Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

11 reviews

rubberrosebooks's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

juliej0715's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

This was enjoyable, not what I expected it to be like. Interesting to hear the stories of these women and their daughters. Less plot than I expected, more like a collection of short stories that are also intertwined from time to time. Interesting reflections on how these women thought of their childhoods, their mothers, their lives, husbands, children. How they are full human beings who have lived very full lives, and yet their daughters are so oblivious, even combative, to see that. The daughters are so dismissive of their mothers. It's quite heartbreaking, and makes you want to know more about your own parents; learn more about their lives, their emotions, and what you can learn from them and how you can connect with them. Of course the magical realism and the Chinese beliefs are so interesting to include in these stories. I can see why this book remains popular decades after being published. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

caitlin033's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Abortion, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Racism, and Grief

Minor: Eating disorder and Homophobia

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-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

5.0

The chapters are essentially a compilation of short stories that help the reader come to a consensus reaction about the personal history and lives of these mothers and daughters. You experience their joys and struggles regarding the dynamics in their personal relationships. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Self harm, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Some of the triggers are overt, others are strongly suggested, perhaps in other countries in historical periods where long ago childhoods and family histories are elaborated on, in small country towns that could be called backward, clinging to old practices such as having a proper wife but also additional wives/concubines.

emorine13's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is an amazing story made up of multiple generations’ stories. It makes you reflect that everyone around you has a background and story, and the only way to remember them is to ask. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

stephyrm's review

emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Abortion, Abandonment, and War

betag1013's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism

jelen's review against another edition

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Classism

kappafrog's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Pedophilia, Self harm, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Trafficking, and Murder

marissasa's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book tells the stories of 4 immigrant Chinese women and each of their Chinese-American daughters. Although I like multiple POVs for the fact that they never get monotonous, they almost always end up with some characters being less developed or having less time focused on their stories, and that is definitely the case with this one. I enjoyed all the mothers' POVs and the look into their lives before they came to America, but honestly didn't think the daughters' stories matched them at all in how interesting and nuanced it made their situations. All the mothers had trauma relating to the loss of their children and families, marriage issues, being displaced from their homes, and their daughters' not understanding them. All of the daughters then had generational trauma, mommy issues, and a disconnect from their Chinese identities. The thing that made me dislike almost all of the daughters' stories was that except for Jing-mei, all of their POVs revolved around their troubles with their white husbands or boyfriends. The whole time I'm reading about them just thinking "free my sisters from the shackles of white men lmao". I wish they were given more depth and character development that was unrelated to their relationships with white men, or at least having just one character go through that so that the daughters' stories weren't so similar and forgettable. Jing-mei is the exception to this and I definitely thought her and her mother Suyuan's stories were the most memorable, and I do wish they had more time for their stories than they got. I did love the ending and how the story came full circle with the first and last chapter being Jing-mei's though, and the emotional conclusion felt satisfying.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, and Classism