bdilley28's reviews
99 reviews

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

Here's my review of She Kills Monsters (after reading it in one sitting):

1. I LOVED the narrator! I think it's so cool when the audience hears things explained rather than seeing them, and I thought it was interesting to describe the tragedy in the first scene in this way!!

2. The music references were so cool, and I made sure to listen to them as I read!

3. I wish there was a bit more about Agnes' life...It took me way too long to realize that she was a teacher but maybe that's my fault.

4. I really enjoyed the fact that Agnes decides to delve into her sister's world to try to get to know her better. I thought scene 16 was really touching and it was cool to finally understand why Agnes was so determined to play D&D in the first place. I love movies/plays/books that explore these types of imperfect family relationships, and I think it's portrayed really well between Agnes and Tilly.

5. THE EVIL CHEERLEADERS!!! Maybe it's just the high schooler in me, but they were 100% the funniest and scariest villain in the whole play...I loved them!

6. I loved scene 11, especially when Chuck and Agnes become one person. For me, it fleshed out Chuck's character as more than a comedic relief! You can really tell that he cared about Tilly and cares about Agnes and her journey in trying to piece together who her sister really was.

7. THE DANCE BATTLE!!!

8. SCENE 16! This was my absolute favorite scene. Again, I think it really fleshed out each character for me. Tilly creating this world as an escape in which she could be her authentic self, as well as for her friends to also achieve her dreams made me tear up. Lily's role in this scene was also so precious.

9. I agree that the ending seemed a bit rushed. Personally, I would've loved to see Agnes finish the game, thank Tilly's group, and then begin packing Tilly's room. In my mind, Agnes was packing up Tilly's things as the narrator was tying up the story.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

5.0

Such a loving story of remembering a parent through the joy of food.

“There was a part of me that felt, or maybe hopes, that after my mother died, I had absorbed her in some way, that she was a part of me now.”

“Now that she was gone, I began to study her like a stranger, rooting her belongings in an attempt to rediscover her, trying to bring her back to life in any way that I could.”

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

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dark funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

A book about love and loss and video games.

"You go back to work. You take advantage of the quiet time that a failure allows you. You remind yourself that no one is paying any attention to you..."
"Sam had asked his grandmother how she'd gotten through the time after his mother's death. She'd had a business to run, a sick grandson to care for, presumably her own grief to work through, though she was deeply unsentimental and never mentioned it... 'The beginning was the hardest, but then days passed, and months, and years, and you got better, and it was not quite so hard...'"
"She had once read in a book about consciousness that over the years, the human brain makes an AI version of your loved ones...She could feel herself forgetting all the details of Marx-the sound of his voice, the feeling of his fingers and they way they gestured, his precise temperature, his scent on clothing, the way he looked walking away, or running up a flight of stairs. Eventually, Sadie imagined that Marx would be reduced to a single image: just a man standing under a distance tore gate, holding his hat in his hands, waiting for her."
"The length of time it had taken Dong Hyun to die also meant he had said everything he wanted to say to Sam, his cousins, and his grandmother. Was this trade worth his suffering?"

The Aeneid by Virgil

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adventurous dark inspiring fast-paced