Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Your House Will Pay

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha

7 reviews

sundayfever's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Everyone in this book sucks except for Shawn and Aunt Sheila. The book makes you uncomfortable on purpose, which is good. A deep look at anti blackness in Korean American communities.

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thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

your house will pay is a tense novel that delves into racism and the loaded history of the LA riots. what i admire most abt this book is how cha charts the charged, weighted, complex emotions of her characters, the tangled emotional webs on both sides: a black man perpetually on edge + the loaded legacy of his family's victimhood, and a daughter grappling w/ the sudden knowledge of her murderess mother. it's all very layered and complex, yet cha depicts it all masterfully, straddling the grey area not only by writing in two distinct narrative voices but also making the reader empathize and understanding of most of the characters' plight in spite of their dislike.

another thing i enjoy is reading abt the characters' thought processes, particularly shawn. he's been thru more than most, and seeing him realize that playing by the rules is a losing game - but having to do it anyway - is a just condemnation of the rigged and racist establishment and system occupied w/ keeping their power. and while the personal fully illustrates the systemic problem, the story also explores larger systemic issues as well, showing the reader the complexity of it all. i also think cha does a very good job of establishing a sense of place in both the 90s and present day, depicting a los angeles thats alive in both its grit and humdrum.

overall, this is a somber book realistic in its depiction of the setting and systemic issues, and one fascinating for its character study.

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miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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

Really interesting choice of narratives, made you feel torn between but not at all torn

‘How devastating to return from the verge of death and be disappointed.’

‘But he couldn't stomach it anymore. Not since he was a child, getting his head rubbed by every kindhearted motherfucker who warmed his soul from a safe distance at the bonfire of Shawn's

tragedy. He was forever a black child who'd been publicly wronged, and so he was an altar for the well-meaning pilgrims, who wanted his grace in exchange for their patronage. At least Ava got to die before they made a production out of the great tragedy of her life.’

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gaycornbread420's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Really disappointed by the ending, but before that I thought it was great

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jackelz's review against another edition

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informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This book is based on the death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins at the hands of a Korean-American store owner, Soon Ja Du, in 1991.

Du accused Latasha of shoplifting a bottle of orange juice, and their verbal altercation escalated into a physical one. Then the woman grabbed a gun and fired, killing the girl. When police arrived on the scene, they discovered that Latasha had the money for the juice in her hand — $2. Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter but served no jail time.

I’ve read about the protests in LA following the beating of Rodney King, and I’ve read books that mention the tension between Koreans and African-Americans, but I never knew why, and I’m thankful this book opened my eyes to that.
➞ During the riots of 1992, 2,280 Korean American-owned stores had been looted, burned or damaged, amounting to about $400 million in losses.

Your House Will Pay is set in the summer of 2019, after yet another police shooting of an unarmed black teenager.

I love how the story was formatted, and that the book touches on both sides of the story. As the background story slowly unfolds, we are constantly learning more about the characters and how these events have shaped their lives. The narrative will have you questioning your familial relationships, your biases, and the Justice system.

This story will stick with me for a long time. Thank you Kristin Lee for recommending this one!

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kutub_qahwa's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Wow, what a book! Such an emotional journey, parts of it were so hard to read, and parts that I sped through. The author does an amazing job capturing such different lives and perspectives. There are so many feelings this book bring out. 10/10 recommend!

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internationalreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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