natafiguu's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Abortion, War, Animal death, Cancer, Violence, Sexual content, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Racism, and Drug use
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Deportation and Pregnancy
softbooknerd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It gave me the urge to think the way he writes.
One tiny critique is that sometimes it was TOO poetic for me. It made it very difficult to understand what this or that sentence was supposed to express.
It also gave me like an idea of how growing up in a white world as a poc is (not to say like omg i know now how racism feels, I will never know how it feels)
This was a deeply touching and thought provoking experience!!
Tbh I don't know what else to say but his writing style truly inspired me!
Have you read anything by Ocean Vuong? I also recommend checking out "Night Sky With Exit Wounds" by him!
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Drug use, War, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
naiu_cs's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: War, Violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Racism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Abortion, Death, Cancer, Child abuse, Bullying, Homophobia, Child death, and Blood
nlammata's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Child abuse
hannakutlu's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Abortion, Addiction, and War
fernisreading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Terminal illness, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Death, Violence, Domestic abuse, War, and Racism
hoiyan's review
- 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
5.0
“You’re a mother, Ma. You’re also a monster. But so am I—which is why I can’t turn away from you. Which is why I have taken god’s loneliest creation and put you inside it.”
"Our mother tongue, then, is no mother at all—but an orphan. Our Vietnamese a time capsule, a mark of where your education ended, ashed.”
“Sometimes being offered tenderness feels like the very proof that you’ve been ruined.”
“Afterward, lying next to me with his face turned away, he cried skillfully in the dark. The way boys do.”
Spoiler
and losing the one who was supposed to be beside you for just a little while longer“Maybe in the next life we’ll meet each other for the first time—believing in everything but the harm we’re capable of.”
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Alcohol, Grief, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Racial slurs
Minor: Transphobia
i do want to make a warning note of multiple explicit sexual scenes between two teenage boys_jasper_394's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Grief, Xenophobia, Drug use, War, Sexual content, and Racism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Death of parent, Cancer, Terminal illness, Addiction, and Violence
ellornaslibrary's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
And when I've had time to process this raw, emotional, beautiful read a little more I'll add to this review.
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Violence, Grief, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Abortion, Alcohol, Homophobia, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, War, Physical abuse, Dementia, Death, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Bullying, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
volares's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, and Violence