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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
One of the more creative memoirs that’s been published, kept engaging with both the mix of different medias(more art and photos than I’d expected, to be honest!), and Alice Wong’s electric narrative voice. I liked the different writing methods throughout too, especially towards the end when Wong wrote in a futuristic-esque lens in order to incorporate her hope, aspirations and predictions. This provided a detailed look at disabled culture and ableism throughout different decades, and I appreciated that. It’s kind of, in a way, the book embodiment of the “museum” mentioned in the “Pandemic” part of the book.
The only reason I don’t have this at 5 stars is because a lot of this is a collection of Alice Wong’s previous work(not all of it of course! There’s chapters of original writing, too), which although it mostly worked for me as someone new to her, might make this book only subpar for longtime fans.
I’d still recommend that people check this out, even(or perhaps especially) if they don’t usually read nonfiction! Disabled readers get to be understood on a deeper level, non-disabled readers get to read about a valuable perspective outside of the usual ableist narrative, with tons of information ingrained throughout.
The only reason I don’t have this at 5 stars is because a lot of this is a collection of Alice Wong’s previous work(not all of it of course! There’s chapters of original writing, too), which although it mostly worked for me as someone new to her, might make this book only subpar for longtime fans.
I’d still recommend that people check this out, even(or perhaps especially) if they don’t usually read nonfiction! Disabled readers get to be understood on a deeper level, non-disabled readers get to read about a valuable perspective outside of the usual ableist narrative, with tons of information ingrained throughout.
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
There were some very insightful moments- Alice Wong is a great intellectual. Stylistically, Wong taps into a pedestrians zeitgeist that isn’t my vibe- I respect it but it isn’t my preference. Very approachable for the normal reader who isn’t a fan of nonfiction.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Really wonderful collection of various types of work from Alice Wong. I especially enjoyed the parts with the oracles and the discussion of ethics regarding germline editing, as that is a topic I discuss with my biology students.
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
I really enjoyed this!! Not so much a memoir in a standard narrative but more of a collection of some parts of Alice’s life from memes she finds funny to conversations with her mom and traditional Chinese recipes. Wong touches on big topics like the pandemic, ableism, representation within the media, accessibility within buildings and the use of plastic straws. This is all done with humour and passion and was a joy to read. I listened to the audiobook but was still able to download the pictures which I otherwise would’ve missed out on, another way to make it more accessible I never would’ve thought of. Some parts can get repetitive as excerpts from interviews or speeches may briefly touch on the same details, but the sheer variety within this novel is engaging. I really loved hearing about her childhood experiences of Chinese school, lunar new year, and her relationship with her first grade teacher. What a fab read, I learnt a lot and laughed a lot!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Pandemic/Epidemic
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
did not love the narrator or the choice to not include real life audio when it was available, but appreciated hearing alice’s story
challenging
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
medium-paced