bestja01's reviews
304 reviews

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Beautifully written book that explores institutional poverty, the opioid crisis, and the struggles and heartbreak of ultra-rural Appalachia. A deeply sad story with a bit of hope at the end, with characters you love and want to succeed despite everything stacked against them.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.75

Beautiful story with beautiful characters; it broke my heart in ways I didn’t expect, but it also made me fall deeply in love with these characters. An absolutely beautiful experience.

City by Alessandro Baricco

challenging slow-paced

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

4.0

Weird book, but good. Witty prose, very stream-of-consciousness writing, and a lot of meandering thoughts on life and the world all revolving around two peoples’ fantasy worlds as they try to figure out their real lives. Strange book, but with a lot of beauty.

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.25

A beast of a book to read, but the stories and language are beautiful. I already want to go back and revisit their journeys. It took forever to get through, and there are so many characters with similar names that it makes your head spin, but the world is so well built, it makes you feel completely immersed in the story (except for the part where you’re constantly flipping to the glossary to remember all the characters and their relationships)

The Maid by Nita Prose

mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I really liked reading this book from Molly’s POV- it made it a slightly different type of murder mystery, where me as a reader could pick up the cues Molly was missing, and it made me root for her to figure them out, as well. I loved the way it all turned out, and loved Molly as a character along with the family she finds. A fun read!

Confess by Colleen Hoover

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

My first Colleen Hoover book- I enjoyed it, but it didn’t wow me. It was a solid romance novel with a predictable but fun plot and enjoyable but not remarkable characters.

Skyward Flight by Brandon Sanderson, Janci Patterson

adventurous medium-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

4.0

I like that the novellas filled in the gaps with the secondary characters I’ve been missing in the main novels- I’m excited to see how they all come together when the next novel comes out.

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-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

4.25

Another good book in the series, but I thought it was the final volume in a trilogy and it turns out there will be a fourth book. Bummer. I still miss the characters from book 1 and hope to see more of them in book 4.

Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-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

Loved this sequel! The world Sanderson has built is fascinating and vivid- my only complaint is that I didn’t see many of the characters from book 1 very often- but I understand why he did that. I just hope to see all of the characters from both books in book 3!

Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book, but it turned out to be a much more personal narrative than I thought it would be. Lovely in the way it blends the factual aspects of Jordan’s life to the personal story of the author, and beautiful in the nuances she finds as she unravels his story and finds the dark underbelly of his life. The dandelion perspective is something I will continue to think about; it is beautiful and encouraging.