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venice_the_vampire's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
3.25
a lot better than i expected, loved the way they wrapped up the families experiences but truly wish they would have fleshed out the actual main relationship of the story better. did have some unexpected beautiful moments, though
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Racism, and Homophobia
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Outing
Minor: Alcohol
bookishmillennial's review
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- 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
- contemporary young adult coming-of-age set in the SF Bay Area, California, told in first-person POV
- 16-year-old Sana moves to California from the midwest & begins to realize how much racism she used to let slide in her hometown
- Sana meets Jamie, a Latina queer teen, & finds herself torn between Jamie's Latinx friends & her new Asian American friends
- Sana also suspects her father of having an affair
- the way these topics is handled is a bit sloppy & frustrating; my least favorite book by Misa unfortunately
- cw: racism, homophobia, outing, infidelity, annoying ignorant ass kids lmaoooo
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Outing, and Infidelity
sophie42's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Infidelity
Moderate: Homophobia and Outing
Minor: Alcohol
agateg's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
“And I remember that hiding the truth doesn’t stop things from being true. Not talking about things doesn’t stop them from happening. Pretending that a thing is something else doesn’t change its true nature.”
Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like the fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there’s the one that she can barely even admit to herself—the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.
I did not enjoy this story at all. I think there are better lgbtq+ stories than this one. I really disliked the amount of cheating in this book and how the characters dealt with it . I did not find the main characters lovable or even likeable which in turn made the story unenjoyable.
Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like the fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there’s the one that she can barely even admit to herself—the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.
I did not enjoy this story at all. I think there are better lgbtq+ stories than this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Xenophobia, Infidelity, and Racism
Moderate: Outing
botanicalprofanity's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Outing
_anzo_'s review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Outing, and Racism
wynterwonderland's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, and Infidelity
Moderate: Alcohol and Outing
houndoflove1985's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I have strong distaste for books where everyone's problems could be prevented and solved if they spoke to each other. For the love of god please just talk to each other. It's not that hard. I do not miss high school.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Outing, Infidelity, and Racism
Minor: Homophobia
venkaism's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
2.75
the casual racism and the cheating just really ruined this for me. I'm also not a fan of instalove so the romance didn't entirely work for me (but the poetry was very cute).
most importantly, sana was obsessed with emily dickinson how did she not know she was a lesbian
most importantly, sana was obsessed with emily dickinson how did she not know she was a lesbian
Content Warnings
Moderate: Outing and Racism
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