Reviews with content warning for Bullying - If I Had Your Face

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

39 reviews

boop123's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-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

3.5

If I Had Your Face tackles on the prevalence and normalization of plastic surgery in Korean beauty standards, the inherent misogyny that exists in Korean society, and the value of women to settle down and have children despite the declining economy. Not much plot goes on here and it is definitely focused on character analysis of each woman who are struggling with their own thing given their socioeconomical climate but is still somehow intertwined with each other proximity and emotion wise.

Despite the thought-provoking insights you can dissect from this book given that a subject like this is very common in today’s society, I still find some of the characters underdeveloped. Shoved aside for the most part and is only remembered in the end. Specifically, I find Wonna’s character to be underdeveloped and there’s really not much to work with her as her struggles seem to be straightforward and concise. Though she has a few chapters dedicated to her and her history, it honestly doesn’t give that much to the table unlike Kyuri and Miho.

Anyways, if you’re looking for a more character-driven story, I would recommend this but I wouldn’t read if you’re not a fan of alternating POVs (especially with a lot of characters).

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vaykay's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective fast-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

4.0

I wish there was more. The pacing was sort of whack.

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

I would like to read this one in physical form, so that I can take my time with it. It feels like a such a different world that I don't know, and I also want to translate every Korean word in it. But I thought it was really interesting, and I'm excited for more from this author. I love this group of girls, so similar and also different, just trying to find their survival. Very interesting read.

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kaybee23's review against another edition

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dark hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

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beeanka_reads's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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marleen02's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing

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

4.5

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slaywithsteph's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful relaxing sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I would live my life so much better than you if I had your face.

Following the lives of four Korean women, this book is a slice-of-life without much plot. There’s little character growth but ample character exploration.

As a non-Korean, I cannot say if the author successfully details the obsessive — and sometimes surgery-heavy — world of Korean beauty standards, but it feels realistic to me.

However, what really brought it down for me was the book felt unbalanced in that I’m not sure why Wonna’s story existed in this. It’s not that she wasn’t interesting; it’s that she felt out of place with the other characters. Though, I do love the concept of a girl down the hall being included, it just felt like her entire storyline was so jarringly different, it felt like she was piece-mealed into the book. Maybe a fourth POV could have tied her in better? But I digress.

I went in with zero expectations, and so I was startled by several moments throughout the book. It took me until the final chapters to even realize this was likely a slice-of-life book, so I spent a lot of time wondering where the plot was going to come in.

Overall, I think Cha succeeded in what she wanted to do with the three main characters, and I very much appreciated how relaxing this was to read.

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