bookreviewswithkb's reviews
641 reviews

I Never Called It Rape - Updated Edition: The Ms. Report on Recognizing, Fighting, and Surviving Date and Acquaintance Rape by Salamishah Tillet, Gloria Steinem, Robin Warshaw

2.0

i guess i should have known what i was getting myself into by reading a book on rape originally published in the 80s but even considering the time period, i found myself really disgruntled with some of the content. Warshaw’s conclusions that women should stop feeling like they need to be nice, should be more assertive, etc. were just unbelievably dense  and missed the entire point. very victim blamey 

Hombrecito by Santiago Jose Sanchez

emotional reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

“…i had learned this from her, how to hide my real emotions for other people’s comfort, to be palatable, to present a neat, easy image of a life as i disappeared.” 

this novel is an exploration of what it means to constantly be looking for a way to be seen, after always being overlooked, forgotten, rejected. of the pain of separation from your parents, from your family, from the country of your birth, of the splitting into 2 versions of yourself, of 2 lives - one lived, one imagined

the writing is absolutely stunning and the content is deep an thoughtful. but i did struggle with the extremely descriptive sexual content as well as the sudden POV shift in the very last chapter

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

emotional informative reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

“time is a river that meanders, branching out into tributaries and rivulets, depositing sediments of stories along its shores in the hope that someday, someone, somewhere, will find them.”

water is everything, everything is water - in the way that all of us are connected, and everything we do affects everything that is and that will be. in the way that none of us can survive without each other, that the impact doesn’t disappear just because you don’t see it, and that i don’t just mean humans when i say ‘us’

these are some of the concepts Shafak wrestles with in this beautiful, moving novel that is character centered, embodied and extremely thoughtful 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Sexual assault, and Violence

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

mystery/thriller is not my typical genre but i was in the mood for something a little spooky for the season and this worked for me. it moved at a good pace and i thought the alternating POVs were done well. was it profound? no, but it entertained me for sure 

side note - i really struggle reading fiction via audio but this was really easy for my brain to follow!

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

emotional hopeful

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

there are a whole lot of young people who need this book, who will feel seen and whole and loved when they read these words, who will be inspired by the characters and will know they aren’t alone in the world. it has great representation, both frustrating and lovable characters, and a really good plot

Paradise by Toni Morrison

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Toni Morrison has written the most complex and beautiful novels and Paradise is certainly not an exception. she takes the concept of paradise and dissects it so completely, examining the development of creating an all Black town formed by previously enslaved people. and how no paradise can be achieved if it’s built upon the same principles of white supremacy. how those principles will always lead to the same results, oppression, power, conformity 

i love the way Morrison writes about women, about the complexity of who women are

“But can't you even imagine what it must feel like to have a true home? I don't mean heaven. I mean a real earthly home. Not some fortress you bought and built up and have to keep everybody locked in or out. A real home. Not some place you went to and invaded and slaughtered people to get. Not some place you claimed, snatched because you got the guns. Not some place you stole from the people living there, but your own home, where if you go back past your great-great-grandparents, past theirs, and theirs, past the whole of Western history, past the beginning of organized knowledge, past pyramids and poison bows, on back to when rain was new, before plants forgot they could sing and birds thought they were fish, back when God said Good! Good!-- there, right there where you know your own people were born and lived and died.”

The Yield by Tara June Winch

challenging emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

a deeply moving and beautiful exploration of the horrific outcomes, both at the community and individual level, of colonization, of the dehumanization, the abuse, the violence that Indigenous people have and continue to experience, of the power of revitalization, uncovering and bringing back one of the languages taken away from Indigenous people by white people, of recovering what was stolen [land, peace, seeds], of the cultural knowledge and community history that lives and breathes through language

“this country is made of impossible distances, places you can only reach by time travel. by speaking our language, by singing the mountains into existence.”

The Majesties by Tiffany Tsao

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

okay i was really skeptical about this novel because it’s described as a thriller and that’s not a genre i love but i picked it up for @storygraph’s read the world challenge as a book set in Indonesia and i am so glad i did! i did not think i would like it, but i ended up loving it 

side note: i truly wouldn’t consider this a thriller and i think people are giving it low ratings because they are going into it wanting a thriller and it’s not meeting their expectations 

but if you like family drama with a side of intrigue then here you go. you’re welcome 😇 

anyway. this is such an atmospheric novel, with emotions bleeding off the pages, complexity of character, and a peeling back of layers!!! it is haunting and complicated. Tsao explores stereotypes, privilege and power, wealth, deception, and this idea of how we grapple with the knowledge that we are steeped in a legacy of harm and there is no foreseeable way out 

The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani

dark tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

this year i have been working my way through the diversity across genres challenge and it has thoroughly pushed me out of my comfort zone, reading genres i typically wouldn’t. thrillers are definitely not my preferred genre so take my review with a grain of salt 

what i think can be easily missed is that this novel is trying to reckon with class differences, societal divisions based on race, and the ways that wealth can afford you the opportunity to have someone else, someone with less privilege, do the things you don’t want to do, the things that might drain our lives of purpose, the things that are redundant and repetitive. and when we are subjugated to the edges of society, to doing the things that no one else wants to do, we can become lost within ourselves, struggling to care for our mental health, sinking under the weight of depression, leading us to make horrific decisions 

this really reminded me of The Push by Ashley Audrain. it is engaging and disturbing and intense

Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America by Julia Lee

challenging emotional reflective

4.5

 a heart-wrenching, guttural and honest exploration of the racial hierarchy in america, examining the position of Asian American identity within the hierarchy. Lee utilizes personal experiences alongside the work of beloved scholars and writers to interrogate oppression, marginalization and social change. she describes the shame and rage that she feels trying to survive in a country built on the oppression of people of color, the white supremacist ideals that bleed into every corner

highly recommend this