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amberinpieces'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
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Chronic illness, Infidelity, and Vomit
Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, and Classism
bookalins's review against another edition
1.0
I enjoyed the first third, when Fiona and Jane were young and growing up together, but after that it became a mess.
I would have given this book 2 stars, but I had to remove another one for fat phobia/anti-fat bias, there was so much of it woven throughout the story. Every character who wasn’t thin was described with such disgust, it was very disturbing.
Moderate: Fatphobia
robinks'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, Suicide, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Fatphobia, Racism, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Abortion
raphynette'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Religious bigotry, and Abortion
youngblackademic98'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Fatphobia and Racism
burnt_milk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Cancer, Fatphobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Outing, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, and Abortion
toofondofbooks_'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
3.5
This book of short stories chronicles the lives and friendship of Fiona and Jane, two Tawainese women who grew up together and are now trying to find themselves out in the world. They navigate their friendship, relationships, sexuality and family dynamics along the way.
I don't usually have a great relationship with books of short stories, but I liked this one. I think that the stories actually being related and tying into one another really helped. The first story, right off the bat, broke my heart, and I was both scared and excited to read the rest. The stories were all very engaging, but my favorite was "Cold Turkey," which occurs around the halfway mark. I also liked that the side characters who fleshed out the worlds of Fiona & Jane felt complete and real, for better and for worse.
The only reason why this didn't end up getting rated higher for me was - for it being a book about friendship, I didn't see a whole lot of....well, friendship. Fiona & Jane are supposed to be best friends, but in some stories, they don't interact at all or seldom mention each other. When they do. have scenes together, you can tell that there is love there, but it doesn't feel like they should even still be friends - the chemistry wasn't really there for me. However, overall, I did enjoy this read!
Graphic: Biphobia, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Outing, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Misogyny, Violence, Vomit, and Murder
Minor: Dementia, Trafficking, and Abortion
krys_kilz'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
4.0
I also thought the story lines unpacking Jane and Fiona's relationships with their parents were really strong. Fiona as her mother's "own heart, walking outside her body" and Jane trying to save Julian in an attempt to save her father - the complexity and messiness were translated beautifully.
My favorite stories in the collection were: Cold Turkey, Clairvoyance, and the title story Fiona and Jane.
Graphic: Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Abortion, and Alcohol
meishallaneous'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
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Child death, Fatphobia, Racism, Abortion, Pregnancy, and War
izzyf16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Suicide
Minor: Fatphobia, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts