Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

324 reviews

bootrat's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

A really good book and such an interesting and important insight into the publishing world and how who you are impacts how you're treated. I really hated June, and had to keep reminding myself that the author is Chinese in order to not rage and hate the book itself because of that 😅 So well written, I definitely had emotional reactions listening to this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Xenophobia, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Toxic friendship

Minor: Sexual assault

martyrbat's review against another edition

mysterious medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Hate crime, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Xenophobia, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War

chronic_listener's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol

marim139's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

I overall enjoyed this book. It was a very interesting way to talk about race, cultural appropriation, and the literary world. However, I was let down by the ending. It felt like it all came tumbling out so quickly. I feel like there are typically more clues that gradually build on each other and you can start to see the pieces come together right before the crescendo at the end of the story… but this didn’t happen in this book. I wouldn’t read this book again, but I am glad I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Rape, Xenophobia, and Toxic friendship

jmb1951's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

navayiota's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Brilliant, like everything else she writes. I felt pulled to continue the story at every second of the day. 
Kuang inspires me to write, every word she lays on the page is like a string pulling at my heart, urging me to follow along. Her work makes me believe, for a second, that I too, could create something amazing. And at the same time I feel unbelievably silly and inexperienced. That's all I have to say. A Must-Read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Stalking, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation

_dina's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I understand what the author wanted to do with such an unlikable narrator, and she did it extremely well, but that made the book a bit difficult for me to get through at times. It’s just not something I enjoy reading. The commentary felt a bit heavy handed at times as a WOC but the reading experience will be different for every reader I suppose. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Vomit, and War

roisinf's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Rape and Suicidal thoughts

m_cant_read's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Oh my lord, this book did everything it set out to do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

Minor: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and War

astralfeline's review against another edition

challenging funny mysterious 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

5.0

I wasn't sure what this book was about originally going into it, so I wasn't sure what to expect but this ended up being such a good story. I found it almost funny in a "I can't believe she just said that" kind of way, because I found myself thinking that OFTEN throughout the story because of the main character. But I think it also does a good job talking about how white people especially white women tend to center ourselves in conversations or when we think about how things affect people. And I also think it is a good critique on how online fandom spaces behave and what they prioritize in discussions, especially book related spaces. Overall I loved this story, it was a very fun listen in audiobook form and definitely recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and War