alexandriaslibrary's reviews
240 reviews

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

adventurous emotional informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

My Antonia by Willa Cather

emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

O Beautiful by Jung Yun

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Love in a Fallen City by Eileen Chang

challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Six short works that each stand out individually while also being so cohesive. I am so excited to read her longer fiction, she is a master at characterization and succinct insights 

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Idaho by Emily Ruskovich

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

5.0

An aggravatingly beautiful story where form, characters, plot, and sentence level writing is at its peak. A winding toxic, insidious romance between an Egyptian-American woman and an Egyptian man in Cairo

I will be returning to this for the examinations of abusive and how identity complicates these dynamics

“I am wanting the abuse, or, at the very least, accepting it as mine. After years of claiming Arabness as an excuse for what I am—hairy, hard-boned and dirt-skinned, sensual, impulsive, superstitious, nostalgic, full of body-shame and estrangement—I feel I'm earning it at last.”

Priestdaddy: A Memoir by Patricia Lockwood

emotional funny reflective slow-paced