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cherryblossomgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
bookishevy'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
4.5
Kemi - a successful Nigerian-American marketing executive who is enticed by Jonny von Lundin to move to Stockholm and clean up a racially tone-deaf campaign turned PR fiasco at his marketing firm. Kemi also sees this as an opportunity to shake up her love life.
Brittany - a Jamaican-American model-turned-flight attendant who Jonny thrusts onto the lap of privilege after a chance encounter in business class leads to his obsession with her.
Muna - a Somali refugee who finds a job as a janitor in Jonny's office after losing the people closest to her. Muna is working toward becoming a permanent resident of Sweden and seeks a sense of belonging more than anything.
There's so much being explored in this read. The isolation one feels when they immigrate to a new country, especially as a Black woman in a mostly white country. The privileged expecting the oppressed to do the work of dismantling racist systems the former's ancestors put in place. How even with wealth and all that comes with it Black women are still othered. How society dictates what we look for in a mate and how giving into these ideals can lead to unhappiness. The importance of processing trauma and loss and providing the proper supports to someone with developmental disabilities. The xenophobia and challenges refugees face while trying to make something of themselves in a new country.
I empathized most with Muna because, unlike Kemi and Brittany who chose to uproot their lives and move to Sweden, she fled her home to survive. Her desperation to make a connection is palpable. She's sensitive and a bit naive but she notices things as at Jonny's firm. Through her little interactions with Jonny the reader sees Jonny for who he truly is.
This story with so many isms: racism, sexism, classism, tokenism, fetishism, ends on a cliffhanger. I'm on to book two.
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Classism
mikaclapson's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Toxic relationship
abigalelouise12'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
4.25
Graphic: Body shaming, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Classism
Minor: Abortion
elizabethww's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
pisces1_1318's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Classism
lili_geek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The meat of the book had some good story development, where one woman was finding her niche while trying the cope with the systemic racism surrounding her, one woman drowning in isolation due to outright racism she has to experience, and one woman who was constantly trying to make connections in the mist of all of her trauma. But the ending was simultaneously sad and frustrating, and I can’t say that I found it was a good ending. Only one character did my heart go out to.
I also did not like the fact that the main ‘villain’ was coded as ASD. The representation was poor and not accurate. To me it read like someone went to webmd- found the main symptoms of ASD then put all of it in one character.
Overall, the book was good enough for me to maintain interest to want to finish the book, but I would not recommend it to anyone. I felt like it had a lot of promise, but I was disappointed in the character decisions (not the last characters decision, that broke my heart) in the beginning and ending of the book.
Graphic: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Islamophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, and Suicide
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, War, and Classism
Minor: Hate crime, Infertility, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
thatenbyisisreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, and Classism
jasminealizae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Classism