Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Anna K: A Love Story by Jenny Lee

13 reviews

nicoreads333's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.75

Very well-written and engaging. I love the original story of Anna Karenina and I wasn't sure what to expect, but the Jenny Lee did such a great job making it modern. It almost reminded me of the OG Gossip Girl series, especially taking place with Manhattan's elite. I loved how diverse the cast of characters was, too. There was a lot going on and a few different intertwining storylines to follow, but it was surprisingly easy to do so. I also really love her writing style and the use of an omniscient narrator. It's been a while since I've read something that I liked this much. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Sex, drugs, and other misbehavior from the young, rich, and vapid.  It was a little dull at first since I knew the story of Anna Karenina, but it ended up being better than I expected as I grew to know the characters.  I enjoyed the difference in the ending from the classic.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mari_library's review against another edition

This is a soft-DNF but I am as bored as I was when I was reading Anna Karenina (and honestly I think I had more fun reading Levin talk about farming for 50+ pages). I think there was a lot of lost potential here. None of the character's felt flushed out. A lot of them were just a list of character traits with no connection. I wasn't connected nor cared about any of them, and to be honest, I forgot a lot of characters/things that happened to them because I wasn't invested. A liked a few of the storylines but I think that - given the source material - there was so much more that could've been given. I think this reimagining of Tolstoy would've benefited if the characters actually used modern devices (you're telling me none of these characters had a YouTube channel or a TikTok?? Sounds fake but okay). Like if Anna and Vronsky texted, we would actually have some high stakes here. It doesn't help that Anna lacks a personality (which sucks given that she was my favorite in the original story). Also because they are in high school, it is hard to take anything seriously, you know? 

Plus the amount of unchecked sexism and racism is getting to me.

oh and let's not get into how Vronsky was fucking horrible talking about the homeless guy and then try to turn face and give him money. And when Anna was like "I saw you give him money", the bastard was like "I wanted you to see it because I want you to see that I do care". Like boy, eat dirt.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Sexism, and Classism

ludivinev's review against another edition

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Racism and Sexism

hkburke2's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I was going to DNF this but saw someone say they liked the audio version so after about 20% I switched to audio and managed to finish. There were elements of this that were interesting enough to keep me hanging in (subtle commentary on microaggressions, representation of a very priveledge world...) but everything else was just not right for me. The way the characters spoke didn't ring true to my conversations with/around teenagers... They were shallow even in the plot lines that were meant to show depth of character. I think the problem for me was not necessarily shallow characters but shallow writing. I can see why this worked for a lot of people, and I love the idea of a more diverse retelling of a classic, but this wasn't it for me. I did like the author's note though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Sexism

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

decklededgess's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

trigger warnings: sexual content (characters are under 18), drug and alcohol abuse, addiction, overdosing, rehabilitation, depression, suicide ideation, suicide attempt, self harm mention, vehicle accident, death by train, animal harm/death, emotionally abusive parents, infidelity, sexual harassment and cyber bullying, vomit, fatphobia, racism, classism, slut shaming, emotional incest


Idk who or what have me the idea but this book is not sapphic? There is one sapphic character who is like basically background. No wlw here in the main cast. 

Other than that disappointment this book was phenomenal. A very xoxo Gossip Girl touch to Anna Karenina which seems apt from what I know about the original text. 

The wealth disparity and lack of relatability of thee wealthy ass kids made the trauma a but more distant so I could read the book without internalising too much. 

It’s beautifully written and I loved the chaos that third person omniscient pov provided to the narrative. 

Excited for the next one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, and Vomit

Minor: Abortion

crystalmethany's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction and Animal death

Minor: Mental illness and Medical content

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, and Alcohol

Moderate: Racism and Blood

gabbygarcia's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

Fun audiobook! Though I don't think I would have enjoyed it so much if I hadn't listened to it... 
Jenna Ushkowitz is perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Racism, Sexism, and Death of parent

samchase112's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

Every happy teenage girl is the same, while every unhappy teenage girl is miserable in her own special way.

This was a solid read. If you're not familiar, this book is a retelling of Anna Karenina (the classic Russian epic) which takes place in the rich upper society of New York. And when I say retelling, I mean pretty much to the T. The plot is followed fairly religiously, the characters are just as unbearably terrible (but in a good way?), and very similar questions are explored. Seriously, the lifestyle these characters lead is pretty terrible to read about, because yes, their lives are insane and filled with extreme expectations and extreme downfalls, but at the same time every single one of them (besides Dustin/Levin and Kitty, the real mvps) takes their life and wealth for granted. I will say that I enjoyed Anna more here than in the original, probably because she was a teenager and thus more forgiven for her mistakes than, say, a grown woman with children who she neglects for a young hot Vronsky. There were some great twists to the story, especially at the end, and everything tied together well. When I think back to Anna Karenina, however, I will remember my experience with the original and likely forget about this (well done, perfectly fine) retelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Stalking, and Car accident

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Antisemitism