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ekgranstro'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Deportation
Moderate: Sexual content, War, and Injury/Injury detail
egnolan'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: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: War
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
novella42'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Miscarriage, Violence, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
gilnean'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, War, and Classism
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
megelizabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, and War
Moderate: Racism and Alcohol
Minor: Death, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
spookily'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: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Death, Drug use, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Police brutality, Outing, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Minor: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy
Pedophilia warning is just in case, for an adult woman behaving flirtatiously towards the teenage protagonist.rieviolet'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? No
5.0
I loved the mixing of the personal coming of age story with the wider historical and social context of the time. It was also so interesting to see how the author explored the different aspects of Lily's identity, how being both Asian-American and lesbian affected her.
Above all, I was stunned by how the words on the page provoked so many emotions within me. There were so many passages that really struck a chord with me and left me on the floor, knocked out, completely destroyed.
Lily and Kath's relationship was so beautifully developed, it felt raw and tender and hopeful, in spite of all adversities.
Graphic: Racism and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual harassment
whatannikareads'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? No
3.75
i just felt it was a bit dry the first 100-200 pages, but then it picked up after that. the ending was fine for me, not WOW but not bad. plus i didn’t really connect the flashbacks of the family members to the core plot of the story since they’re not really brought back to light in the present-day plot. also i just didn’t care for shirley as much as she was mentioned in the book lmao the chinatown pageant was just kinda miscellaneous for me. i think the author attempted to shed light on a lot of different social issues at the time: being asian american, being queer, communism, women in STEM, and i think if the plot was a little more focused it would’ve made it a lot stronger.
but i appreciate the research that went into making the fiction fairly accurate for the time period it’s presented in. also i love san francisco :)
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail