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speterson47's review
2.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Torture
Moderate: Suicide, Body shaming, and Eating disorder
anispaperbacks'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
3.5
While it did slightly feel all over the place, it's not something I can really hold against it to be honest. Even if not intended, I think that it was a good peek into how it feels for Sunny, the flashbacks included. She would be confused, she would be disoriented, she would be thinking about the past, about what happened, both out of grief and the fact that it was still very relevant to what was happening!
I would, however, have liked for the characters to be a little less flat. Some characters just felt a little lacking.
Some of the lines in this book were written so lovely. Beautiful yet horrid descriptions. Similarly, I was really fond of chapters 27, 28, and 29. They elicited strange and fantastical ghibli like imagery. Reading them, I could only picture them in ghibli style animation. The strange locations, the horrid clawing and rolling *something* that filled the air. You don't really know entirely what is going on, it's not logical, it's strange, it's a little bit awful to witness, but it's fantastic.
Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Self harm, Grief, and Torture
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Stalking
Minor: Body shaming, Vomit, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders
veejoonie'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Suicide
somelesbianwriter's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Body shaming
bookishmillennial's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This was such a fascinating book, and nothing I was expecting.
This book follows Sunny Lee, whose bright career was cut short after her bandmate and fellow cast member of a beloved Kpop-inspired tv show, Minnie, died by suicide. Sunny follows her other former bandmate Candie on her YouTube page (where she had amassed a following well before their group stardom), and sees that Candie is auditioning for a 5-week Kpop workshop in her hometown in Atlanta, Georgia. This is bizarre because Sunny's mom literally moved them back to Atlanta to get away from the scandal, and out of all the places for a Kpop workshop, the one that Candie decides to pursue is in Atlanta. Wild. Curious. Not suspicious at all. (lol I am being facetious)
Anyway, because Sunny desperately wants answers and closure from Candie about Minnie's behavior and death, she applies for the same workshop in hopes of reuniting. However, Sunny had no idea what she was signing up for because once the workshop begins, nefarious things begin happening to the other competitors with little to no explanation. Sunny does not believe these are accidents, and refuses to accept anything but the truth, so she seeks it out. Candie continues to be elusive, and there are some strong sapphic undertones in this rivalry and ex-friendship.
I did not realize this was horror (I saw the cover and thought "high school thriller" so that's on me), but I was delightfully surprised. The backstory of one of the character's powers was a fun reveal, and then the backstory behind the Maiden was even more fascinating. I did think the last 10% of the book moved *so* fast, like I got whiplash. However, I appreciate a fast-paced, chaotic, messy final act, so I am not complaining, just noting it. The flashbacks were executed really well, because it had the same effect that This Is Us (weird comparison, I know, but it's the only piece of media I can compare it to that weaved in flashbacks perfectly) had in sharing specific backstory as to why Sunny made the choices she was making. Overall, this was a wild ride, and I had a lot of fun. I would read from Linda Cheng again!
Thank you to my friend @waggybookworm who gifted me an annotated and tabbed copy <3
Graphic: Classism, Body shaming, Murder, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Self harm, Gore, Death, Suicide, Infidelity, and Bullying
lesbiantoad's review
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicide, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
ka_ask2002'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
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Suicide, and Blood
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
lexcellent's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Gore, Death, Gaslighting, Suicide, Violence, Dysphoria, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, and Gaslighting
lizies03's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Body shaming
Minor: Stalking and Death of parent
kurumipanda'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide, and Torture
Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Fatphobia, Death, Body horror, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Confinement
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Stalking