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amiegold's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
While I loved the ending, I was restless along the way with the sometimes nauseating and frustrating characters and plot lines. If you enjoy deep symbolism and dark themes, this may be a good book for you.
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual assault, Excrement, Alcohol, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Colonisation, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Cursing
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Gore
sophia_zaytoun_habib's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Alcoholism, Violence, Body shaming, Alcohol, Abandonment, Vomit, Gore, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Murder, Excrement, Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death, Classism, Body horror, and Blood
porporina's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Vomit, Alcohol, Abandonment, Body horror, Misogyny, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexism
mmefish's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
How could I explain the way time seemed to slip from my fingers, the way I became incrementally more detached, more unable to reach out a hand to take anything I wanted?
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, and Drug use
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, Animal death, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Eating disorder, War, Incest, and Rape
nialiversuch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Excrement, Blood, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexism, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Classism, Body horror, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Rape, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, and Incest
radfordmanor's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexism, and Toxic friendship
writingcaia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Using family trees and native Vietnamese myths and folklore, the author tells the story of several characters to encompass such a large part of Vietnam’s most recent history (going back more than 50 years), and it all starts with the disappearance of a Vietnamese American young woman with severe mental issues by the time it occurs, some of them are real some are hauntings.
Going back from there we will find the nature of the man she lives with, his brother, and most importantly the girl who was their everything when they were young. A wild girl who hunts snakes, and she’s the connection to a ghost hunter and exorcist, a man the forest chose to save from the war, to a mother without a daughter, to French occupation, to rape and serfdom.
It’s not the easiest read due to its complicated timeline, that keeps shifting, going back and forward with no great logic, but you get used to it after a while and when the dots all start connecting, when you understand that what matters are the different stories and the history, not the timeline or that one story it becomes addictive.
Not knowing Vietnam or its people I believe this is the closest I will ever get, as the book brilliantly woven a tale that encompasses so much of the culture, history, and people, also the present and how it is affected by its folklore and past.
Definitely a read I recommend, especially if you’re looking for a great read for API month.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Colonisation, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual harassment, War, Incest, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pedophilia, and Rape
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Rep: Biracial Vietnamese-American cishet female MC, cishet Vietnamese cast.
CWs: Blood, body horror (including swapping bodies and possession), drug use/abuse, death, murder, animal cruelty (capturing snakes to take venom, attempted dog kidnapping to take to a restaurant), gore, injury/injury detail, sexual assault, sexual content, sexual violence, snakes, suicide, toxic friendship, violence, xenophobia. Moderate: Misogyny, incest, rape, attempted necrophilia, colonisation, sexism. Minor: eating disorder, cursing, racism, war.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Gore, Drug use, Alcohol, Blood, Xenophobia, Body horror, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Incest, Sexism, Misogyny, Rape, and Colonisation
Minor: Cursing, Eating disorder, Racism, and War
biblio_jordyn's review
- 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? Yes
4.75
What could have been better?
The pacing could sometimes feel slow.
What I enjoyed?
Whoa! This book was complex in the best kind of way. You get multiple time periods and points of view to get a story that eventually ties together to make your eyes go wide. I think this novel shows the author’s phenomenal storytelling abilities as she intertwines the time periods and characters lives seamlessly together by the end in some ways I saw coming and other ways I didn’t.
This story is dark! Has a lot of paranormal elements! Has a revenge plot and some thriller elements tied in too, while also introducing us to some elements of Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American experience and cultural dynamics (this author is an #ownvoices author).
This is a book I feel like I would have loved to have a college literature class about! There’s a lot to unpack and it has a lot going on, but I personally think it’s in the best way possible. I literally was writing down my guesses and all the connections of the characters as I read (there’s also a cheat cheat of characters at the beginning of the book if needed).
I recommend this book to people who don’t mind a slower pace story, with time shifts and multiple povs, and are looking for a complex read that’s different than anything they’ve ever read before!
Thank you to random house for the free copy in exchange for an honest review
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, and Murder
Minor: Rape and Eating disorder