kirstyreadsblog's review against another edition
5.0
Content warnings: sexual assault, rape, racism towards Chinese people and Filipino people, sexual harassment from a teacher, bullying, xenophobia
I can’t remember when I first heard about Parachutes, maybe last year, but when I did I immediately added it to my TBR. I knew it was going to be a moving read. And I was right, I cried multiple times whilst reading it.
Claire is a “parachute”, a teenager who has been sent to America to study in high school without her parents. She moves into the spare room of Dani de la Cruz, who is a straight A student, with her eyes set on a scholarship to college. They don’t really get on with each other, but have more in common than they think when Dani starts to get private lessons with her debate tutor and Claire starts to see a handsome boy called Jay.
I knew that the author took a lot of inspiration for this from her own experience of being raped and how the university she was studying at dealt with it. But that didn’t prepare me for how much this would hit me. I’m honestly so glad there was a content warning at the start of this book because there are some really harrowing scenes that a reader definitely needs to be prepared for. My heart absolutely broke for these girls. This book felt so realistic
Continue my review here: https://kirstyreadsblog.com/2020/08/23/parachutes-by-kelly-yang-review/
I can’t remember when I first heard about Parachutes, maybe last year, but when I did I immediately added it to my TBR. I knew it was going to be a moving read. And I was right, I cried multiple times whilst reading it.
Claire is a “parachute”, a teenager who has been sent to America to study in high school without her parents. She moves into the spare room of Dani de la Cruz, who is a straight A student, with her eyes set on a scholarship to college. They don’t really get on with each other, but have more in common than they think when Dani starts to get private lessons with her debate tutor and Claire starts to see a handsome boy called Jay.
I knew that the author took a lot of inspiration for this from her own experience of being raped and how the university she was studying at dealt with it. But that didn’t prepare me for how much this would hit me. I’m honestly so glad there was a content warning at the start of this book because there are some really harrowing scenes that a reader definitely needs to be prepared for. My heart absolutely broke for these girls. This book felt so realistic
Continue my review here: https://kirstyreadsblog.com/2020/08/23/parachutes-by-kelly-yang-review/
snchard's review
3.0
This was pretty broad with social issues, but not in a an unrealistic way. The two main protagonists each had a unique voice and her own set of problems and prejudices, and they way they intersected was nicely done. There are a couple of heavy sexual assault plotlines, including grooming by an adult.
librariann's review against another edition
4.0
Ugh, gutting. Kelly Yang has a knack for empathetic character creation and narrative, whether writing for middle grade or YA. I felt that there was A Lot Going On in this book, and at a few points in the middle all the back and forth seemed a little clunky and I wondered if sticking with one character's story would have been better. However, the way the threads came together at the end was impactful and felt true.
No spoilers, but I will note that this is emphatically YA in content and would not recommend to your average 4th/5th grader who liked Front Desk, even a precocious one.
No spoilers, but I will note that this is emphatically YA in content and would not recommend to your average 4th/5th grader who liked Front Desk, even a precocious one.
thatothernigeriangirl's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Yang is a brilliant writer, that’s a given. I enjoyed her writing in this one and learnt quite a lot about the Chinese international student experience. She’s highlighted so many different issues in this story, including abuse, rape, sexual harassment, racism, homophobia. This was a good read and I highly recommend it.
As much as I appreciate the content warning at the beginning of the book, it took quite a while for that section to surface and it gave me so much anxiety 😭. if content warnings of rape and sexual harassment can evoke anxiety in your reading process, maybe skip this one.
As much as I appreciate the content warning at the beginning of the book, it took quite a while for that section to surface and it gave me so much anxiety 😭. if content warnings of rape and sexual harassment can evoke anxiety in your reading process, maybe skip this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Racism, Homophobia, and Rape
annaa24's review against another edition
5.0
4.5! This book was really hard to read and definitely dealt with really hard subject matter but it was so important to read as well. The author’s note was the most important part to read
ogatka's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
h0llyrose's review
3.0
have you ever heard the term "context is everything"? i would like everyone to remember that while i review this because this is what i immediately started reading after finishing "a little life" by hanya yanagihara; so my emotions had been so drained before reading this that i think it is ON ME for not reacting more sympathetically to this novel--i just wanted to get that disclaimer out before continuing this review and so you would understand the headspace i was in while reading.
this book deals with similar topics of sexual harassment and rape but obviously toned down since this is a young adult novel. this follows two characters from vastly different backgrounds: claire from a wealthy family in shanghai who gets sent to america to attend high school and dani a mixed filipino girl from california who is from a low income household and attending the same high school but on an academic scholarship. this book deals with a lot. i will commend kelly yang for being ambitious in trying to cover a TON about the experience of chinese "parachutes" living in america while also covering dani's experience of being a low income person of color around the wealth of her fellow classmates ALONG WITH sexual harassment, rape, internalized homophobia (with the minor characters), classism, xenophobia, the list does indeed go on. however, i think kelly yang should have scaled back and focused on dealing with just a few topics since this is indeed such a short book (despite being 85(?) chapters with the chapters being like 5 pages at most). because the chapters were so short and the main plot of the story really only happened in the last 30ish chapters, i felt that the climax was sped through and a little rushed. i think some of those heavier topics and events that occur should have happened earlier so we could see these characters really dealing with whats going on rather than just being like this happens so now this happens and now here we are doing this. i would have liked more of the character's thought process before being shown their actions. i also did not fully understand character motivation throughout this story, like sometimes i would just be reading what a character was doing and be completely dumbfounded on why they were doing this.
HOWEVER, while i realize the beginning of this review makes it sound like i did not really like this book. i actually very much enjoyed the fact that kelly yang wrote this story. its been a while since i've seen a contemporary ya author take on SO MUCH in a story, so i really appreciated that. another thing i liked was that the two perspectives were different enough that i never got confused as to who was talking, which happens to me all the time with dual perspective stories. i really liked the characters that surrounded our two leads as well: ming, florence, zach, jess, nancy. although i wish we would have seen more of them, but, like i said earlier, i felt the book was doing a lot so maybe that was for the best.
TLDR, i really enjoyed this book overall, but i just felt like the plot towards the end was very fast and focused on the external pressures of what was going on and i would have liked to see inside the characters heads more during this portion of the story because i felt that could have had some interesting commentary on what was going on. i also felt that the author really went for it in feeling like she had to tackle every single problem that could occur to "parachutes" when i feel like she could have only focused on a few and spent more energy on the main plot of the story. this book was very fast paced and a super quick read (i read it in only 3 sittings) and very different from what i've seen in young adult contemporary recently. i cannot wait to see what kelly yang writes next!
(ps the author note crushed me; i have the utmost respect and admiration for kelly yang)
this book deals with similar topics of sexual harassment and rape but obviously toned down since this is a young adult novel. this follows two characters from vastly different backgrounds: claire from a wealthy family in shanghai who gets sent to america to attend high school and dani a mixed filipino girl from california who is from a low income household and attending the same high school but on an academic scholarship. this book deals with a lot. i will commend kelly yang for being ambitious in trying to cover a TON about the experience of chinese "parachutes" living in america while also covering dani's experience of being a low income person of color around the wealth of her fellow classmates ALONG WITH sexual harassment, rape, internalized homophobia (with the minor characters), classism, xenophobia, the list does indeed go on. however, i think kelly yang should have scaled back and focused on dealing with just a few topics since this is indeed such a short book (despite being 85(?) chapters with the chapters being like 5 pages at most). because the chapters were so short and the main plot of the story really only happened in the last 30ish chapters, i felt that the climax was sped through and a little rushed. i think some of those heavier topics and events that occur should have happened earlier so we could see these characters really dealing with whats going on rather than just being like this happens so now this happens and now here we are doing this. i would have liked more of the character's thought process before being shown their actions. i also did not fully understand character motivation throughout this story, like sometimes i would just be reading what a character was doing and be completely dumbfounded on why they were doing this.
HOWEVER, while i realize the beginning of this review makes it sound like i did not really like this book. i actually very much enjoyed the fact that kelly yang wrote this story. its been a while since i've seen a contemporary ya author take on SO MUCH in a story, so i really appreciated that. another thing i liked was that the two perspectives were different enough that i never got confused as to who was talking, which happens to me all the time with dual perspective stories. i really liked the characters that surrounded our two leads as well: ming, florence, zach, jess, nancy. although i wish we would have seen more of them, but, like i said earlier, i felt the book was doing a lot so maybe that was for the best.
TLDR, i really enjoyed this book overall, but i just felt like the plot towards the end was very fast and focused on the external pressures of what was going on and i would have liked to see inside the characters heads more during this portion of the story because i felt that could have had some interesting commentary on what was going on. i also felt that the author really went for it in feeling like she had to tackle every single problem that could occur to "parachutes" when i feel like she could have only focused on a few and spent more energy on the main plot of the story. this book was very fast paced and a super quick read (i read it in only 3 sittings) and very different from what i've seen in young adult contemporary recently. i cannot wait to see what kelly yang writes next!
(ps the author note crushed me; i have the utmost respect and admiration for kelly yang)
palliem's review
5.0
Honestly the cover art for this book does it no favors. I thought it was a silly, light book about rich kids and high school. It definitely is not.
This book is much darker than I thought, and deals with the issues it tackles in really insightful and sensitive ways. It’s a bit long, so I can see some teens getting bored before they get to the real heart of the story and plot, but it’s well worth sticking it out.
This book is much darker than I thought, and deals with the issues it tackles in really insightful and sensitive ways. It’s a bit long, so I can see some teens getting bored before they get to the real heart of the story and plot, but it’s well worth sticking it out.
aovenus's review
3.0
The character development in this book is too abrupt and the plotline is overly dramatic. The book went from setting up the story to shit hitting the fan in 2 seconds. But that being said, it was interesting reading about the world of the Parachutes. Also I appreciated the book putting spotlight on issues of sexual assaults, especially written from the point of view of the victims. I do wish the author dived deeper into the subject. Overall, it's not a bad book for Yang's first YA novel.