cassroberts89's Reviews (503)

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

5.0

adventurous dark informative reflective medium-paced

This was such a fascinating, cool read. Macabre, sure, but kind of liberating. I should note that I read this only about a month after the sudden passing of my mother. I was not entirely sure how I would feel while reading this, but I loved it. I almost wish I had read it sooner. I may have done some things differently.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition

William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer

DID NOT FINISH

Family emergency derailed our homeschool a bit. We decided to shelve this and may watch the documentary later.

Banned Books for Kids: Reading Lists and Activities for Teaching Kids to Read Censored Literature

American Library Association

4.0

hopeful informative

An excellent tool and resource. It did seem that the vast majority of books included were older, and many of those are Newbery award winners or honors. Perhaps this has something to do with the author being retired? I wish there were at least a few more contemporary titles, especially as book banning/challenges have been at an all time high since about 2020. This book, published (updated?) in 2023 could have definitely touched on more recently challenged titles than it did. Still, the info provided with each title seems like exactly what you’d need to cover a book in a book club, classroom, or homeschool. The “read-alikes” are a nice touch too.

A Reaper at the Gates

Sabaa Tahir

DID NOT FINISH: 0%

Set aside because it was feeling very heavy

Atmosphere

Taylor Jenkins Reid

5.0

adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-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

Loved it. At this point, I’ll read anything she writes.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

TJ Klune

4.5

adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-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

I definitely liked the first book better, but I really appreciated getting a look inside of Arthur’s skull—figuratively, of course. I do feel like the story wound up off the tracks just a tiny bit towards the end. Still. Klune’s books are just a nice, warm hug 🤗

The Elephant Whisperer (Young Readers Adaptation): My Life with the Herd in the African Wild

Lawrence Anthony, Graham Spence

4.5

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

I loved this! I have not read the adult version. We read this as a read aloud for our world geography homeschool studies. This was such a heartwarming book. I even had to pause a few times because I was crying during some sad parts. Just goes to show how affected I was by this book 💕

Content Warnings

Not Quite by the Book

Julie Hatcher

3.5

funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Enjoyed this right up until the ending. The climax and falling action took all of three pages; it was just way too quickly wrapped up. Otherwise, this was a cute book.

A Torch Against the Night

Sabaa Tahir

4.5

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

Daughters of Sparta

Claire Heywood

4.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I’m a sucker for a good mythology reimagining. And this was a good one. Very little time was spent on the events of the Trojan War outside of Helen’s and Klytemnestra’s experiences. This is intentional; you can really get a sense of how closed-off from the world and its events these two important women are. One of the major scenes where one of them actually does interact with war events is with Iphigenia. Heed all trigger warnings on that one. It was a tough part to read.

I had some very conflicting feelings about Helen as her character is portrayed in this version of the story. Most of my negative feelings about her were more a result of my own understanding of the world and morality. I realized this after I also realized just how young and naive she is. It’s hard to fault her when she truly does not seem to understand what she is causing until it is too late.

Content Warnings

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