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bloop's Reviews (102)
Genuinely the worst book I have ever read. How do people like this monstrosity?! No plot in sight, the smut is cringey, and the FMC is annoying as fuck. This reads like a poorly written Wattpad book.
dark
fast-paced
Yooooo this shit was crazy. The Next Time That Somebody Tells You, “The Government Wouldn't Do That,” Oh Yes They Would
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
This is a very tough book. Not in terms of the writing style but the subject matter. While reading the sexual scenes, I just felt super... dirty afterwards? I know that those scenes were important to detail exactly how Strane manipulated Vanessa but they also made me feel soooo icky. I also teetered back and forth between frustration and sympathy for Vanessa because she was an insufferable person but partially due to her trauma that she swears isn't trauma. What happened to her was horrible, but she also treated the people around her horribly as well. My Dark Vanessa was such a complex exploration into the psyche of a victim who doesn't view herself as a victim. While I was disturbed, I think "good art should disturb the comfortable."
This book definitely warrants a reread. Susanna Clarke's writing is so pretty, and Piranesi's love for the World is so pure and unadulterated I could cry.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This story will stay with me forever. I read it a couple weeks ago, and I am still thinking about it. Min Jin Lee did a phenomenal job.
Very cute. I would always get the names mixed up though. But I teared up at the end.
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I devoured this book so quickly. What an amazing look into Coriolanus Snow's twisted, fucked up psyche. Suzanne Collins is so fucking good at writing I sometimes forgot that I was reading YA, which is not my preferred genre. I also didn't really experience the pacing issues that other people felt. I think that every single detail Collins included was incredibly important to move the story along. I really want to reread the whole Hunger Games Trilogy now!
typical white feminism empowerment
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
One of the first books I have read where I haven't struggled with the rating. I knew it was a 5 star book the minute I closed the book. Close to the end of Just Kids, I started sobbing. But I was captivated from the very first chapter. Patti Smith has such a way with words, and her prose was absolutely beautiful. She gives the reader a look into a side that most have not been privileged enough to experience: the raw culture of 60's and 70's New York, where it seemed like anyone could just fall into fame if you hung around the right places. Smith details her soul connection with Robert Mapplethorpe in such a wondrous way, and I was fully immersed in her life. She describes things with such a complex simplicity (oxymoron, ik). I can sense a re-read in the future!
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was debating between a 3.75 and a 4.0 for Yellowface and eventually settled for a 3.75, as much as it pains me because I love RF Kuang. Let's start with the negatives first so we can end off on a good note. (Edit: I lowered the rating after thinking about it even more lol).
Negatives:
Negatives:
- I feel like Kuang's typical prose that she uses when writing fantasy is itching to be seen in this book but oftentimes clashes with the established tone of the story. For example, she will write a sentence that is in casual diction and then throw in a word like "antimiscegenation." It just felt so disjointed at times.
- I know RF Kuang says that Athena isn't supposed to be based off of herself, but all the similarities that the character and Kuang share really make you think it is a self-insert. Going to a prestigious university (Yale), having instant debut success, getting criticized on Twitter for not portraying indigenous Taiwanese people appropriately. Miss Kuang, this does sound a little like you, does it not?
- The ending felt so contrived and convenient. Like for a second it felt like the book switched genres, which I didn't particularly appreciate.
- Perhaps the message was a little too blatant, but on second thought, maybe it wasn't blatant enough because there are some people who don't like Yellowface but for the wrong reasons.
Positives:
- Kuang provides some insight into the publishing world that I didn't know previously. For example, many POC authors are pigeonholed into writing about one particular topic due to their ethnicity and aren't allowed as much creative freedom because their work is inherently tied to their identity as perceived by publishers.
- The book was thoroughly engaging. I really couldn't put it down, and I read it within two days. It felt like I was reading a Youtuber tea video unfold in real time (like Bye Sister).
- Kuang succeeded at making the narrator unlikeable, showing her spiraling thought process as she continuously justifies her microaggressions and plagiarism.
Overall, not sure if I would read it again but I enjoyed it. That's all I have to say.