alicebeastcat's reviews
449 reviews

River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta

medium-paced

3.5

I really liked aspects of this book -- the focus on the Jamaican-Canadian twenty-somethings navigating work and friendship and their connection to their heritage, the exploration of the River Mumma and the various duppies bent on preventing the friends' mission -- but the pacing felt off to me for much of the book.  If anything, I think it could have been longer -- as the book switches between a 24-hour countdown in the City of Toronto and explorations of the River Mumma and her relationship to the protagonist and her ancestors, each segment felt rushed, and that we were ping-ponging between the two and I couldn't really hook into either of the two worlds enough before being wrenched back to the other.  I love the writer's imagination and voice and will look for more by her in the future.  

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

A work of genius!  Everything is here: the art, the plot, the pacing, the characters, the interwoven narratives, big themes explored through little lives on a neighborhood level.  I loved it.  

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

fast-paced

3.5

Fun, twisty plot; fast-paced; a page turner I couldn’t put down. The writing does what it needs to do and nothing more, the characters are one-dimensional, but I enjoyed the ride!  I would read more by the author. 

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

4.5

This took a little bit for me to get into, but then Queenie just captured my heart and I could not help but cheer her on and wish the best for her as she navigates life and some really challenging circumstances - some harrowing, some cringey some laugh out loud funny. By the end, I still wanted to spend more time with her and didn’t want the book to be over! 

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

medium-paced

4.5

A really eye-opening and very readable account of how a selection of cities and/or institutions are currently confronting (or not) their ties to slavery.  Smith weaves together both facts and storytelling to make the text accessible and engaging while also very informative. 

A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

I think I loved this strange, haunting book. The story and writing had me mesmerized.  I could not put it down, reading it on the edge of my seat, even when the characters were having mundane, day-to-day domestic interactions.  

Familia by Lauren E. Rico

3.0

I was really excited to read this, as the story setup is so promising,  it I was ended up fairly disappointed. The plot was solid, and it was a pretty effective page-turner, but the characters struck me as flat and two-dimensional, rather than fully nuanced, believable characters. 

Is This How You See Me? by Jaime Hernández

4.0

Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky

adventurous funny medium-paced

4.25

Creative and thought-provoking concept, excellent world-building and humorous...this was great.  The opening "arrival on the planet" scene was a fresh take that hooked me immediately.  And woven in with the science were some thoughtful explorations of fascism and resistance.  

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5

Wow.   Foo weaves research and her own personal experiences together as she shares her investigation into Complex PTSD and its treatments to try figure out how to heal herself.  A searing book that is ultimately also very hopeful.