captainoliimar's reviews
58 reviews

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like I could relate to a lot of the characters, especially Frances and Aled. It took me back to being being in year 11 and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and figure out who I was going to be in university. The story felt fairly realistic while also having a mystery woven through it that kept me engaged and wanting to find out what happens next.
I really think I would have enjoyed this book while I was doing my A-Levels, though it does cover quite a few potentially triggering topics. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia and Stalking

The Forevers by Chris Whitaker

dark emotional mysterious 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

2.5

The premise of this book is great, I was so excited to read it. But unfortunately it didn't quite live up to the hype. It was kind of confusing and the main character kind of just drifts around and seems like she's just an observer for a while. There were quite a lot of characters and it was very hard to keep track of who was who. For example,

when they revealed Oliver Sweeny's name in the file at the police station, I could not remember who he was at all

. I also found the transitions between scenes a bit confusing and it would sometimes take me a moment to realise that we weren't in the same place or talking to the same person anymore. The book also touches on pretty much every trigger warning there is, and while I appreciate that the author may have wanted to represent as many people as possible, it made it difficult to dive into any one issue with any real depth.

I did like the way the ending was written, it felt like it had had a bit more care put into it than the rest of the book, and it did make me tear up a little

especially the scene with the grandma

. The adults behaviour also felt frustrating but not unrealistic

given how people refused and still refuse to acknowledge the existence of COVID-19 and it's very obvious effects on all of us

. It seems rather obvious to me that this is a book that was written in response to the frustration a lot of us felt about the way that COVID-19 has been handled

Overall, I feel like this book could have been really great, it just needed a couple more rounds of editing. I'm interested in seeing where this author is in a couple years and maybe I'll pick up another one of his books then.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Alcohol, Outing, Sexism, Eating disorder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Self harm, Biphobia, Confinement, Rape, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Racism, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Drug use, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Stalking, Abortion, Medical content, Classism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Car accident, Medical trauma, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Xenophobia and Fire/Fire injury

The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Grief, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Car accident, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Chronic illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Racism

Minor: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Stalking, Misogyny, Outing, and War

Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Midnights 3.25
Kindred Spirits 4.5 
Winter Songs for Summer 4.5
The Snow Ball 3.5
If the Fates Allow 4.75
The Prince and the Troll 3
Mixed Messages 3.5
Snow for Christmas 4.5
In Waiting 4.5

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Gun violence, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Grief, and Homophobia

Moderate: Medical trauma, Stalking, Racism, Misogyny, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Classism, Cursing, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Infidelity, and Sexism

Minor: Genocide, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Deportation

Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Violence, Animal death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Body horror, War, Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, Torture, and Medical content

Moderate: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Chronic illness, Slavery, Misogyny, Colonisation, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Racism

Minor: Alcohol

All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Classism, Blood, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Animal death, Gore, Medical content, Homophobia, Suicide, and Hate crime

Moderate: Racism, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Kidnapping, Bullying, Torture, Outing, Misogyny, Ableism, Vomit, Stalking, and Police brutality

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Violence, Vomit, Classism, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, War, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Blood, Child death, Kidnapping, and Medical content

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic relationship

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

adventurous challenging funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Confinement, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Child death

Moderate: Blood, Medical content, and Kidnapping

Minor: Violence

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Rape, Abandonment, Death, Incest, Outing, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Self harm, Biphobia, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Suicide