Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh

7 reviews

littlelizzieborden's review

challenging emotional hopeful tense

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

amberinpieces's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ittywitty's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense medium-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

4.25

Well-written. Took a while to get into, but I’m really glad I read it! It’s kind of like a modern Joy Luck Club meets Crazy Rich Asians with a little bit of a Crazy, Stupid, Love twist. Think messy Vietnamese women all dealing with generational trauma and trying to survive the pressures of duty to family and society. All of which have been unlucky in love due to a family curse. Enjoyed hearing about these families and the culmination of hilarious drama that ensues!  Also the portrayal of Vietnamese culture felt pretty accurate to me, which I always appreciate in AAPI authors, especially those also named Carolyn. ❤️ Would love to see this story made into a movie!!! 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

ktv's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

It was so depressing in the first half but also very relatable bc I also grew up in an immigrant Vietnamese household. I just hated how uncomfortable the read was but eventually it got better. Ppl changed their circumstances and got happier. Some of the writing was very on the nose but other than that I liked it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Racism, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Body shaming, Incest, Miscarriage, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

victoriaharris001's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

starrysteph's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Fortunes of Jaded Women was a quick but powerful read.

 

We follow a large, complicated family of Vietnamese women who have been cursed for generations by a witch. Their ancestor Oanh left her marriage for true love – and so her descendants were cursed to never find love or happiness, and to only give birth to daughters.

 

Now skip ahead to present day, when current descendant Mai feels like her life is falling apart. She’s estranged from her two sisters and deeply worried about her three adult daughters. So she heads to her trusted psychic in Hawaii, who offers her an unusual prediction: this year, her family will witness a marriage, a funeral, and the birth of a son (!).

 

The story takes off at lightning speed from there. We alternate between a HUGE cast of characters from chapter to chapter, often hearing one side of the story and then the next. It was a little confusing to keep track at times, but the family tree at the front of the book was helpful. And as I got to know each character a little better, the threads became much clearer.

 

The storytelling is emotional and chaotic and raw – but also quite funny at times. These women are strong and STUBBORN.

 

The first half of the book focuses on the generation of mothers. All they want is to do better than their parents and to give their children happiness … but they don’t always know how. In the second portion of the book, we hear more from the daughters. They’re all desperately trying to distance themselves from their mothers in very different ways – but often unknowingly continue the cycles they hope to break.

 

Slowly but surely, the family is reunited. And all of this chaos culminates in one of the most jaw-droppingly awesome climaxes I’ve ever read. Everything comes together all at once, and I was cracking up at the delightful ridiculousness of it all.

 

This book covers SO much: navigating love in all of its stages, connecting with your roots and heritage in different ways, dealing with racism and harmful stereotypes, the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, generational trauma, the burden of being an eldest daughter, and so much more. It will make you laugh out loud and then punch you in the gut. It’s a celebration of Vietnamese women and of complicated families who may get into public food fights but ultimately will do anything for each other.

 

CW: death, grief, racism, toxic relationship, infidelity, body shaming, drug use, mental illness, misogyny, medical content, miscarriage, pregnancy, cultural appropriation, abandonment, colonization, classism

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Body shaming, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism