bea_reads_books's reviews
343 reviews

Help Wanted by J. Emery

funny lighthearted reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

A little unpolished, but a very sweet story.

Help Wanted, Must Love Books by Janet Sumner Johnson

funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.75

The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson

dark reflective

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

0.75

This book is so disgustingly fatphobic. Every fat man is gross and wants to rape her, but the one stranger she meets who’s skinny is immediately trustworthy. The main character also thinks about the teacher she had before the world ended, and says “She was a big woman, fat actually. But she was nice so I almost felt bad when the other kids teased her.” 

It also does COVID conspiracy stuff because the Big Bad™ of the story is an institution called Immunity, and we take time to mention how the vaccine they develop is “probably nothing more than sugar water” and how the “safety measures” they put in place are “taking away people’s rights”. At the end it turns out that Immunity also created the plague in the first place. It’s giving very “plandemic” nonsense. 

Also, I recognize that this is post apocalyptic fiction and there aren’t a lot of people left, but the main character tries coming onto a seventeen year old (she’s 22 at the time…) and when he isn’t happy about this (he’s literally in tears!!!) she wonders angrily to herself whether he’s “gay, or just a scared little boy”. Which I found super gross.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Xenophobia and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: War

It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book about Gender Identity by Theresa Thorn

5.0

Together: a First Conversation about Love by Jessica Ralli, Megan Madison

4.0

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

adventurous funny sad

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

3.0

Not much plot, and uneven pacing. A lot of missed opportunities for really good conversations. I did like the portrayal of transness, and the discussions about police brutality (although I felt like it was a bit glossed over and could have been much more prominent in the narrative). Too tropey for me personally, but if you like fated mates, knife to the throat, only one bed, etc - this might be a good book for you.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Transphobia, and Abandonment

The Remaking of Corbin Wale by Roan Parrish

emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Message Not Found by Dante Medema

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

The Scourge by Jennifer A. Nielsen

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.75

Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) by Dean Spade

challenging informative inspiring

5.0

This is such a concise, comprehensive and practical guide to forming collective action and mutual aid networks. The last chapter is especially important; it helped me identify some things I need to work on in myself and gave me clear steps to do so. I love how accessible the author made the book - it’s not hard to understand or too verbose to easily digest.