aimawaymessage's reviews
127 reviews

Almond by Won-pyung Sohn

Go to review page

4.0

straightforward writing and so wholesome. also the nickname steamed bun goes so hard
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

Go to review page

4.0

such a big crush on miss natalie
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee

Go to review page

5.0

“I want to hold his hand all night and have it be only that; not political, not dangerous, just that.”

“I am built for this terrible pain, I told myself, and sent myself on my way.”

“Destroying art is practice for destroying people.”
Godshot by Chelsea Bieker

Go to review page

4.0

A hyperreal portrait of suffering from a young, motherless girl coming of age as a member of a sick religious cult in a desolate small town. An intensely dark but compelling story.

Read my full review here: https://www.aimawaymessage.online/blog/godshot
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

Go to review page

2.0

I really didn't like this lol

https://www.aimawaymessage.online/blog/theechowife
Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados

Go to review page

3.0

Thank you Verso Books for providing an ARC!

This novel is a straightforward, direct collection of diary entries that follow our main characters, Isa and Gala, throughout their first summer after moving to New York.

A string of quotable observations and conversations, Happy Hour is filled with Isa's commentary on the people around her as she jumps from elite parties to bad dates with stuck-up New York boys to working odd jobs for rent money. While some dialogue is interesting and fast-paced, about a third of the way through I felt myself losing interest and was worried this might be a DNF.

This is kind of like reading a very long tumblr post from an art girl in 2014, which isn't a bad thing but also doesn't feel fully genuine to me; I can definitely see why maybe a younger audience would really connect with this, but I didn't vibe with it as much as I hoped.

https://www.aimawaymessage.online/
All My Mother's Lovers by Ilana Masad

Go to review page

3.0

Really wanted to like this more. Super interesting premise but really slow pacing and kinda lack-luster ending.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Go to review page

4.0

Wow ok. This book is THICK - both with emotion and in pages (450? Sheeeeesh). Though the characters were a little predictable and (imo) the ending was a little bit rushed, Hannah successfully captured the terrors of living with an abusive parent or spouse while simultaneously building up a harsh land full of beauty.