amandat's reviews
575 reviews

Jennie's Boy: A Newfoundland Childhood by Wayne Johnston

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.0

Some Newfoundland phrases may be confusing and the author refers to his parents and grandparents by their first names, which confused me at first (I kept thinking Lucy was Wayne's Aunt).  

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

dark emotional sad slow-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

4.0

Very good, but very bleak.

A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

Not well-written ("I was very sad", "I was very, very angry" type of writing), but Ma-Nee's story is so compelling that only bothered me a couple of places.  Be warned about the audio though - it's very slow and had to speed it up considerably so it didn't drive me crazy.  Short-listed for Canada Reads 2025.

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

dark sad medium-paced

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

2.5

I hated the time jump in the middle and it ruined my enjoyment of this book.

Never: The Autobiography by Rick Astley

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I love this 🤩.   Guilty pleasure reading at its best.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.0

Ending is a little too neat, but it's the best fictional book I've read in a long time.

Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History by Olivia Campbell

hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Will make you realize how much women lost to the Nazis.  Women have come a long way, but we still have a long way go to achieve equality.

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.

Not for me.  Don't understand the hype.

Blaze Me a Sun by Christoffer Carlsson

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

Decent crime novel, but too long and ending was a bit of a let down.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

dark mysterious 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? Yes

2.0

For a book that was marketed as a mystery and thriller, it's so slow with a thin plot.  The setting is the best part.