Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

17 reviews

thestarlesscasea's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Outing

lanid's review against another edition

mysterious

• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Death, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

alyssa2012's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, and Xenophobia

leannanecdote's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

bearbookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

It isn't often a pick up a contemporary fantasy, and it's even less often I find one so truly enjoyable. Cho's prose has a natural unassuming quality that delivered like a blow to the gut- what a delicately executed tale of generational trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, and Murder

traa's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Outing

Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Pregnancy

gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

"Black Water Sister" has made me realize how woefully ignorant I am of Malaysia and the Malaysian diaspora!!! I loved all the content about Malaysia from the folklore to the customs to the cuisine, expanding my knowledge of the vibrancy of the country. Jess and her grandmother Ah Ma were super interesting characters to follow along with, and I enjoyed Ah Ma's constant commentary, which reminded me so vividly of my own grandmother. The messages on intergenerational trauma were done masterfully, evoking feelings of teary-eyed healing and self-righteous justice. 

My only gripe is how the conclusion of the gentrification in the story felt way-laid in favor of the family dynamics, even though gentrification plays a very large part in the overall story, to the point where it felt the conclusion was, "gentrification is bad but some gentrification is okay to prevent even bigger gentrification from happening". This facet of the ending didn't sit too well with me, but otherwise I enjoyed the book for it's lively characters and well-paced plot!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cancer and Rape

sulinde's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective tense fast-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: Death, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia and Xenophobia

Minor: Cancer, Cannibalism, and Deportation

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Vomit

Minor: Cancer

rhi_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Violence

Minor: Racism and Xenophobia