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sholcomb'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
3.25
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, Death of parent, Outing, and Alcohol
balladofreadingqueer'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
4.5
It explores important themes of friendships, coming out, acceptance, belonging and family. I enjoyed Jane’s storyline and her queer life interested me more than Fiona’s heterosexual life.
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, and Outing
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
le_mur's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Outing
Moderate: Biphobia, Child death, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
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
maregred'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
4.0
Graphic: Outing and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Physical abuse, Racism, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Trafficking, Abortion, Pregnancy, and War
stevie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Biphobia, Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Outing, and Abandonment
anintrovertrambles'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
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, and Outing
Minor: Abortion
sydneybedell'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
4.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Racism, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Outing
Moderate: Biphobia, Cancer, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
Minor: Abortion
evagomoore'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
3.5
Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Outing, Abandonment, and Alcohol