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A review by goldentortoisebeetle
Firebird by Sunmi
emotional
reflective
Two Asian American teens dealing with high school and family stuff. Caroline's got her routine down - early classes, band, studying, sneaking fantasy romance comics when no one's looking. Kim's all over the place - failing math because she's constantly running around picking up siblings, working at a garage, teaching guitar, helping her mom, showing up to friend hangouts last minute. They get paired up for tutoring. Something clicks between them. Caroline starts coming out of her shell. Kim slows down a bit.
Nothing super dramatic happens - just friendship developing, identity stuff, figuring out priorities. Both girls are carrying a lot from their immigrant families while trying to be regular teenagers. It feels authentic, like watching actual people instead of characters hitting plot points. Just a quiet story about growing up.
I also didn't mind the ambiguous ending, it felt open to possibilities. I enjoyed the conversations on gender, bodies, sexuality, straight/queer friendships, absentee dads, mommy issues. They held lots of nuance.
Nothing super dramatic happens - just friendship developing, identity stuff, figuring out priorities. Both girls are carrying a lot from their immigrant families while trying to be regular teenagers. It feels authentic, like watching actual people instead of characters hitting plot points. Just a quiet story about growing up.
I also didn't mind the ambiguous ending, it felt open to possibilities. I enjoyed the conversations on gender, bodies, sexuality, straight/queer friendships, absentee dads, mommy issues. They held lots of nuance.