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kathleenivy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Torture, Medical content, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, and Miscarriage
whatannikareads'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
3.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
annieo15's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism
mheiling's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Infidelity and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
lastokes61's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Outing, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
vulgarboy'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
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
crodgers90's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Child abuse and Classism
madison1'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Suicide, and Classism
petit_lecteur's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism
yhteunice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This is a heavily plot-driven story about a mother, Frida Liu, who has a terrible day and made a mistake that led her to be separated from her child, later be part of a system the government made for bad mothers. The main themes of the story is the struggle of motherhood and her "coming-to-be" of her Chinese roots. The way society created a structured and constrictive system of the high standards and expectations of how mothers should be. Creating an unjust perspective that mothers have to be a robot to their children.
It is frustrating to see the instances of it and reading it makes my blood boil (which means the book did a good job expressing the unethical & suffocating standards a mother should pursue). However, the pacing of the book is unnecessarily long. The point has been stated, and it keeps being repeated, making the growth seems rushed and difficult to understand. The transitioning of one scenario to another is not smooth and does not give the reader (or me lol) time to take in a particular arc or chapter.
Over all, the premise of the book and the theme are interesting and great for today's society. It's just that the execution was confusing, and it does not sit right with me. However, since it is the first book Ms. Chan has even written. I give more understanding towards it.
I rated this book 2.5/5 stars (2/5 stars since it's the only option lol). Would I recommend it to someone? Yes, /only/ if they'd want to understand the difficulties of motherhood. And it is also great for group readings to have many discussions. But other than that, this book does not give me the spark to necessarily recommend it directly. Do I think it could be written better? Absolutely.
Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism