Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Yellowface

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

abicaro17's review

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

0.5

God this book was unbearable. I will say first off, that Kuang has a beautiful writing style and the base of this book is really interesting. That being said, the execution of said base is god awful.

Juniper Song Heyward is a jealous, manipulative, vindictive, racist, bitch. She spends the entire book a plagiarist who attempts to convince the reader she's a victim somehow. June continuously uses racist language and defends her actions by blaming Athena for being more talented and likable. Every word that came out of her mouth made her less likable.

The plot is unbearably slow. You spend like 80% of the book reading tweets. Why? Who knows. I considered DNFing so many times it's a miracle I finished at all. I would recommend this to someone only if I hated them. Brb while I go cleanse my aura of this nightmare.

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torturedreadersdept's review

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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thursdd4y's review

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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dsalazar's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I expected this book to be really good and all my expectations were met. Kuang’s story telling and writing style were compelling and brilliant. For most of the story, I couldn’t put the book down, especially at the start.

This reminded me of The Curse on Hulu with Nathan Fielder, Ben Sadfie, and Emma Stone, where everyone (including the audience) is in on the joke except the main characters. I especially liked that the whole plot revolved around the writing/publishing industry and how vicious it can make a writer. It felt like I was reading a fictional story but also questioning which parts came from Kuang’s lived experiences. This added depth and intrigue as I learned more about a failed v. successful novelist’s journey.

Aside from the language and pacing, diving into Junie’s psyche felt like watching that recent Golden Globes host flop horrendously. It’s as if I simultaneously hated her, needed to understand her more, wanted to stop reading cause of the overwhelming cringe, and pitied her.

Plot-wise, it was enough of a glimpse into Junie’s life, family, and background to move the story along but not so deep that I would get bored or lost in the details. There was just enough to bring me into the story and Junie’s head, which made this a fairly easy read. I do think the ending was a bit predictable but only insofar as (I think) Kuang intended. Any readers will enjoy this even more if they are super online and have used Twitter. Iykyk

Anyway, I loved it and everyone should read it!!

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carlytenille's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.25

Content Warnings

glassflowrr's review against another edition

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challenging funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I love that Kuang pulls no punches in her writing and this felt like an escalation of that trait. Her characters are over-the-top but feel grounded in what's most likely real experiences the author has had in the industry. June oscillates wildly between gut-wrenching guilt and extreme narcissism in a very compelling way. I finished the book in one day.

This book does suffer from Kuang's typical pacing issues in the third act and leaves some threads a bit under developed, but overall a strong read and highly recommended if you already like this author.

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zadsavage's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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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mantnam's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.75

It's a bit like watching Its Always Sunny and marveling at how bad people can be. I love getting an inside view of how people justify and think about their harmful actions.

Content Warnings