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

Minor: Stalking and Acephobia/Arophobia

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

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

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

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

Minor: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Stalking, Outing, Alcohol, 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: Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, Outing, and Alcohol

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

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

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

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