pandacrybaby's profile picture

pandacrybaby 's review for:

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow, Jen Wang
3.0
adventurous challenging
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

This story would've been better executed as a warning against trying to organize from outside a community. If you don't know what it's like you can't know what a group needs or what will work. I think it did this somewhat but it wanted to have a happy ending where the white girl halfway across the world has a hand in helping organize a union in China. (Which, like the intro text says, the internet helps tremendously with organizing! But you cannot, or shouldnt, be the lead organizer for a community you're not a part of!) Why is this story from her perspective? Why is this story about her? Does her personal journey in learning about unionizing and privilege take precedent over Raymond's story?