iro_san's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- 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: Confinement, Body horror, Vomit, Cursing, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Gun violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, and Grief
joensign's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Body horror and Pregnancy
kelsokake's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Confinement
ohyeah_karyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
sakisreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Ling Ma captures the boredom of day-in, day-out hustle culture for the big men; in her Bible production job in New York, it’s evident she’s not loving life but she’s just keeping it going.
In sharp contrast, her perspective on Shen Fever taking over the city and her having to join this group of ‘survivors’ is so interesting and once I’d gotten into the different flashbacks I couldn’t put this book down.
Spoiler
I wasn’t expecting Ashley’s fevered time in her house and could picture all that so clearly. This element of horror was intense and I was wide-eyed the entire time reading it 😳I really loved the ending to this book as well. I wasn’t sure what I expected to happen in the end but I’m glad it ended the way it did 🥹
Spoiler
SHE GOT AWAY WITH THE BABY, NICE ✨I would highly recommend this to people who are fans of reading Asian literature and about the immigrant experience… All with a twist. This book reminded me a little bit of The School for Good Mothers! Thank you so much ❤️
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Death of parent
readwithbells's review against another edition
3.5
I think this book is well-written and 100% accomplishes what it set out to do, I just prefer books I get more emotionally attached to and this one really kept me at arm’s length. To people who liked Leave the World Behind or Kazuo Ishiguro’s When We Were Orphans, Severance would be a good comp title. It was just too meandering for me, with a through-line caught up in the flow of memories instead of character arc, which is my personal preference. I’m glad I read it though!
Graphic: Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Confinement
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Racism
Minor: Death of parent and Suicide
Brief but graphic mention of maggots in an open woundfoldingthepage_kayleigh'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
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Dementia, Medical content, Suicide, Violence, Body horror, Death, Confinement, Grief, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Car accident
itsalina's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, and Murder
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
shoohoob'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Really interesting book! It was slow to get into but I very much enjoyed it. I don’t know how to feel about the ending, but I loved the two different stories. As the child of immigrants, I related to many of Candace’s feelings and experiences.
Graphic: Pregnancy and Death of parent
Minor: Racism and Injury/Injury detail
mraddd'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Pregnancy