amirxhs13's reviews
111 reviews

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman

lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

3.75

Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman

lighthearted 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? Yes

4.5

Heartstopper Volume 3 by Alice Oseman

lighthearted 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? Yes

4.5

Heartstopper Volume 2 by Alice Oseman

hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.5

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.25

Devastating and beautiful. It was written by a 16 year old and still had better prose, characterisation, and deeper meanings than many books by adults. Can totally see why it’s a classic. Gay subtext goes crazy, stay gold.

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.75

Sally Rooney never misses, obviously a banger. Peter needs therapy. At the beginning, I wasn’t a fan of Peter’s chapters because I didn’t like the prose, but as it went on it was clear that it was reflective of his disjointed and depressed mind. I loved Ivan from the start, and relate to both brothers in many ways. I really enjoyed the exploration of sibling dynamics, Rooney hasn’t  done it before but it was super well done and realistic in my opinion. 

Babel by R.F. Kuang

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

RF Kuang when i catch you oh my god 😭 devastating read

On a more serious note, this book is amazing. I could not care at all for the concept of translation before I read this, but it feels like I will carry around these ideas for the rest of my life. She has such a talent in  depicting the experiences of racism and the devastating effect of colonisation through a poc’s pov, as well as the way a white person will never truly understand. The fantasy aspects make it more interesting, but don’t overshadow the story, nor do they feel excessive, and fit perfectly in with the ideas of translation and colonialism. Her prose is incredible and the writing was captivating, there was never a dull moment.