jdamae11's reviews
94 reviews

Listen… I’m not really a Romance genre girly but Emily Henry I apologize I was not familiar with your game. Kinda hate how badly I resonated with the protagonist’s insecurities & coping mechanisms in this. I am curious to know how the rest of my book club related (or didn’t) to her all-too-familiar struggles with her dad & propensity for self-sabotage so that people can’t hurt her first :):):):) This was so good I’m sad it’s over! The whole cast of characters was so fun, I want a spin-off with BFF Ashley my (imo) neurodivergent queen. 4.5 stars if I could add half a star on this dang app. 
**pinning bc I might come back and bump this rating up. My only current 5 star genuinely altered my brain so it’s hard to put another one up there with it rn**

For me, what this book accomplished is hard to put into words! M.L. Wang is an incredible storyteller. Here, she gives us a story with complicated, fully realized characters and an immersive world and magic system. And that’s not even covering the beating heart of this book and the best part about it. The themes are THEMING. She said I’m gonna give you some of things to think about hunny! The destructive, continuous, and consuming nature of colonialism. The impossible and oppressive conditions for people under capitalism. And for everyone, especially women, under patriarchy. The intertwined nature of church and state and the power of organized religion to dictate social life. And how all of this has rendered a society so complacent as to willingly accept not only the foundation of their world built on genocide, but to turn their heads at the continued slaughter of innocent lives so long as it does not inconvenience them. Sounds familiar. I feel like I’m not even doing justice to this tbh. Wang manages to achieve all of this without having to spell it out plainly. She shows the journey of cognitive dissonance and mental deconstruction that must take place for one of our main characters, and the indescribably painful path to justice for our other main character. 

Minor spoilers: 
This book is not feel-good at all. What I appreciated about the ending was that it felt right, it was the only way things could even begin to be set on a path to restoration for the Native people—the Kwen—of this world. Sciona frustrated me A LOT, but my god was she the most realistic depiction of someone privileged having to reevaluate and change everything. I also felt like, without it being plainly stated, she was a great depiction of a woman with neurodivergence, I saw a lot of myself in her thinking patterns, social misunderstandings, and fixations. I love Thomil, someone who deserved to be more than enraged at everything that has happened to him and his people, yet remains curious and hopeful in that rage. And the power of these two together reminding us of the power of community to create change, no matter how ugly it is to get there. I am OBSESSED with this book idk what to even read next. This book has one of the strongest openings I have ever read and Wang pulls off a major revelation / twist about halfway through that is less shocking than it is a confirmation of your worst fears, which I thought was just so great. 

Major candidate for my fave book this year I am GAGGING

I don’t actually know what I just experienced. If it’s one thing this book is it’s committed to the bit. I have no idea where I begin to rate this. It’s hilarious at times, but also annoying, vulgar, childish, & just progressively gets more ridiculous even when you think it is at its most wild. I would not recommend it to anyone without several stipulations. Even then I have exactly one friend maybe who won’t hate this. That’s kinda why it’s great? Very John Waters and I respect it. I love that he has his distinct style with his projects and that he just went for it in this big way with this book too. 20% in or so I was like ehhh this isn’t for me, then was like wait … I’m still so intrigued & I kept on going. I wanna say like the last 100 pages or so I was like ok this is dragging & was losing my patience with its antics, but it was true to itself all the way through.