amandakitz's reviews
1095 reviews

This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? No

5.0

Cozy, utopian science-fiction with a heavy dose of existentialism, this book was a very quick and enjoyable read. Our main character, an agender monk from a big city, changes their profession to being a tea monk, roaming around and offering tea and listening to people's problems. They got very good at it, still felt restless, and decided to take off into the unknown, where the adventure begins.

I loved all of the descriptions and characters, and I could relate to that constant stirring of the soul, craving meaning, craving purpose, craving something more, and not really knowing what could possibly fill that void. I am excited to read the sequel after reading this book.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

adventurous emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

This book was intriguing in concept, but it was neither fast paced nor particularly deep. It was enjoyable, but not incredible. There were plenty of themes that could have been explored more deeply, but they were kept to one-liners.

I was pretty surprised that not once in 300 years of life in Europe and the US did any social issue come up other than her gender being a safety concern at times; I'm not counting the few pages where she was a spy in World War II, a scene which existed solely for Luc to rescue her and make him look less terrible. History was a backdrop, not engaged in a meaningful way. 

I think the most challenged I felt as a reader was in my desire for our protagonist to be a good person, but her most enduring character traits were stubbornness, spite, and selfishness. Frankly, her lovers were consistently more interesting than she was. Their bisexuality was a welcome addition, but that was where the diversity ended. Her time with Henry was lovely and the ending was heartbreaking, but I could not get behind Luc being a love interest in any capacity. That being said, it did get me invested and I did cry, plus there were some lovely lines and great moments. 

So, enjoyable? Yes. Under a critical eye, was it a great book? Not exactly.

Understanding Girls with ADHD: How they feel and why they do what they do by Stephen Hinshaw, Patricia Quinn, Kathleen Nadeau, Ellen Littman

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This text is an incredible guide for parents and teachers of girls, helping to identify ADHD where it has been overlooked due to research historically studying its presentation in boys and not in girls. The book provides a chapter for each stage of development with questions for adults to reflect on the child's behavior as well as an appendix full of self-questionnaires the child can complete to begin the process. There are chapters on common challenges like comorbid conditions and executive dysfunction, as well as possible support strategies in every section. 

It was very hard to read as a late-diagnosed adult with ADHD, but very helpful and encouraging as an educator responsible for identifying and supporting my students. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has or works with children.

Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price

challenging hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This was an excellent book on the ways we use the concept of laziness to the detriment of ourselves and others, ultimately failing to value or even consider the unknowns others are facing and our own needs and limitations. I would highly recommend this book to recovering people-pleasers, workaholics, and perfectionists like myself as well as anyone in education or other fields where viewing people as lazy can have extremely damaging impacts on how we treat others.

The Forager's Pantry: Cooking with Wild Edibles by Ellen Zachos

adventurous informative medium-paced

5.0

I love the use of master recipes that allow you to include any harvest, not just the examples the author provides. I wasn't as impressed with this author's foraging guide for safety reasons, but this cookbook is a valuable tool for using your harvests as a new or experienced forager.

Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma by Mariel Buqué

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion by Laura E. Anderson

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

This book is an important work as more people are coming to realize the negative impacts of high control religious groups and cults. My only qualm is that it was primarily written for people like me who were raised in fundamentalist evangelicalism and used the word "religion" to refer to that, alluding to the points raised applying to other groups but rarely providing examples to illustrate that the author wasn't just speaking to and about toxic forms of Christianity. I know that there is a lot of overlap among high-control religious groups and don't think using the broader term was inaccurate; I only wish that there was more evidence provided to support that point.

Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters by Nikita Gill

5.0

The Tea Dragon Tapestry by K. O'Neill

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? No

5.0