Reviews

The Most Precious Substance on Earth by Shashi Bhat

redforman's review against another edition

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4.0

I'm never the one to NOT judge a book by it's cover, and I LOVE this cover, it's why I picked up the book. I don't even know how to describe why I like it, I just do. It speaks to me. 

katmacdon12's review against another edition

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4.0

Oh wow. May be my favorite coming of age story I’ve ever read. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so seen or related to a protagonist so closely. It was as overwhelming as it was comforting. This one’s going to stick with me for a while.

erickaonpaper's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

after letting this one sit with me for a while, i'm coming to understand nina's coming of age was a slow, slow build, and rightfully so. nina's story was painful and i felt i understood why that pain needed to be dulled with the rest of nina's life. 

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rragan00's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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rey_s623's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced

1.0

bhagestedt's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

rheaalley's review against another edition

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3.0

to see a desi woman dealing through trauma with humor, sadness, and numbness truly resonated me. the writing style made the character study of Nina a lot more raw and real (I feel like I could put it more eloquently but I’m just saying I really enjoyed it)! however, i didn’t know that the book would be more stream of consciousness vignettes, so it threw me off when it felt like we jumped in time. otherwise, a good (and depressing, BIG tw for rape, eating disorders) read

leahclake's review

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medium-paced

4.0

pomdiggety's review

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sashdb's review against another edition

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dark reflective 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

4.0

we are all unreliable narrators, looking back on our own stories with new eyes each time we tell our tale. this book does a beautiful job of gently, subtly conveying the ways a character can change their perspective, but also be shaped (implicitly and explicitly) by big moments in a life. great use of silence and voice as a theme. spot on east coast immersion. 

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