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imds'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Terminal illness, Death of parent, Grief, Cancer, and Colonisation
Minor: Racism
amberinpieces'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? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Colonisation and Cursing
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, and Grief
frantically'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? Yes
4.5
This story seems simple — 5 Chinese-American college students, 5 zodiac heads to be retrieved. But it is so much more than that. It's about immigration, family, love and the loss of it, complicated sibling relationships and just not knowing where your life is supposed to end up. I could find myself so much in this book, it was so raw and real.
The character relationships were so interesting, especially how each of them had different and established relationships and intercations with the other members of the crew. They're all multifaceted and you can really see that come through in those scenes and that's what makes them seem so much like real people.
I really appreciated the constant mentions of Chinese proverbs and the small differences in meaning that sentences can have in English & Chinese, that was so interesting. I've been trying to get into Asian history for some time but I've been really struggling to find an in (I'm not one for biggg, long, overview books, give me one single aspect please) and I think the Summer Palace is the one! Its history in the past and its status right now really intrigues me.
Would definitely recommend if you also love criticising museums and your own academic field. Academia is a scam but I firmly believe we can change it.
Okay, now, why wasn't this 5 stars? Don't get me wrong: people know me as someone who hates, basically can't read anything, that has a sad ending but this one was just too perfect for me. I loved how much they messed up in the book, how un-perfect this heist was and maybe I'm just a hater of historical institutions at my form but I'm not able to dispense reality enough to believe this ending.
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Xenophobia, Death of parent, Racism, and Grief
Minor: War
bitofadisgrace'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
4.0
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Colonisation and Racism
recycled_personalities's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Minor: Colonisation, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Xenophobia, and Grief
katekatiekait'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? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Grief, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: War, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, and Racism
bluedilly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Minor: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness
schnaucl's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
But the thing I really kept coming back to was the money. I suspected the author would sort of hand wave hiding the money from the taxing authorities by saying the people paying them are certainly sophisticated enough to hide it from U.S. taxing authorities, which she did. And fair enough, but it wasn't mentioned until almost the very end of the book. And sure, most readers probably aren't thinking about USA PATRIOT ACT reporting requirements (or even know that they exist) but still.
But more than that I kept going back to a question the FBI agent asks Diane Court in Say Anything, essentially, does your dad have stuff that seems a little too nice for what he's earning from his job? They have all these great plans for what they're going to do with their ten million dollars, and they're all highly intelligent people, but none of them is ever like, it would be great to pay off all my loans and pay off the student loans of everyone else in my family or put cash into the restaurant but how would I explain the fact that I have this kind of money? And sure, Alex is in tech, and maybe her family has no idea what kind of money she makes and assumes all tech people have fund the entire family's college educations money. Or maybe she plans to set up some kind of fake scholarship(s). And Daniel is going to be a doctor so presumably he'll be able to pay off his loans eventually. (After all, his dad knows he was involved in the thefts but not that he got a cash reward for doing so). But it's never mentioned as a problem, let alone a proposed solution. And sure, they could just not say anything, I guess. Although they're all doing a lot of international travel and while I think some of the families are well off, I don't think that's true for everyone. So are they planning to do all this travel and just not tell anyone or not have souvenirs or never have family in their homes?
It's not that I think the police would necessarily be able to pin things on them (Daniel's dad notwithstanding) but other people in their lives who have some idea of what their income is are going to wonder. It just seems like it should be a concern and it was really, really distracting for me that it wasn't.
Anyway, the parts about feeling like you don't really belong to either country and what it means to be a loyal citizen and what it means to have your art stolen and the burdens and expectations of being an immigrant or the child of an immigrant were all very well done. It was just some of the theft stuff that I found frustrating.
Minor: Colonisation, Grief, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation
jaan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
The first quarter-ish of the story is too romantic. Melancholy pervades the book, even during supposedly tense, high-action scenes like those of speed racing. This melancholy is further oppressive in the sense that it impedes Li's ability to properly develop her characters. They are distinct, but don't have enough depth. They're also, put simply, too sexy. Save for a few group-project scenes, the characters don't interact with each other like real people would (I went to school with people as exceptional as Li's characters, but I didn't find that she gave any of them the complexity, depth, and even lightheartedness they deserved).
I’m glad I stuck with this book, though. As a student of postcolonial literature and art history, I appreciated the story! I just think the target audience for this book is the ninth grade. It would be really excellent for my little sister in a few years.
Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content and Alcohol
Minor: Terminal illness
eegekay's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Colonisation and Death of parent
Moderate: Physical abuse and Grief