A review by bookishaddictions
Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This one has been on my shelf forever it seems, so it was time to give it a read. I started this hyped to learn since I don’t normally hear much about Cambodian Americans, and I found I myself researching often and learned quite a bit. Overall, I thought the stories were interesting. Each of the short stories depicts one people living their daily (and often connected) lives; this includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. This book did make me uncomfortable in a bad way though, and that ultimately made it a three star read for me. I do not have an issue with smut or dirty scenes in themselves, however, I typically like my books to be upfront about there being sexual content. I was not prepared for the amount of detailed sexual content was included, so it caught me very off guard. If there had been some indicator that there was sexual content in this one, I think I would have been cool with it. On the bright side, there was a lot of talk of yummy sounding food; I’m now looking to see if I have Cambodian near me 🤣✌🏻
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