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bookreviewswithkb's reviews
641 reviews
Owner of a Lonely Heart: A Memoir by Beth Nguyen
dark
emotional
4.0
this book made me feel stricken. made me feel hollow. made me feel sorrow. at the deep gulf between the author and her mother, at the gulf created by leaving, by choosing safety, by the author being able to flee to america from vietnam and her mother being left behind. by the weight of the distance, the deepness of the wounds. to see a mother and daughter trying to choose each other but not knowing how, trying to stitch up the wounds but not having the right equipment. but showing up anyway
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
it’s about the brutality of oppression, of racism, of sadness, of addiction, of inaccessible mental health care, of the prison system, of loneliness, of no choices, of powerful men, of a uniform, of whiteness. it’s about how Black girls and women are often expected to take care of the boys and men, how the self-sacrifice becomes resentment, becomes destruction, becomes expected, becomes embedded. it’s about trying to hold onto love, the power of being seen
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race by Jesmyn Ward
5.0
so many beautiful writers contributed to this collection to say a wide variety of things about being Black in america, about police brutality, about the inaccuracy of the idea that america is in “post-racial” era
really interesting reading this nearly 10 years after most of these essays and poems were written, given how much has happened since. it was almost like walking back into time in some ways
The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop
hopeful
lighthearted
3.5
i am trying to be objective in this review but let me tell you, listening to Emily Gilmore, and yes i do mean Emily, tell me about her life was so utterly endearing and satisfying to me as a lifelong Gilmore Girls fan 🥹
is it the most insightful memoir with metaphoric musings on life? no. it’s just a straightforward narrative but i was charmed nonetheless and if you love Emily and/or broadway, you’ll probably find this worth reading
Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
“and how the wound won’t close until it’s existence is spoken aloud, but not one person dares to”
y’all this one blew me away. it is so profound, with beautiful, lyrical writing that transported me into the lives of the characters, into the Kenyan drylands, into the depths of heart wrenching painful experiences that left gaping wounds in the souls of these characters trying to find their way towards love and connection but coming up against barriers they couldn’t understand because when we don’t speak of our wounds, they don’t have a chance to heal and they infect all those around us and we must choose to trust in each other, to find the goodness that exists, to love each other through the pain that makes us want to turn away. we can only move forward with truth, with the uncovering of what those before us thought they needed to hide, with an openness towards what can be
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder
The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America by Marcus J. Moore
informative
i mean i obviously had to read this after THE super bowl performance. would be so curious to hear the author’s take on Kendrick’s performance!
this is less of a memoir and more of a celebration of Kendrick’s work, coupled with an exploration of the social and political events that inspired his work. i think if you love Kendrick and/or art, you will probably find this worth reading
Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by bell hooks
challenging
emotional
reflective
5.0
what a poetic masterpiece 🤯
absolutely blown away. i loved this SO much. i think i underlined every single sentence. do yourself a favor and read it!
this memoir provides such understanding into why hooks was drawn to examine the social constructs she did, giving us snippets of her childhood and the experiences that shaped her; exposes us to how hooks herself developed an awareness around identity, class, femaleness, Blackness, sexuality
i was first introduced to bell hooks in undergrad by one of my favorite professors who taught me so much about the world. part of how she taught me was through the works of hooks, who absolutely blew my mind. i didn’t know women were allowed to be this courageous, this loud, this confident, this bold. the readings put words to concepts and ideas i always felt, but didn’t know how to express. i continue to be awed by her
Wade in the Water by Nyani Nkrumah
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
the topics explored in this novel are extremely important - the harm of white guilt/saviorism, the wisdom of the elderly, colorism, the search for love and acceptance. i was intrigued by the storyline throughout and overall found it to be an interesting book
but it did feel disjointed at times, without enough emphasis on the development of the characters. and difficult points in the story would often be glossed over without a thorough reckoning of the impact on the characters after something extreme happened (i.e. the main character being severely physically abused by her mother in one scene, and in the next, nothing is mentioned about this abuse or its impact)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Murder
The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice by Dan Slepian
informative
2.5
2.5 stars for the content but overall, it was not what i was expecting. to learn more about wrongful convictions and the absolute injustice of the criminal “justice” system, i suggest
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K. Barnett
Slepian was unfocused in his writing, often jumping from one case to the next without clear connection. he spent a great deal of time focused on himself, which distracted from the point of exposing the stories of 6 men wrongfully convicted who spent the majority of their lives in prison… it made it feel self-congratulatory at times. he also has some clear biases that he did not work through - being surprised at the intelligence of JJ Velazquez, pro-police statements, etc. for such a deeply emotional topic, this work is extremely surface level and almost left out the emotions entirely
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“i wish i could get them back. all those years that i wasted. i wish i could copy and paste them to the Now. i’d live them so much better.”
i am left reflecting on what it means for our lives to be cut short, the residual impacts, the way the pain ripples out onto our loved ones. when our days are numbered, what will we regret? what will we wish we had done differently? what will we see as the moments that made us, the moments that broke us, the moments that haunted us
and our bodies, our bodies. our minds. the connections between the two but also the disconnections. what our bodies carry, what they know, what they store. what our minds convolute, what they mistake, what they destroy
at times a difficult read but ultimately so lyrical and profound