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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Our Wayward Fate in Books

Jan 23, 2020

Our Wayward Fate

Gloria Chao | 2019 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)

8.0

(1 Ratings)

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The author/publisher provided a free copy of the book for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a review copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore do not affect the opinion or content of the review.
I adored <a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/american-panda-by-gloria-chao/">American Panda</a> back in 2018, so when I heard Gloria Chao was releasing a new book, I pretty much slid Our Wayward Fate onto my TBR with no questions asked. (I enjoyed American Panda enough that I got my own copy... only to have my mom "borrow" it. She still hasn't returned it.)

<h2>Gloria Chao is a Queen of Writing Relatable Characters and it continues with her second novel, Our Wayward Fate.</h2>
Chao's latest novel follows Ali Chu, a high school senior living in Indiana and is the only Asian kid in her school; for years, she operates in survival mode in order to blend in with the rest of her classmates, even if she hates dealing with the constant racist stereotypes that are automatically associated with her simply because she's Asian. But she continues to remain silent until she finds out the new kid in school, Chase Yu, is also Taiwanese like her.

Let me take a moment to talk about their relationship!!!
❤ Puns, puns, so many puns
❤ Jokes and wordplay in Mandarin (also I really loved how Chao didn't incorporate a glossary so readers can get what it's like to be someone learning a language through conversation and context)
❤ They're just so cute and competitive together; ugh, my heart can't

<h3>Friends, I saw myself in American Panda, but I also really saw myself in Our Wayward Fate.</h3>
Chao touches on a lot of experiences that I personally went through - it's a book that I would have loved to read back in middle and high school when I occasionally felt like I was alone in my experiences. Much of the experiences Ali goes through hit hardcore emotionally and I really, really wanted to reach through the book just to give Ali a hug. (Here I thought I related to Mei a lot and Ali Chu comes in and knocks it out of the park.)

<h2>Chao's latest novel deals with darker topics while also incorporating her signature humor.</h2>
I love puns, so I'm a little biased toward them. While Our Wayward Fate is chock full of puns (I love them) and incorporates Chao's signature humor from her debut, it also has a darker feel. Our Wayward Fate is a book with family and identity with a retelling of The Butterfly Lovers; it also focuses a lot about miscommunication when we struggle or are unsure when communicating with others.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/our-wayward-fate-by-gloria-chao/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>

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Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Death Note (2017) in Movies

May 12, 2018

Netflix has done a damn good job with its house produced movies and shows – except for Death Note. This movie is complete and utter trash. For those of you that don’t know, I ran a site that focused largely on anime for several years. The site was called Project Otaku and served as a press outlet as well (I was able to attend Japan Expo as press and one of my writers attended NYCC). So naturally, I’ve seen the anime and I had high expectations.

First, it should be noted that with this film, Netflix joined the ranks of the Hollywood studios that have white-washed and bastardized several remakes of Asian horror films. From Oldboy to The Grudge to Ghost in the Shell (and countless others), it’s like these companies have an aversion to actually remaining faithful in any degree to the source material. (There’s rumors that my favorite Japanese horror flick, Audition, will soon fall prey to this too.) Honestly, they should just stop.

This version of Death Note takes place in Seattle, thus localizing it to the US. There is also no second notebook, which in the anime and manga are used to misdirect law enforcement. Because there’s only one notebook, there’s no Shinigami Rem, either. There are plot holes out the wazoo in Netflix’s adaptation, including modification of rules for no apparent reason (such as the days the Death Note can be lost).

Overall, I regret watching this. It was a waste of my time.