Very mixed feelings about this one. I’ll start with what I appreciated: Jon Chu sharing about the highs and lows of a creative career as well as the aVery mixed feelings about this one. I’ll start with what I appreciated: Jon Chu sharing about the highs and lows of a creative career as well as the anti-Asian racism he witnessed and experienced as he progressed as a director. The writing in Viewfinder, while not phenomenal, was easy to read. There’s some reflection about cultural identity I found honest and a little compelling at times.
However, I had big issues with what seemed to me to be Chu’s internalized racism throughout this experience as a director. It was odd for me to read this because I think Chu does name his initial shame about his Asian identity and his initial attempt at directing Asian-focused films. But he doesn’t really ever unpack the source of that internalized racism or the steps he took to overcome it. You can imagine that he eventually did confront these issues because of how he directed Crazy Rich Asians, but he has a line about feeling lonely even though he’s surrounded by other Asian people on set, which motivated him to pursue marriage with his wife, who is white… he doesn’t mention his wife’s race, but still it was odd to read. Also, he referred to Henry Golding as the Asian Cary Grant, which is just a pet peeve of mine because why are you reinforcing white people as the norm?
Maybe I feel negatively about these aspects of the book because I grew up around a lot of Asian Americans and haven’t contended with internalized racism (because I choose to surround myself with fellow people of color who also don’t have internalized racism). It was also odd for me to read about Chu essentially unilaterally praising white people in tech and white people in the film industry. I get that it’s a memoir and he’s still in the profession so he may feel uncomfortable popping off on people or naming white privilege more directly, and I too have also worked with some wonderful white mentors in my field, but it didn’t sit right with me that he didn’t name more explicitly the role of white supremacy in film overall.
Anyway, I wouldn’t recommend this book unless you’re really interested in film or something like that. I’m glad that Chu acknowledged the criticism he received for erasing dark-skinned Latinx people in In The Heights, which at least showed a little lack of defensiveness/openness to criticism. This was overall a mildly entertaining read but not one I’ll cherish. Two memoirs that come to mind by Asian American men that I really enjoyed instead are Sign, Gone by Phuc Tran and Stay True by Hua Hsu....more
The sequel to Neal Shusterman’s thrilling Unwind, UnWholly follows Connor, Risa, and Lev as they take on new enemies and events. They live in a world The sequel to Neal Shusterman’s thrilling Unwind, UnWholly follows Connor, Risa, and Lev as they take on new enemies and events. They live in a world in which teenagers are able to be literally taken apart once they reach the age of thirteen (the process is called “unwinding”), and their separated body parts are sold to others. After the trio escaped Happy Jack Harvest Camp, unwinding has garnered some negative media attention, but not enough to do anything except lower the safety age from 18 to 17. Connor and Risa struggle to stay together and afloat while Connor takes charge of the Graveyard, a safe haven for AWOL unwinds. Lev leaves the spotlight and after some unfortunate occurrences strikes out on his own. And there are some newcomers to the game – Starkey, Miracolina, and Cam – who change things up for our three original protagonists. All six will encounter danger and will be forced to fight for what they believe in, if they can even figure out what they believe in at all.
Shusterman still captivates with his writing in UnWholly. His foreshadowing, layering of suspense, and overall buildup to the climax sucked me into the story and had me wondering what would happen next. His inclusion of public service announcements and other sources of media solidified the world he created, and the numerous themes within the book – sacrifice, what makes a human human, etc. – all made it more scary and shocking than the average dystopia novel.
The characters spoke to me as well. Their internal struggles and external conflicts combined to communicate how tough they each had to be to survive, as well as how confused and in turmoil they were. Starkey, Miracolina, and Cam’s stories added an extra layer of awesomeness to the book, and I look forward to seeing how they’ll develop in the next novel.
Overall, I didn’t love UnWholly as much as I did Unwind. It didn’t feel as fresh and some of the science felt a little fake. It certainly was entertaining, but not extremely thought-provoking like the first book. I had to read it in snippets due to school, which may have contributed to my apathy, but in the end my emotions were not as revved up as I wished they had been. I’m still curious to see where Shusterman takes the characters and the big picture idea of unwinding in the last book of this trilogy, though.
Merged review:
The sequel to Neal Shusterman’s thrilling Unwind, UnWholly follows Connor, Risa, and Lev as they take on new enemies and events. They live in a world in which teenagers are able to be literally taken apart once they reach the age of thirteen (the process is called “unwinding”), and their separated body parts are sold to others. After the trio escaped Happy Jack Harvest Camp, unwinding has garnered some negative media attention, but not enough to do anything except lower the safety age from 18 to 17. Connor and Risa struggle to stay together and afloat while Connor takes charge of the Graveyard, a safe haven for AWOL unwinds. Lev leaves the spotlight and after some unfortunate occurrences strikes out on his own. And there are some newcomers to the game – Starkey, Miracolina, and Cam – who change things up for our three original protagonists. All six will encounter danger and will be forced to fight for what they believe in, if they can even figure out what they believe in at all.
Shusterman still captivates with his writing in UnWholly. His foreshadowing, layering of suspense, and overall buildup to the climax sucked me into the story and had me wondering what would happen next. His inclusion of public service announcements and other sources of media solidified the world he created, and the numerous themes within the book – sacrifice, what makes a human human, etc. – all made it more scary and shocking than the average dystopia novel.
The characters spoke to me as well. Their internal struggles and external conflicts combined to communicate how tough they each had to be to survive, as well as how confused and in turmoil they were. Starkey, Miracolina, and Cam’s stories added an extra layer of awesomeness to the book, and I look forward to seeing how they’ll develop in the next novel.
Overall, I didn’t love UnWholly as much as I did Unwind. It didn’t feel as fresh and some of the science felt a little fake. It certainly was entertaining, but not extremely thought-provoking like the first book. I had to read it in snippets due to school, which may have contributed to my apathy, but in the end my emotions were not as revved up as I wished they had been. I’m still curious to see where Shusterman takes the characters and the big picture idea of unwinding in the last book of this trilogy, though....more
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