their main "defining" characteristics was something that stuck out to me. I thought that was really well done - we all have tons of roles and identities and it can be hard to balance them all, or figure out where one ends and another begins.

However, this book definitely felt over the top - I know it's a YA book and I've rated accordingly (if this had been an adult book, I likely would have rated it more harshly due to this). All of the bad characters were so over the top bad that it made them seem like caricatures, and solutions presented themselves out of nowhere. I think more focus on microaggressions, rather than every character doing giant, overtly racist things may have had more impact on readers - especially those who might be guilty of those microaggressions themselves and not realize.

Content Warnings

kteq's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

anniereads221's review

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challenging emotional hopeful 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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