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akira_outofthegravity's reviews
173 reviews
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A beautifully stunning critique of racism in modern day America and in the modern book-sphere.
Juniper is such an interesting character, because at points I almost do feel sorry for her. It’s difficult putting yourself out there, especially when your friend seems preordained for greatness. I’ve been there. My best friend was everything I wanted to be, she was blonde, beautiful, and funny. She was insanely intelligent and good at everything. Her poetry made a teacher cry, her grades were the highest in my year. No one wanted to know me, they wanted to know her. I understand Juniper, better than I’d like to admit.
But Juniper’s downfall comes in the form of her unwillingness, or perhaps her lack of ability, to take any responsibility. She’s judgemental and rude and turns on people at any given moment. She’s incredibly selfish and bitchy, but at points she is sympathetic.
I love how Kuang dips between timelines, showing both Athena and Juniper in a sympathetic and unsympathetic light- but the fact is that none of Athena’s acts are terrible enough to have her life’s work stolen and her identity as a woman of colour stolen.
I think this is a very sharp thought out critique and I hope that Kuang writes more thrillers in the future!
Juniper is such an interesting character, because at points I almost do feel sorry for her. It’s difficult putting yourself out there, especially when your friend seems preordained for greatness. I’ve been there. My best friend was everything I wanted to be, she was blonde, beautiful, and funny. She was insanely intelligent and good at everything. Her poetry made a teacher cry, her grades were the highest in my year. No one wanted to know me, they wanted to know her. I understand Juniper, better than I’d like to admit.
But Juniper’s downfall comes in the form of her unwillingness, or perhaps her lack of ability, to take any responsibility. She’s judgemental and rude and turns on people at any given moment. She’s incredibly selfish and bitchy, but at points she is sympathetic.
I love how Kuang dips between timelines, showing both Athena and Juniper in a sympathetic and unsympathetic light- but the fact is that none of Athena’s acts are terrible enough to have her life’s work stolen and her identity as a woman of colour stolen.
I think this is a very sharp thought out critique and I hope that Kuang writes more thrillers in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Body horror, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Rape, Bullying, and Sexual assault
Minor: Eating disorder and Gaslighting
The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A really enjoyable murder mystery novel that kept me guessing until the very end.
I felt that the solution was a little far fetched, but I have to say I didn’t guess it lol. I felt bad because I really liked all the characters and then they all died, and it felt like the murderers motive wasn’t really all there?
if chiori had been more prevalent in the lead up, perhaps with the members feeling guilt over her death, then maybe it would have seemed less out the blue. Her death from alcohol consumption is fine, but no one remembers her or even cares that she died apart from Orczy and the murderer.
While I have a couple of issues with the story, what this book gets really well is ATMOSPHERE. The second to last chapter seriously spooked me, maybe because murder mysteries tend not to talk too much about how a body looks and so it threw me off.
A unique and atmospheric story that I felt could have been fleshed out a little more, from the author of one of my favourite manga’s (Another).
I felt that the solution was a little far fetched, but I have to say I didn’t guess it lol. I felt bad because I really liked all the characters and then they all died, and it felt like the murderers motive wasn’t really all there?
While I have a couple of issues with the story, what this book gets really well is ATMOSPHERE. The second to last chapter seriously spooked me, maybe because murder mysteries tend not to talk too much about how a body looks and so it threw me off.
A unique and atmospheric story that I felt could have been fleshed out a little more, from the author of one of my favourite manga’s (Another).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Wow. I was not expecting that.
Honestly I need to gather my thoughts a little. That was such a clusterfuck that I’m having trouble processing it. On the outside this is a quirky story about two kids discovering themselves. In reality it’s about two abused children leaving reality, and liberating themselves at any cost.
I did skip a few bits in this book. But I loved the end, the fire was impeccable, and I also loved the bond that grew between the trio. I really wanted Natsuki to thrive, and I guess in a way she did.
She did nothing wrong, and I will defend her until I die.
After the halfway mark it becomes more funny than the first half, but it’s still a deeply sad book. I enjoyed it! Not everyone’s cup of tea tho.
Honestly I need to gather my thoughts a little. That was such a clusterfuck that I’m having trouble processing it. On the outside this is a quirky story about two kids discovering themselves. In reality it’s about two abused children leaving reality, and liberating themselves at any cost.
I did skip a few bits in this book. But I loved the end, the fire was impeccable, and I also loved the bond that grew between the trio. I really wanted Natsuki to thrive, and I guess in a way she did.
She did nothing wrong, and I will defend her until I die.
After the halfway mark it becomes more funny than the first half, but it’s still a deeply sad book. I enjoyed it! Not everyone’s cup of tea tho.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Body horror, Gore, Cannibalism, and Incest
Moderate: Death, Grief, Murder, Eating disorder, Self harm, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Ring by Kōji Suzuki
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I saw the film (Ringu) recently and really enjoyed it, so I decided to finally get around to reading this.
Much like the film it’s a slow burn that gradually speeds up towards the end. I prefer the book purely because it goes more in depth about Sadako and her reasons for becoming an Onryo, but I prefer the movies version of Asakawa.
That being said This Asakawa is a really compelling protagonist. Despite everything he really cares about his family.
There were various elements that made me uncomfy, such as Asakawa’s attitude towards intersexuality, and generally the way women are portrayed, however I wonder if (for the time) it may have been considered progressive? I don’t know, I think it’d be interesting to research and I like how the story has evolved over the time.
A solid read!
Much like the film it’s a slow burn that gradually speeds up towards the end. I prefer the book purely because it goes more in depth about Sadako and her reasons for becoming an Onryo, but I prefer the movies version of Asakawa.
That being said This Asakawa is a really compelling protagonist. Despite everything he really cares about his family.
There were various elements that made me uncomfy, such as Asakawa’s attitude towards intersexuality, and generally the way women are portrayed, however I wonder if (for the time) it may have been considered progressive? I don’t know, I think it’d be interesting to research and I like how the story has evolved over the time.
A solid read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Rape, Transphobia, Death, Body horror, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Grief, and Body shaming
Minor: Vomit, Violence, and Sexism
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A series of short stories that have the same themes of Convenience Store Woman but with added fuckery.
As someone who is an asexual lesbian I didn’t find a lot of the stories particularly disturbing, maybe that’s the point, but a lot of people found this to be crazy weird and while it was definitely that, it wasn’t as weird as I’d thought.
As in Convenience Store Woman, Murata talks about asexuality, aromanticism, life, sex, and the idea of not fitting into society. I enjoyed this collection!
The highlights were:
Life Ceremony
Hatchling
A clean marriage
Two’s family
Poochie
As someone who is an asexual lesbian I didn’t find a lot of the stories particularly disturbing, maybe that’s the point, but a lot of people found this to be crazy weird and while it was definitely that, it wasn’t as weird as I’d thought.
As in Convenience Store Woman, Murata talks about asexuality, aromanticism, life, sex, and the idea of not fitting into society. I enjoyed this collection!
The highlights were:
Life Ceremony
Hatchling
A clean marriage
Two’s family
Poochie
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Cannibalism, and Confinement
Moderate: Death, Gore, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Stalking, Medical content, and Incest
Minor: Alcohol
A lot of talk about semen.
Confessions by Kanae Minato
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A 4.5 ⭐️ read turned to a 5⭐️ with the last page.
Every chapter felt like a slap in the face in the best way possible. It is absolutely like Camus meets Heathers, filled with characters who are shitty but you can’t help kind of rooting for?
The revenge is absolutely gorgeous, and it’s a really interesting tale about cycles of abuse and grief, and how revenge isn’t always the answer but sometimes does make you feel better.
A really satisfying read.
Every chapter felt like a slap in the face in the best way possible. It is absolutely like Camus meets Heathers, filled with characters who are shitty but you can’t help kind of rooting for?
The revenge is absolutely gorgeous, and it’s a really interesting tale about cycles of abuse and grief, and how revenge isn’t always the answer but sometimes does make you feel better.
A really satisfying read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Bullying, Child death, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Blood, Terminal illness, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal death, Transphobia, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy
The Old Guard, Book three: Tales Through Time by Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Greg Rucka, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Vita Ayala
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-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
3.75
Very cute collection of stories from the old guard :’) I really liked Joe and Nicky’s one (story 2).
I didn’t like some of the art, but overall I enjoyed it. It’s nice to see them as people doing stuff yknow?
I didn’t like some of the art, but overall I enjoyed it. It’s nice to see them as people doing stuff yknow?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Racism
Minor: Homophobia and Sexual content
The Old Guard, Book One: Opening Fire by Greg Rucka
dark
tense
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
3.0
I watched the film first, I love all of the characters. And surprisingly I loved them in here too!
The story was a little different but I enjoyed it, I think the style and the dialogue are really good. It was a little fast paced for me, but I don’t know if that’s a standard thing with comics that I’m just not used to.
A good, quick read with decent gore and nice art :)
JoeNicky forever <3
The story was a little different but I enjoyed it, I think the style and the dialogue are really good. It was a little fast paced for me, but I don’t know if that’s a standard thing with comics that I’m just not used to.
A good, quick read with decent gore and nice art :)
JoeNicky forever <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Blood and Body horror
Minor: War, Trafficking, and Slavery
Heartstream by Tom Pollock
challenging
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I think I’m finally getting too old for YA…
I skimmed this book, mostly. The book has an interesting premise where you can stream your emotions to random people. For Amy this means she has gained a cult following as she documents her mothers cancer journey, and her death.
It’s a dual narrative from the perspective of Amy (as above) and Cat- a fan of a boy band who is secretly in a relationship with the lead member. Her best friend is a total freak obsessed with them.
Like, it’s fine? I guess? But to be frank I couldn’t stand Cat for a good portion of the book. I skimmed most of her chapters. She had all the personality of a wet sponge. But I liked that as time went on she gained some kind of feeling that separated her from being just a blank canvas.
Amy was pretty good too, I liked her as a character. I think her actions were pretty rational and I liked her.
It’s not the worst story in the world, at all, but it’s not good. I don’t like the writing style, I think it could have done with another draft, and I think the story is dumb.
Evie as a villain doesn’t make logical sense. A fan so obsessed with her blorbo’s being gay that she traps her best friend (who is pregnant with her blorbo’s child) in an asylum and steals her baby and blackmails the psychiatrist with a dick pick?
Also, Ryan being the mayor was a fuckin stupid plot point. It just???? The last 100 pages was a clusterfuck of “reasons” why Cat couldn’t become public. Most of which were dumb. The only legit one is that the police/Ryan could silence her.
I guess I just don’t understand what the author was trying to say. There is a clear parallel between Amy and heartstream and Cat with Tumblr. But like, okay? So what? I don’t like when people try to make critiques of fandom spaces because they usually get it wrong. They don’t understand the fandom space- not to say they aren’t toxic, they absolutely can be, but it’s clear that the only point they can make is “obsessive fan bad”, but then make them comically obsessive, so much so that it’s funny and not creepy. I dunno. This book felt very wishywashy, but like I said maybe I’m too old for it lolz
I skimmed this book, mostly. The book has an interesting premise where you can stream your emotions to random people. For Amy this means she has gained a cult following as she documents her mothers cancer journey, and her death.
It’s a dual narrative from the perspective of Amy (as above) and Cat- a fan of a boy band who is secretly in a relationship with the lead member. Her best friend is a total freak obsessed with them.
Like, it’s fine? I guess? But to be frank I couldn’t stand Cat for a good portion of the book. I skimmed most of her chapters. She had all the personality of a wet sponge. But I liked that as time went on she gained some kind of feeling that separated her from being just a blank canvas.
Amy was pretty good too, I liked her as a character. I think her actions were pretty rational and I liked her.
It’s not the worst story in the world, at all, but it’s not good. I don’t like the writing style, I think it could have done with another draft, and I think the story is dumb.
Also, Ryan being the mayor was a fuckin stupid plot point. It just???? The last 100 pages was a clusterfuck of “reasons” why Cat couldn’t become public. Most of which were dumb. The only legit one is that the police/Ryan could silence her.
I guess I just don’t understand what the author was trying to say. There is a clear parallel between Amy and heartstream and Cat with Tumblr. But like, okay? So what? I don’t like when people try to make critiques of fandom spaces because they usually get it wrong. They don’t understand the fandom space- not to say they aren’t toxic, they absolutely can be, but it’s clear that the only point they can make is “obsessive fan bad”, but then make them comically obsessive, so much so that it’s funny and not creepy. I dunno. This book felt very wishywashy, but like I said maybe I’m too old for it lolz
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Toxic friendship, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicide, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cancer, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I can’t help but love Rochester. I can’t. I adore him and his sarcasm and charm. I think his romance with Jane (wives and age gaps aside) is very sweet. He’s like a total weirdo tho, but idk I like that he doesn’t want to change Jane (like a certain someone does). That being said it is absolutely not the basis of a healthy relationship and it should be read for enjoyment purposes only, as opposed to something to strive to.
Jane Eyre is the knockout star. I loved reading about her. I kind of wish I was born before it was published, so I could read it when it came out. It feels like a story that would have caused major scandal. Maybe it changed the traverse of a young woman’s life.
It drags a little at around page 300, but I enjoyed every second. Jane is such a pleasure. I loved reading about her and I loved that even in spite of her hardships she was kind, and kept true to herself. She did not let anyone dampen her flame, and I think that’s beautiful. She’s the classic strong heroine and her story was so satisfying.
Not a 5 star read for me (casual racism, antisemitism, and ableism) but a read that I found to be very wholesome and interesting. It’s absolutely worth it, I will be thinking about Jane for a while to come.
Jane Eyre is the knockout star. I loved reading about her. I kind of wish I was born before it was published, so I could read it when it came out. It feels like a story that would have caused major scandal. Maybe it changed the traverse of a young woman’s life.
It drags a little at around page 300, but I enjoyed every second. Jane is such a pleasure. I loved reading about her and I loved that even in spite of her hardships she was kind, and kept true to herself. She did not let anyone dampen her flame, and I think that’s beautiful. She’s the classic strong heroine and her story was so satisfying.
Not a 5 star read for me (casual racism, antisemitism, and ableism) but a read that I found to be very wholesome and interesting. It’s absolutely worth it, I will be thinking about Jane for a while to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, and Mental illness
Moderate: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, and Child death
Minor: Suicide and Misogyny