Nicole Feleo

Smart, thoughtful and well written fiction

Reviewed: 10-27-23

This was a masterful way to write abolitionist fiction. I enjoyed the interspersed facts that reflect our current systems. I enjoyed the multiple character perspectives and especially am impressed by the range and depth of characters covered in a short time.

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3 people found this helpful

Important advice! worth reading except for...

Reviewed: 05-12-23

This should help anyone who needs to set boundaries find a lot of useful language and frameworks to create healthier relationships with themselves and others. HOWEVER, I this book fails to acknowledge in a dangerous way that in work settings "Talking to a supervisor" or "Asking HR" on certain work topics can likely endanger a person in the workplace. In some workplaces, setting boundaries will get you fired. It is the reality of our work world right now and to fail to mention it puts the average worker who isn't in leadership in a precarious place.

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1 person found this helpful

Great story, but...

Reviewed: 02-04-23

This was mostly really really great. I recommend it to anyone, and particularly certain Asian Americans might enjoy it. I liked the story and the duality of being not quite Malay, Chinese or American...

The narrator really was very off on Malay words. It was grating and hard sometimes as someone who speaks bahasa malayu and lived in Peninsular Malaysia recently. And I understand that narrators can't learn a new language everytime...and most people wouldn't notice it. It's just a shame.

Incredibly well done on the storyline, characters, and integration of myth from that part of the world.

Another thought is that there was a small missed opportunity to be really forthright and show more about the racial relations in Malaysia since this book also expresses other progressive themes. I can see it being controversial, and there are moments of very light racism in the book. It was surprising that there werent as many colorist remarks. From my experience, there is a complex experience too of religion with race because of the theocratic government. I'm guessing that is definitely too controversial if she wants to be allowed to distribute copies for sale in the country itself though!

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2 people found this helpful

Horrifyingly relatable and accurate, helpful

Reviewed: 06-22-22

Healing isn't easy and emotionally it was hard to get through this book but it's so worthwhile. It was relatable and well written read that more than made me feel seen: it helped me learn more about my own journey in a way that honored and acknowledged my experience as a first generation Filipino person.

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1 person found this helpful

Very good book if you give it a chance.

Reviewed: 12-30-21

While it is true that the narration and plot can be hard to keep up with at first, you're not really meant to understand what is happening at the beginning. It is an incredible piece by McGuire, like the Every Heart is a Doorway series. I would recommend it and consider it one of the best books I've read this year.

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1 person found this helpful

pleasantly surprised by the depth and nuance

Reviewed: 10-24-20

This was a fascinating and genuinely nuanced look into three very complex and dynamic humans. Eisenberg engages with complicated topics and issues of modern living and relationships.

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Relatable, rich story

Reviewed: 08-07-20

This story is so fresh and realistic in its telling. The way the author writes the protagonist allows for a very long and nuanced look at a lived life – the many parts that make someone who they are as they grow. In real life, as in the story, the protagonist sees different setbacks and falls into old patterns. Meanwhile, so many traumatic instances from childhood and different past failures that inform current ones are being told.

My own lived experience with my mother was eerily similar to the fictional protagonists’. There was abuse that echoed my own very closely. I am a fairly privileged Southeast Asian woman who has always been heterosexual. Even so, in many ways, I identified with the protagonist consistently. In my own mistakes, in my journey, my relationships, etc.
While the character is frustratingly flawed, there are so many potential moments for redemption and hope. There is, in the end, that satisfying possibility as well. I enjoyed listening to this story, though I will agree that the narrator’s voice and accents were off-putting. The protagonist herself has moments where she makes incredible and horrific mistakes. Her mistakes, however, do not obscure her potential for redemption.
One other thing to address: I am glad to see a book that has nuance about first generation American citizens with immigrant parents. While there are many books out there that will gladly villainize Islamic and Arab culture, I am glad to see this was not one of them. While it is a part of her experience, it is not depicted as evil, monolithic, etc. The Middle East tends to be alluded to as a backwards place in a lot of places, but this book focuses on her individual experiences and proves that nuance matters.

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1 person found this helpful