allisonleora's reviews
282 reviews

West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

Shady Hollow by Juneau Black

adventurous lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

3.75

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-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

5.0

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Sheets by Brenna Thummler

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I read this book in an evening. It is such a sweet story, especially Wendell's story. I love the connection between him and Marjorie. 

My only complaint would be how quickly the narrative jumped to resolution. I think there could have been a few more pages giving a little more explanation or building of the story. But I recognize this is a book for kids and maybe I'm just trying to insert some adult notions. 

My brother and I really enjoyed Casper the Friendly Ghost when we were little, and I think this is a modern-day version of that story.

I had a lovely time reading it. My first graphic novel!

Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.

Since I just had a baby, I couldn't handle reading about the baby's death as well as any other child death.

I will likely pick this back up in the future when my baby is older. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I think I expected this book to be more than it was. It started our incredibly slow, but was helped by the book within a book aspect. I love multiverse stories, so was drawn to this book with the hope it would be like His Dark Materials. While adventurous and an imaginative view on the multiverse, it didn't quite scratch that itch. When the story finally picked up in the second half of the book, I did start enjoying it. But I never fell in love with the characters. Never empathized with any of her pain or suffering. It also seemed the use of symbolism was pretty heavy-handed and sometimes the vocabulary or descriptions of things were dense. I enjoyed the time we spent in alternate worlds, though, however brief! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Self harm

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Gun violence, Violence