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camilleo's reviews
245 reviews
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide attempt
Minor: Vomit
Everything You Ever Wanted by Luiza Sauma
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
During the dark times we’ve found ourselves in since January 20th and the impending sense of doom, this book was a reminder about how amidst all the bad and terrible there are good things. Things worth living and fighting for. And sometimes it’s the little things. Don’t take the small things for granted.
-What happens to people like me, when they’re not young any more? The useless ones - where do they go?
-Memories are so strange. Some of them, even good ones, slip through her fingers like liquid, while others cling on for mysterious reasons.
-She blinked until the feeling passed. It came, it went. Nobody noticed, nobody knew. It was ridiculously easy, hiding herself. Painful, but easy. Her greatest gift. Even she didn’t know who she really was.
-“I’m used to it. It’s just this sad undercurrent in my life.”
-What happens to people like me, when they’re not young any more? The useless ones - where do they go?
-Memories are so strange. Some of them, even good ones, slip through her fingers like liquid, while others cling on for mysterious reasons.
-She blinked until the feeling passed. It came, it went. Nobody noticed, nobody knew. It was ridiculously easy, hiding herself. Painful, but easy. Her greatest gift. Even she didn’t know who she really was.
-“I’m used to it. It’s just this sad undercurrent in my life.”
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Melinda was only 13!!!! ☹️
Some things that stuck out to me:
-“If you don’t learn art now, you will never learn to breathe!!!!” (Page 11)
-“I think the white people who have been here for two hundred years are the ones pulling down the country. They don’t know how to work - they’ve had it too easy.” (Page 55)
-“When people don’t express themselves, they die one piece at a time. You’d be shocked at how many adults are really dead inside-walking through their days with no idea who they are, just waiting for a heart attack or cancer or a Mack truck to come along and finish the job. It’s the saddest thing I know.” (Page 122)
-The bruises are vivid but they will fade. (Page 198)
-May you always have the courage to speak up. (Page 199)
Some things that stuck out to me:
-“If you don’t learn art now, you will never learn to breathe!!!!” (Page 11)
-“I think the white people who have been here for two hundred years are the ones pulling down the country. They don’t know how to work - they’ve had it too easy.” (Page 55)
-“When people don’t express themselves, they die one piece at a time. You’d be shocked at how many adults are really dead inside-walking through their days with no idea who they are, just waiting for a heart attack or cancer or a Mack truck to come along and finish the job. It’s the saddest thing I know.” (Page 122)
-The bruises are vivid but they will fade. (Page 198)
-May you always have the courage to speak up. (Page 199)
The September House by Carissa Orlando
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book freaked me out SOOOOO badly. I mostly read it during the day bc otherwise i think I would’ve been too scared 😭
I really like how this wasn’t your typical horror book and the different themes it explored.
I really like how this wasn’t your typical horror book and the different themes it explored.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Wow, this was certainly a book I read! I equally loved and hated this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
EDWARD, MY SHAYLA 🥹🥹🥹🥹
BOOKA, MY SHAYLA 🥹🥹🥹🥹
ABITHA, MY SHAYLA 🥹🥹🥹🥹
Wow, I love books from this era but this one in particular made me feel so many emotions.
I was SOOOO upset with the village and their attitudes toward Abi because she’s wasn’t a perfect godly woman. And when they turned on Sarah????? UGH.
I also liked the supernatural aspect and how it explored different religions. It was very intriguing.
BOOKA, MY SHAYLA 🥹🥹🥹🥹
ABITHA, MY SHAYLA 🥹🥹🥹🥹
Wow, I love books from this era but this one in particular made me feel so many emotions.
I was SOOOO upset with the village and their attitudes toward Abi because she’s wasn’t a perfect godly woman. And when they turned on Sarah????? UGH.
I also liked the supernatural aspect and how it explored different religions. It was very intriguing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Religious bigotry
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This WAS quite the read. I’m still a bit squeamish over some of the descriptions of you know… the eyeballs.
But, I really enjoyed it. It was sad, funny, thrilling to read. It was a good ending and I could see it being adapted into a tv series or movie.
But, I really enjoyed it. It was sad, funny, thrilling to read. It was a good ending and I could see it being adapted into a tv series or movie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Cannibalism
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This was very hopeful for people who have experienced childhood trauma 🤍
Some lines that stuck out to me:
- “But, you know, it’s okay to have some things you never get over.”
- How much pleasure had I missed because I was too in my head to pay attention?
- it’s clear how much my dissociation has stolen from me.
- Can a mentally ill woman ever be trusted with her own story?
- Because expressing the kindness to yourself that you deserve often reminds you of the kindness you didn’t get.
- Trauma isn’t just the sadness that comes from being beaten, or neglected, or insulted. That’s just one layer of it. Trauma also is mourning the childhood you could have had.
- Instead you have to pull up your bootstraps and solve the painful puzzle of your life by yourself. What other choice do you have? Nobody else is going to solve it for you.
- But the sadness of a lost childhood feels like yearning, impossible desire. It feels like a hollow, insatiable hunger.
- Emotional pain is just as bad at physical pain.
- “The essence of what trauma does to a person is it makes them feel like they don’t deserve love.”
Some lines that stuck out to me:
- “But, you know, it’s okay to have some things you never get over.”
- How much pleasure had I missed because I was too in my head to pay attention?
- it’s clear how much my dissociation has stolen from me.
- Can a mentally ill woman ever be trusted with her own story?
- Because expressing the kindness to yourself that you deserve often reminds you of the kindness you didn’t get.
- Trauma isn’t just the sadness that comes from being beaten, or neglected, or insulted. That’s just one layer of it. Trauma also is mourning the childhood you could have had.
- Instead you have to pull up your bootstraps and solve the painful puzzle of your life by yourself. What other choice do you have? Nobody else is going to solve it for you.
- But the sadness of a lost childhood feels like yearning, impossible desire. It feels like a hollow, insatiable hunger.
- Emotional pain is just as bad at physical pain.
- “The essence of what trauma does to a person is it makes them feel like they don’t deserve love.”
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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