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_zoe_reads_'s reviews
104 reviews
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
i was hesitant about following eustace and co. for an entire book, but this was a pleasant surprise! also, puddleglum is a gem and i love him. it’s always nice to return to narnia :)
Philoctetes by Sophocles
I read the Bryan Doerries translation from “All That You’ve Seen Here is God”
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
did i ever think i would read this book? absolutely not.
is this a great piece of literature? absolutely not.
did i have a good time? absolutely.
fr tho, people can shit on this as much they wish but it did get me out of a reading slump, was entertaining, and easily readable.
is this a great piece of literature? absolutely not.
did i have a good time? absolutely.
fr tho, people can shit on this as much they wish but it did get me out of a reading slump, was entertaining, and easily readable.
The Long Walk by Stephen King
i have conflicted feelings. i loved a lot of this book. it made me feel a whole range of emotions. each character was very carefully crafted and added to the story. the discussions on themes like death and fairness, the descent into madness, the walk itself, were all thought provoking.
yet i come out of this book with two main issues:
1) the racism towards Native/Indigenous Americans
2) the ending
on point #1 i will say this: King set a precedent in this book that the characters were aware (to whatever extent) of racism and it’s wrongness by having characters openly condemn racism towards Black people (and express remorse for racist actions that took place in the past). and yet, when Indigenous peoples are brought up (joe and mike), they are continuously berated, treated as savages who don’t care for their own, and talked about as if they are less than human. by having characters acknowledge racism and it’s wrongness, King has now shown *himself* (not Just the characters) as having deep rooted racial prejudices against Indigenous peoples. and you can argue all you want that this was written in the 60s, but surely if you can grasp that racism is bad in some contexts (such as towards Black people), then you can reach the next logical conclusion that racism is bad in ALL contexts?
on point #2: the last chapter of this book felt rushed. we spend damn near 400 pages building and building just to have garraty’s two strongest competitors bite it in the span of two pages? that’s ridiculous. there was no pay off in their deaths as there was in the deaths of the other boys. King has shown that he can write a death scene and do it well, but fumbled with two of the most important ones. as for the actual ending itself, it isn’t my favorite. i reread the ending today and hated it less the second time around, but the nature of it doesn’t necessarily lend itself to the story in my opinion.
as for a rating, if i were to ignore point #1, i would settle at a 4 or 4.5 star. but i don’t know that i can actually give that rating in good conscience given the nature of point #1.
p. s. i forgot to mention that everyone in this book, especially garraty, is weirdly horny. the horniness itself is weird enough, but the nature of the horniness makes it doubly weird. for the most part, i was able to look past it, but it is not something that i felt added to the book in any way, shape, or form.
yet i come out of this book with two main issues:
1) the racism towards Native/Indigenous Americans
2) the ending
on point #1 i will say this: King set a precedent in this book that the characters were aware (to whatever extent) of racism and it’s wrongness by having characters openly condemn racism towards Black people (and express remorse for racist actions that took place in the past). and yet, when Indigenous peoples are brought up (joe and mike), they are continuously berated, treated as savages who don’t care for their own, and talked about as if they are less than human. by having characters acknowledge racism and it’s wrongness, King has now shown *himself* (not Just the characters) as having deep rooted racial prejudices against Indigenous peoples. and you can argue all you want that this was written in the 60s, but surely if you can grasp that racism is bad in some contexts (such as towards Black people), then you can reach the next logical conclusion that racism is bad in ALL contexts?
on point #2: the last chapter of this book felt rushed. we spend damn near 400 pages building and building just to have garraty’s two strongest competitors bite it in the span of two pages? that’s ridiculous. there was no pay off in their deaths as there was in the deaths of the other boys. King has shown that he can write a death scene and do it well, but fumbled with two of the most important ones. as for the actual ending itself, it isn’t my favorite. i reread the ending today and hated it less the second time around, but the nature of it doesn’t necessarily lend itself to the story in my opinion.
as for a rating, if i were to ignore point #1, i would settle at a 4 or 4.5 star. but i don’t know that i can actually give that rating in good conscience given the nature of point #1.
p. s. i forgot to mention that everyone in this book, especially garraty, is weirdly horny. the horniness itself is weird enough, but the nature of the horniness makes it doubly weird. for the most part, i was able to look past it, but it is not something that i felt added to the book in any way, shape, or form.
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
3.0
i feel like i just didn’t read this at the right time. i don’t have very strong feelings about this book to be honest. it was alright, and i feel like at a different time i could’ve enjoyed it more.
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
3.0
initial post:
i think everybody sucks. more thoughts to come.
final thoughts:
this book had a serious lack of lyra and pan (+ will). it was hard to get through without them. additionally, has everyone forgotten that asriel killed roger???? why is everybody so down for asriel???? he literally sucks??? like yes objectively coulter is worse but be serious. also, the messaging in this installment was Heavy™️. there was no room to interpret or reach conclusions on your own. overall, i really liked getting introduced to will and his story, but i left this book with muddled feelings about the series thus far.
i think everybody sucks. more thoughts to come.
final thoughts:
this book had a serious lack of lyra and pan (+ will). it was hard to get through without them. additionally, has everyone forgotten that asriel killed roger???? why is everybody so down for asriel???? he literally sucks??? like yes objectively coulter is worse but be serious. also, the messaging in this installment was Heavy™️. there was no room to interpret or reach conclusions on your own. overall, i really liked getting introduced to will and his story, but i left this book with muddled feelings about the series thus far.
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
4.0
4? 4.5? somewhere in there. a really great end to the trilogy.
All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny
4.0
3.5 or so ///// this book was really sweet :) that being said, idk how much i will remember of it in a few months or a year. i loved the characters and vibes, but at times i felt that it dragged a bit.