anjh's reviews
50 reviews

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.

sci-fi is just not for me :(

Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness and Eating disorder

Different, Not Less: A Neurodivergent's Guide to Embracing Your True Self and Finding Your Happily Ever After by Chloé Hayden

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

5.0

if only i’d read this book when i was a child or teenager who was autistic but just didn’t know it yet because of the stupid stereotypical ableist portrayal of autism in the media - usually as highly unempathetic straight white men who have special interests in science, maths and trains (a bit of a generalisation, but the media portrayal of autism still has a long way to go).

chloé hayden is so welcoming, accepting and calming and her writing is exactly the same with the addition of humour. this book is both informative from a general perspective and individual perspective with UP TO DATE statistics and information written from an autistic/ADHD perspective, by an autistic/ADHD author and it isn’t often you find something like that. there were so many parts in this that i could relate to and made me feel so seen and heard. 

this book really puts the idea out that whatever you’re into, whoever you are, whatever your story is, you matter just as much as anyone else and you are loved just as much as anyone else and any unique parts of your identity (i.e., seemingly “obscure” interests, etc) are nothing to be ashamed of and nothing short of something that makes you human and that is beautiful. 

i love you chloé.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, and Ableism

Moderate: Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Medical content, Ableism, Bullying, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Chronic illness and Suicidal thoughts

Five Survive by Holly Jackson

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

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

5.0

oh my god. wow. how do i put all my thoughts about this book into one review. the amount of times i was holding my breath or about to beat up oliver (fuck oliver) through the page or getting literal shivers down my spine. this thriller was THRILLING let me tell you, holly jackson has some way of keeping you guessing and keeping you on the edge of your seat wondering “then who is it?? what?? how??” and suddenly a few pages down the track everything makes sense and slots into place and you beat yourself up for not realising sooner how holly tricked you and played with your mind through her writing, to make you believe and empathise with characters that were actually plotting violence and silently hating characters that were completely innocent. there were a few points in this book - particularly towards the start - where i almost felt like the writing style was similar to that of a poorly written wattpad fanfiction just because of the way holly has chosen to repeat seemingly useless details over and over and over again and i was thinking “why on earth is this relevant??” but thinking about it in more detail and reading online analyses of this book it makes sense that red is so detail focused and obsessive likely as a result of trauma. 

i love red so much and can relate to her a lot and i hate oliver. i really hate oliver. fuck oliver. oliver sucks. the light blue tabs are “fuck oliver” tabs. oh and the letter at the end oh my god holly jackson will be paying for my therapy after this. ***PLS CHECK THE CONTENT WARNINGS IF UR THINKING OF READING!!***

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, Bullying, Body horror, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Medical content, Murder, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Alcoholism

Minor: Cancer and Confinement

Who Am I?: An Autism and BPD Story by Asten Clarke

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Suicide

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Self harm

Minor: Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Self harm

Understanding Mental Illness: A Comprehensive Guide to Mental Health Disorders for Family and Friends by Carlin Barnes, Marketa Wills

emotional informative lighthearted sad medium-paced

3.75

this is getting 3.75 stars because although it was good and interesting and included examples and statistics and references etc i noticed there was some out of date info which irked me a bit. all in all tho i think the book really emphasises the important message of getting help if you’re struggling and how many mental illnesses are easily dismissed as they are not physically obvious. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

i found this book really hard to get into at first but especially in the second half the pace really picked up and i found myself a lot more absorbed in it. 
it genuinely is a good book, eleanor is funny and there is a good balance of humour and tenseness/sadness of the book and the story is written well to reflect a character with severe trauma and how she processes this as the story goes along.

and omg the plot twist

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Murder, Addiction, Death, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman

5.0

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War