carolineolesky's reviews
71 reviews

Camp by L.C. Rosen

emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

As a lesbian who loved sleep away camp, this was nostalgic and heartbreaking. I was still closeted in those days but this book made me wish I could have had a queer camp experience. Overall, a lovely and fun book about exploring one’s identity as an LGBT person :)

Fashion Climbing: A Memoir with Photographs by Bill Cunningham

lighthearted medium-paced

2.5

While an overall interesting read, Cunningham certainly is very full of himself. If you enjoy memoirs where the authors reflect candidly on their own experiences and highlight their mistakes, this is not the book for you. Cunningham details many of the things he was doing and the world going on around him, but never do you step into his mind and understand what he was truly thinking or feeling. This is less of a memoir and more of a book of short stories about the fashion industry in the 1940s-60s.

Freshman Year (a Graphic Novel) by Sarah Mai

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

A true and realistic view of freshman year of college, especially when you move away from home and don’t really have many friends you come in with. Brought me to tears but probably because of how closely it resembled my own experience. A good read for older high school or college students to remind them that college is not always as fun and perfect as it seems online. 

The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught Between by Sulmaan Wasif Khan

informative medium-paced

4.0

This book fell in an interesting place between academic nonfiction and general nonfiction which I enjoyed. The author wrote well and not much jargon was used. The book could have benefitted from more subheadings within its long chapters and a bit more consistency in the time line. Another way the book could have improved the as by detailing how governance of Taiwanese citizens has worked — how PRC legislation and policies effected the daily lives of Taiwanese people. Overall, this was a highly informative book about the US governments role in PRC-ROC relations over the past century or so.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X

challenging dark informative medium-paced

5.0

This is a must read for any self proclaimed antiracist person. Malcolm’s words are not a doctrine to live by literally, but provide first hand experience of the structures of institutionalized racism in America while also showing the importance of being an ever changing, ever learning person. My edition had an additional writing by Ossie Davis who put it better than I can: Malcolm was a man. He is characterized in whitewashed history as solely a hateful and violent person, but reading his words shows his commitment to personal evolution. He did say things that were sexist, antisemitic, and maybe racist. But he also acknowledged he was not perfect and that he was always learning. And that is what we should all take away from this book and from Malcolm’s teaching. 

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

I remember wanting to read this when I was a kid but never getting to it, and honestly I’m glad I read it as an adult and now I want to go back and reread a wrinkle in time. Somewhat ironically, I read my mother’s copy of a wrinkle in time from the 70s. I think this book says a lot about the power of compassion and curiosity.

Degrees of Equality: Abolitionist Colleges and the Politics of Race by John Frederick Bell

informative medium-paced

4.5

Like most academic nonfiction, this was incredibly detailed and informative but dense. I appreciated that the author used accessible language and never over complicated anything.

Not the Worst Friend in the World by Anne Rellihan

mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Not the Worst Friend in the World is a story of friendship amongst preteen girls. It deals with many of the complicated parts of being a tween: strong emotions, family troubles, and growing up. I was hooked on this book and wanted to see what would happen to all the characters in the end. I will be recommending this book to my students.

Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan

dark emotional sad

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

4.0

I quite liked this book, which focused on a family's trauma and how it unfolds in a mysterious incident amongst children. I feel like the character of Tom had a weird amount of development, you knew quite a bit about him but not enough, personally I would have liked his character to be a it more or less developed. Overall, very well written and a good expose on intergenerational trauma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Addiction, Mental illness, and Alcoholism

In True Face: A Woman's Life in the CIA, Unmasked by Jonna Mendez

hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

This book is a personal narrative about the life a female spy in the CIA from the 1960s-1990s. The author describes well her different missions and jobs. I was hooked on the parts where she talked about the different missions she was on. She also details in specificity the sexism she experienced in her work which proved interesting and frustrating. I struggled at times because the story was not always told in chronological order and that wasn't conveyed clearly. I also felt like the author had very repetitive language. Lastly, while the author provides strong criticism of the sexism she faced, she does not address her privilege as a white woman which comes off as a bit short sighted.