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splitdice's Reviews (151)
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have a theory that everyone has that One super millennial author that just clicks for them and for me thats emily austin
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i had a really fun time with this one. the middle section was pretty boring (and i didnt like how the author used transphobia just to make the villian character look worse) but i LOVED how the aliens in this book were percieved. i honestly would love a sequel just to get more of that
challenging
medium-paced
first i want to say my problems with this book:
- it took way way way way too long to call what happened in myanmar a genocide. i also kind of hated how she used it as foreshadowing tool and didnt talk about it until the end of the book (after she met with the government)
- speaking of which, i think she only called it a genocide once or twice (and it was in the context of something along the lines of "The United Nations classified it as a genocide"). like why?
- brings me to my third point, which is that she didn't take accountability as much as i wouldve liked. this is def an unreliable narrator story, which is fine, but i think she should have at least said "When I made contact in Myanmar that led to Facebook's role in the genocide". I understand she did what she could in power to make it better, but the lack of accountability was .. :/
- This is less of a memoir and more of a collection of stories that happened at her time at facebook. but the story setup is honestly kind of bad- she tells you how to get into situations but doesnt tell you how she gets out of them which like, she gets into CRAZY stuff sometimes, tell me how you got out please!!
- the fact that she isnt divorced from her husband. seriously im sure hes a great guy but every time he appears in this book he does something awful to her
but i will say, this was an excellently narrated audiobook. wynn-william's accent is charming and adds a lot to the dialog. i also do like how shes an unreliable narrator, though i think you need some background information from facebook to fully grasp that. def a great read while commuting but dont let this be your only information on facebook
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I liked this one- it was simple and sweet. I do think it took a bit to get into (personally wasn't that interested until mosscap and dex crossed paths, which was honestly kinda late in the book lol). there were some things i wouldve liked to seen explored but i think thatll come when i read the sequel.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
rivers solomon should have the fame that rf kuang has and I will die on this hill
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
very mixed feelings about this book:
so firstly, last year around this time i read a book that felt pretty similar thematically even if the time and actual plot were different. this was the teahouse fire by ellis avery. what they shared was an outsider learning a japanese artistic art form (tea in that book, gardens in this book) while they cope with being close to japanese royalty (tangentially). that book takes place about 100 years before this one, and on japan, while this one is in malaysia mainly. the writing was also pretty similar. however, i found this book really left out a lot of characterization and details that made me enjoy the teahouse fire so much (also i dont like straight people sorry)
ill start off with what i liked, which was mainly the setting and the cast of characters. i read this book for the storygraph reads the world challenge, for malaysia. i honestly lack a lot of information about malaysia and how the region was impacted by WW2, so i really liked the insight i gained from reading this book. i also really enjoyed how diverse the cast was in this book, and their different lived experiences. im also a sister myself so i enjoyed that part of the book as well. i also enjoyed how rich this book was with its language, and seeing words from a bunch of different languages was really cool with this melting pot of a cast. and of course there is so much complexity here when it comes to war, trauma, love, family, etc. and i like how it doesnt just put one answer in front of you when it comes to these themes and says "here"
for what i didnt like.. honestly, the lack of detail in this book. i wanted to learn about the japanese gardens too! there were some of that in this book, but honestly nothing close to what was in the teahouse fire. it definitely seemed like more of a mechanic to tell the story rather than its own thing. i also just got like, no detail on teoh yun ling and aritomo's relationship for how it closes for it to actually be believable, or care about their relationship at all. i feel like everything else in the book was more interesting than that. i actually feel like the author just lacked so much detail in terms of the relationships in general- and not in a "read between the lines" way. the main characters just felt like their actual relationships with one another were a stage but didnt really have any care put into themselves.
i also think you could tell this was a man writing a woman (deragotry)
i also just honestly have a problem with the relationship with teoh yun ling and aritomos relationship in general. i know forgiveness is a theme but having the main girl sleep with the older japanese man who may or may not have been working for the imperialists was a bit Much
im glad i read it, but idk if i would read from this author again
so firstly, last year around this time i read a book that felt pretty similar thematically even if the time and actual plot were different. this was the teahouse fire by ellis avery. what they shared was an outsider learning a japanese artistic art form (tea in that book, gardens in this book) while they cope with being close to japanese royalty (tangentially). that book takes place about 100 years before this one, and on japan, while this one is in malaysia mainly. the writing was also pretty similar. however, i found this book really left out a lot of characterization and details that made me enjoy the teahouse fire so much (also i dont like straight people sorry)
ill start off with what i liked, which was mainly the setting and the cast of characters. i read this book for the storygraph reads the world challenge, for malaysia. i honestly lack a lot of information about malaysia and how the region was impacted by WW2, so i really liked the insight i gained from reading this book. i also really enjoyed how diverse the cast was in this book, and their different lived experiences. im also a sister myself so i enjoyed that part of the book as well. i also enjoyed how rich this book was with its language, and seeing words from a bunch of different languages was really cool with this melting pot of a cast. and of course there is so much complexity here when it comes to war, trauma, love, family, etc. and i like how it doesnt just put one answer in front of you when it comes to these themes and says "here"
for what i didnt like.. honestly, the lack of detail in this book. i wanted to learn about the japanese gardens too! there were some of that in this book, but honestly nothing close to what was in the teahouse fire. it definitely seemed like more of a mechanic to tell the story rather than its own thing. i also just got like, no detail on teoh yun ling and aritomo's relationship for how it closes for it to actually be believable, or care about their relationship at all. i feel like everything else in the book was more interesting than that. i actually feel like the author just lacked so much detail in terms of the relationships in general- and not in a "read between the lines" way. the main characters just felt like their actual relationships with one another were a stage but didnt really have any care put into themselves.
i also think you could tell this was a man writing a woman (deragotry)
im glad i read it, but idk if i would read from this author again
informative
medium-paced
kind of wish that i read this in like, 5 years in the future when we had more information with musk. i also kind of wish that it went more into just how insane elon got in such a small span of time. ngl its also crazy how much people trust this dude because hes a rich white nepo baby
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
if the first 100 pages of this book weren't so slow this would be an EASY 5 star read. im not a huge romance person and i felt like it was a little insta-lovey but like. it was executed so well. i also think the third day was a really gross and uncomfortable chapter, but also one of the best things i have read this year
dark
sad
medium-paced
its kind of crazy how much i saw my own experiences with my lesbianism as bechdel did even though we lived such different lives. i really loved this one
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i really liked chapter 9. but other than that the writing was bad and i couldnt care less about a white 50s straight couples marriage