What an interesting, lovely, and bleak book. I found myself continuously rooting for the protagonist. This wasn’t just a tale of a teenage girl’s journey through the wilds, but also a journey through her existential and religious crises. The style, prose, and writing left me in awe and so vividly illustrated the scene, the journey, and the girl’s past and present story. To me, this novel is a piece of art.

Content Warnings

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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

The Lowland was a bit of a slow start, but once it got going, I was enthralled. Lahiri has such a beautiful way with words. The main protagonist describes his family as "a family of solitaries" which is a stunningly apt descriptor of a cast of characters. Each one so deeply involved in themselves that you have to see inside their heads to parse their thoughts and motivations, and to understand their actions. The early parts of the novel explore the Maoist "Naxalite" political movement in India which led me to do further research on the movement. This novel was eye-opening, honest, and heart wrenching, and to me is a story about longing, love, and dreams both realized and suppressed.

Pauper Auction by Mary Kronenwetter

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Reflective and an engaging read. I found the descriptions of everyday life and work in the era to be wonderfully vivid and informative. The characters were very well-developed and I think the author tackled several serious topics well.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Go to review page

dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

If you don’t like a complete cast of just unrepentantly unlikeable characters this is not the book for you. I think the only likable person in the book was Athena’s mother. I loved it. Every single stupid decision was just so glaringly wrong but the way the author manages to explain or describe the thought process it just makes sense that the characters would make those decisions. Such a brutally honest portrayal of diversity in modern book authorship and publishing, the concept of “going viral” on social media, and a blunt critique of cultural appropriation and exploitation.

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jiménez

Go to review page

emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book gave me major feelings of nostalgia for the wild era of early reality tv. I felt like the family, even missing Ruthy, were well fleshed out and felt so “real.” These were women I could see as my mother or my sister. The plot was, in hindsight, very bonkers but so neatly done that I was very into it and really believing what was happening was real. Ultimately I found this book to be heartbreaking and so full of love and pain.

Content Warnings

Close to Home by Lisa Jackson

Go to review page

dark fast-paced

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

0.5

I have tried Lisa Jackson before and didn’t like the writing style. Decided to give it another try and honestly I wish I hadn’t wasted my time. This book had too much going on

(unrealistic family drama, kidnapping/human trafficking, child clairvoyant, ghost(s), stalking, teen love story reinvigorated as adults, incest, murder, fundamentalist/anti government Idahoans, sick mom with dementia and inheritance issues)

and was just not well written enough to explain or explore all of that. The teenagers were written as if the author has never met or interacted with one before. The mother/daughter relationship was just disrespectful for no reason. The love story was rushed and tied up with a pretty convenient bow (“we’re taking it slow but moved in together immediately and are talking about marriage and having babies together”). The ghost plot line was a waste. The one bright spot in this novel was the rescue “alert” dog — she was perfect and did an admirable job saving this family. Which is more than you can say for any of the human members of the family, the town police, or even any adult living or working in this fictional town.

Content Warnings

Liar, Dreamer, Thief by Maria Dong

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Thriller vibes with funny, complex, and very unreliable narrator. This one kept me interested the whole way through and I really felt engaged by the characters and the plot.

More...

brownikins's reviews 34 reviews

brownikins's reviews
34 reviews