badmom's reviews
489 reviews

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Murder, Torture, War, Colonisation, Classism, and Racism

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes by Jessica Pan

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Murder, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Simply put - this is a deeply beautiful account of the vast range of emotional reactions to suicide, and the disparate forms love & support & grief might take. Our narrator is understandably distraught over her husband’s death; his mother’s response, extreme in its ugly vindictiveness, is also shown to be understandable, in a way. Everyone in Q’s orbit is shaken by his death but shows their sorrow in different ways, leaving his widow feeling even more unmoored as she tries (or doesn’t) to find a path forward. 
We are treated to the sweet and sometimes bittersweet history of this couple and with that we see the unfolding of characters that reveals layers of relationships. Nwabineli’s writing is subtly astute in the ways it shows growth in even the slightest of characters - she makes us notice everyone and compels us consider their stories within our own stories while allowing connections we might otherwise resist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicide, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Medical trauma, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Drug use, and Vomit

Minor: Gaslighting, Car accident, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

The Trap by Melanie Raabe, Imogen Taylor

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Plenty of richly descriptive passages, a fascinating story-within-a story structure, and a quick pace make this psychological murder mystery a worthwhile read. We feel for the narrator even while we don’t entirely trust her perspective; we want to support her despite our misgivings about her choices; we hope for the best yet prepare for the worst outcomes. Some parts felt incomplete or disjointed though that might be an effect of translation, but it was satisfying overall in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Torture, Chronic illness, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Minor: Gun violence, Suicide, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Beautifully vivid descriptions of farming areas in India and an interesting story of one young man’s split life between his home village and Dallas, Texas. Some characters are relatively shallow compared to others, seemingly brought in for some breadth but not much depth, and a few plotlines are left dangling, unresolved. Overall a unique and thoughtful perspective of what makes life rich & meaningful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Violence, Classism, Suicide, Hate crime, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, and Grief

Minor: Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, Cancer, Death, Alcohol, Addiction, and Drug abuse

The Grip of It by Jac Jemc

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

The writing is taut yet descriptive enough to bring us fully into a contemporary young couple’s tense world. Chapters alternate points of view so we slowly come to understand what their marriage is like and how they’ve arrived at the decision to buy an unsettling old house far from their friends & former city life. 
Tension & dread builds quickly + powerfully; creepy circumstances unfold and start to have historical connections but then are largely left at symbolic meaning for the couple. 
I was left considering how I would react in their situation and pondering my own relationship but would have preferred a more concrete conclusion. But, discomfort in the unknown might be the point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Stalking and Alcohol

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Medical content, and Emotional abuse

Odd Girl Out by Elizabeth Jane Howard

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

A fascinating character study, revolving around  a free-spirited young woman whose presence affects everyone she encounters - from lovers to store clerks to cab drivers. At the center of the story is her unfolding relationship with an older married couple who seem to be living a comfortable, content life. Soon everyone is reevaluating what they felt to be true about their values, beliefs, and desires. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, and Infidelity

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

Sweet story, not terrifically complicated or deep but fair look at teen friendship + feelings.