ilutzer's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Racism, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Grief, Sexism, and Vomit
Minor: Blood, Death, and Abortion
nabecker13's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Body horror, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Abortion, and Pregnancy
apersonfromflorida's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Misogyny, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Abortion and Sexual assault
honeyvoiced's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
citrus_seasalt's review
- 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
4.75
Anyhow! I loved the setting of this book, too. The Old Hollywood setting starts out with a kind of hypnotic glamour and dazzle, one that Luli quickly finds herself drawn to as a kid first discovering movies. As it goes on, we see parts of this start to fade away because of the disrespect Luli immediately has to learn to defend herself against, and then it takes on a mysterious, almost scary but ultimately alluring image once more of the immortality and supernatural business is introduced. The movies themselves are described a lot, both in general plot description and in production process(depends on their place in the plot), as you get to hear about the pictures that Luli was involved in or grew up with. I also liked that a lot! It was very cool to read about the behind-the-scenes details for these flicks, even if they only exist in-universe. (I was, and am, what you’d call a “theatre kid” so this, naturally, fascinated me.) And with those behind-the-scenes snippets, of course, came different relationships involving our main character and (mainly) her co-stars/workers! Maybe there could’ve been a bit more development on their parts, though, but I overall liked the explorations of the different dynamics captured within the narrative.
I also enjoyed the writing style. It felt lush and lyrical, with an additional bite for when it was most appropriate. Typically I read YA, so this was a nice change of pace, to be reading a distinctly adult book with this style.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Racism
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy
kingcrookback'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
The story really only started to grip me in earnest around the 75% mark, where we started to see conflict between Luli and Tara and the abstraction started to abate a bit. This wasn't for me, but I'll pick up some of Vo's other works and see if they stir up some different feelings.
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Violence, Child abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pregnancy and Abortion
shinypurplepants'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? Yes
5.0
Recommended for fans of magical realism, feminist re-imaginings of monsters, and those that love the otherworldly nature you get from tales of the world behind the Silver Screen.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Xenophobia, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Racial slurs
kathleencoughlin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Body horror, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Murder, Abortion, Confinement, Violence, and Outing
leanne_miron'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, and Death
Minor: Abortion, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
ninjamuse's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Racism
Minor: Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Abortion, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment