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moonyreadsbystarlight's reviews
576 reviews
They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom by Dena Takruri, Ahed Tamimi
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
5.0
Such a powerful story! Well-written and engaging, it tells the horrific experience of living under apartheid and, as a child, facing crimes against humanity. An important read for context of what continues to happen in Palestine, and made me think a lot about prison writing more broadly (this wasn't written IN prison, but details her time there a lot)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Send My Roots Rain by Ibis Gomez-Vega
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm still mulling over some of it, so I'll likely write more later. It was an interesting story. I liked the characters and there was a lot about growth and change. Mixing 1st person and 3rd person was an interesting choice, on that made me think more about how much they really know (or rather don't know) about each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Colonisation
Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a cute adventure that said a lot about body image, friendship, and knowing your worth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Dementia
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I've heard praises for this book for a while and I totally see why. I went in not remembering much of what people have said other than It's great and about sisters who don't know about each other, so I assumed it was mostly about them meeting and so forth, but that is hardly the tip of the iceberg. So much more, this is about grief, family, and home. It really gets at parts of what it's like to love and grieve a complicated person. And it says some really beautiful things about family and community-- the importance of interdependence. There are also parts that deal with misogynistic violence, as well as poverty. It's, among many other things, a shining example of why YA as a genre shouldn't be underestimated. Incredible!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, and Vomit
There is a scene of childbirth and the possibility of the child dying
Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I don't think this was really for me. I did like some of the descriptive writing with the food and the idea of the story. Some of the character backstory was also interesting.
But I didn’t really see the suspence or foreboding in a lot of it. It seemed more like some of the creepy/foreboding details were too on the nose and then other parts almost read too awkward (like having second hand embarassment almost like the scene with the racoon. It was just weird, not really creepy. A red flag for sure but something about how the aftermath was written was more awkward and embarrassing than scary. But then when she was told it was a test, it was too obvious in a way... like if it had been left to speak for itself, the scene would have been more scary, we could have assumed that, but when it was said explicitly, it felt silly, like an overdone villian monolog ). I think part of what made this feel stilted or awkward for me was the amount of telling. I think showing and telling both have its place in writing, but there were so many times where these feelings or situations were built pretty well, and then you were told in the middle something obvious about how the character feels multiple times (or about the situation at hand -- like my example under the spoiler cut). In that way, there was a lot more potential in the writing, but it would get in its own way.
On a smaller/lighter note, it took me out a bit to hear that an assistent/adjunct with no second job had the funds to buy stuff at the farmers market *every* Saturday and rent a *house*. Also, not a even second's thought about how she would be perceived dating a woman in a college in Georgia... as someone who was a queer adjunct at a southern college, all that kind of broke the immersion for me a bit (this was a miniscule part of my issue with the book, but it's funny to think about so I had to include it).
So, as much as I really liked the descriptions and some of the writing, it ultimately fell flat for me. I would be willing to give her work another shot
But I didn’t really see the suspence or foreboding in a lot of it. It seemed more like some of the creepy/foreboding details were too on the nose and then other parts almost read too awkward (like having second hand embarassment almost
On a smaller/lighter note, it took me out a bit to hear that an assistent/adjunct with no second job had the funds to buy stuff at the farmers market *every* Saturday and rent a *house*. Also, not a even second's thought about how she would be perceived dating a woman in a college in Georgia... as someone who was a queer adjunct at a southern college, all that kind of broke the immersion for me a bit (this was a miniscule part of my issue with the book, but it's funny to think about so I had to include it).
So, as much as I really liked the descriptions and some of the writing, it ultimately fell flat for me. I would be willing to give her work another shot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, and Sexual violence
Fangs by Sarah Andersen
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Not too much in the way of a storyline, but it was cute! More like a collection of short comics than a cohesive story It was fun read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
5.0
I originally read the beginning of this a couple years ago and ended up setting it down despite really liking it (one of the many partially read books gathering dust because of my weird moody reading brain). I've wanted to get back to it since then and I am so glad that I finally have. I loved everything about this from the writing to her approach as a writing working with/telling the stories of other people. She tells the story of undocumented people from several cities while incorporating her own story of growing up undocumented and her experience interacting with and having relationships with the people in these communities. This is one I'm going to be thinking about for a long time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Deportation
Moderate: Animal death and Sexual assault
Frontera by Jacoby Salcedo, Julio Anta
adventurous
emotional
informative
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was an engaging story with nice art. It brings up a lot of issues and danger that people encounter crossing the border and shows a few different reasons why people might have to. This brings up the legacy of xenophobic violence committed by the US towards Mexican in particular (and how this has impacts outside of that group). The story was interesting and puts a lot into perspective, but I do feel that some of the connections between characters was a bit rushed. Some of this could have been fleshed out if there were more time in the book. All things considered, it's still a pretty great book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gun violence
Empathy by Kevin Killian, Sarah Schulman
challenging
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is weird and compelling novel. While there is technically a plot, this seemed to be much more about the time. There was a big part of it about connection and identity, but also so much about culture and morality being faced going into the 1990s. It's about being a lesbian in a straight world, but also about thinking deeply in the face of a cultural push towards individualism and apathy. It's about the breakdown of the American dream -- but also the breakdown of the idea that it ever was really. There is a lot more here, but overall, I found it fascinating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, Outing, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Incest, and Rape
Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew
informative
reflective
4.5
A great short look at ableism and how it intersects with technology. This talks a lot about physical disabilities but also discusses neurodivergence. There is a lot of history sprinkled in, as it is necessary for understanding where we are now -- including that of colonization and racism, as that was a key factor in old ideas about disability and eugenics. And there is so much interesting and nuanced discussion of the future with disability in mind! The author pulls from a lot of different writers and activists as well, so I am really looking forward to reading more from who she referenced as well
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Mental illness, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Suicide