Reviews with content warning for Racism - Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America

I appreciate memoirs like this that aren't just a chronological detailing of a person's life. It's a lot more than that, it's so much more about race relations and identity in this country that's shaped by white supremacy. We're so focused on the binary of whiteness and "other," and this book does such a great job of talking about this issue and much more eloquently than I'm doing right now 😅 Just read it, it's very worth it.

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sammies_shelf's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

In this book, Julia Lee weaves together personal narrative, history, and social criticism to paint a clear, sharp, nuanced look into coming of age as a second-generation Korean-American. She grapples with family history, racial identity, education, prejudice, and growing into a scholar/activist. One aspect of the book that is sticking with me is Lee's discovery of moving away from binary thinking in our activism as well as in our examination of ourselves. This is a compelling read with beautiful, emotional, personal voice as well as sharp criticism and reckoning. The audiobook is beautifully narrated by the author, and she does not hold back from letting us hear and feel her emotions.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audio ARC via Netgalley.

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thecandlelightlibrary's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Thank you to Macmillan/Henry Holt for sending me an ARC of this title. I received this copy for free and this review contains my honest opinions.

This was such an excellent read! I really enjoyed the author’s compelling writing style and how she weaved together the range of topics that were forefront in shaping her lived experience. Lee does a wonderful job of reflecting on the intersectionality of the topics she covers and the different lenses that shaped, and continue to shape, her perspective. I highly recommend this memoir, and I will definitely be seeking out more works by this author. Thank you again to the publisher for sending me a free ARC.

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hollyd19's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

Julia Lee expertly harnesses her wholly warranted rage into a sharp reflection on life as a second-generation Korean American. She walks us through her childhood in California, highlighting tensions with her parents, microaggressions in an all-girls private school, and the radicalizing experience of the 1992 LA Riots. Drawing on her literary education, Lee layers her own experience onto a collage of the menacing & varied experiences of oppression encountered by BIPOC in America. This powerful book belongs alongside Karla Cornejo Villavicencio's Undocumented Americans, Jesse Wente's Unreconciled, and Emi Nietfeld's Acceptance.

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