august_ambrosia's reviews
50 reviews

Don't Call Us Dead: Poems by Danez Smith

5.0

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

5.0

absolutely spectacular. read this in the school library with the autumn sun shining on my desk and struggled to contain my tears. ocean vyong writes about grief so beautifully.

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

4.0

Furious Thing by Jenny Downham

4.0

The Ones That Disappeared by Zana Fraillon

3.0

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

3.0

good book, if a bit overrated. i like fitzgerald's prose and nick is a great narrator to examine - his faults and biases are incredibly interesting. studied this for english lit and glad i read a classic though i doubt if i'd pick it up otherwise.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

4.0

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

THIS WAS RLLY GOOD!!!! very pretty writing i didnt want to put it down :)))) definitely want to buy it and scribble all over my favourite passages (hint thats most of them.!!!!) i had some issues but like. meh. it was very good i recommend it very much 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Terminal illness, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Child death and Bullying

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

hmmm... ok. interesting! definitely felt a deep sense of sympathy for frida. though throughout the whole thing i was constantly trying to think whether i actually cared FOR her, or for her situation? the grief was well written, but the grief of losing a child and seeing them grow up without you would be gut wrenching even if a teen wrote it. anyway. im not going to talk about if the characters were compelling or not because there was no doubt in my head that i would finish the book. i just wish it delved a bit deeper into certain areas? it sort of touched on a lot of different things, understandably given the nature of the "school" but it could've made a few less points and developed the ones it did make? i was left with a very deep pit of despair + hopelessness :( though im pretty sure that WAS the point. don't think i would read again? its worth reading though. the emotions take you for a Ride for sure.

All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown
Did not finish book.

3.0

dnf at 60 pages.... would like to preface this by saying i think i've realised i just don't like ya romance.... if u do ignore this review. u might love it.

however. i would like to be a bit bleh . honestly. decent concept. i usually LOVE post-apocalyptic stuff. i dont think this was slice-of-life enough for me .... i need humanity banding together & appreciating nature reclaiming the earth. not hiding from ppl with guns who dont give a shit about stealing from two little kids. thats just. eh. i believe in love too much for that. i felt like i had to love the kids. i only remember one of their names & i dont. they just didnt pull me in. the narration was a bit annoying & i wasnt intrigued about the plotlines as i shouldve been. it mightve gotten better. maybe it doesnt. not worth my time to find out.

anyway. love the lil queer kids. hope they get a happy ending.