alexisnasya 's review for:

Parachutes by Kelly Yang

4.0

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I’ve had Parachutes on my list since I started following Kelly Yang on Instagram. This was a great #MeToo era story that seemed to hit on so many different experiences of sexual harassment and assault survivors. Both Dani and Claire find themselves dealing with the aftermath of their assaults by being forced to be retraumatized by the institutions sworn to protect them and keep them safe. They are blamed by their attackers and made to feel guilty for “ruining their perpetrators’ lives” by speaking out. There is a critical examination of power throughout the book - who has it, for what reasons, and how they use it to serve or harm. We see this in issues of class, race, sexuality, culture, and title. This book also examines the ways in which racism affects people of color in a white-centered world, as well as within communities of color. The secondary characters in this book are so well developed and fleshed out, too. Honestly, there are just so many important topics covered in this book, but it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to hard to fit them all in; it just does. I think the only thing holding me back from five stars is that I did not feel personally emotionally connected to Dani or Claire.