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cassroberts89's Reviews (502)
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
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
Ugh… I HATE when I write a long, detailed review and it accidentally gets deleted. Short version:
- pre-read for our 9th grade literature stack
- lots of violence, obviously
- not super-explicit sexual exploration between Achilles and Patroclus, well done
- frequent instances of (very) young women taken as war camp slaves. Nothing explicit or gratuitous, but still uncomfortable
- on the fence about using, might hold off another year
- re-reading Circe to maybe use instead. Less potentially troubling content if I remember correctly, but also less action and slower plot
For myself? I absolutely loved this ❤️
- pre-read for our 9th grade literature stack
- lots of violence, obviously
- not super-explicit sexual exploration between Achilles and Patroclus, well done
- frequent instances of (very) young women taken as war camp slaves. Nothing explicit or gratuitous, but still uncomfortable
- on the fence about using, might hold off another year
- re-reading Circe to maybe use instead. Less potentially troubling content if I remember correctly, but also less action and slower plot
For myself? I absolutely loved this ❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence
Minor: Rape
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
Wow, what an odd book! I loved it. It started out kind of slow, but I got so wrapped up in the mystery of it all that I couldn’t put it down. Be warned: There are no chapters. No extra breaks between the paragraphs even, at least not in the kindle edition I borrowed from the library. This could be off putting for many (it was for me with that extra-lengthy opening paragraph), but stick with it a little longer and see if it doesn’t grab you.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
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:
Complicated
I’ll have to sit down later for a more thorough review, but oh man. That was absolutely phenomenal. The audiobook is particularly great, by the way. Not every police shooting is exactly the same circumstance as this book, but it is a perspective that needs to be heard.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Okay, I’m admittedly well over the age of 12. Perhaps if I was actually the target demographic, I could go higher on my rating. Maybe. BIG maybe.
Sure, this was an adventure. And there was the teeny tiniest hint of magic (not nearly as much as I anticipated going into it), and maybe a bit of a folktale vibe. But man, talk about suspending disbelief. I have a hard time with that anyway, but we jump right into a 12 year old not only being 100% responsible for a baby (literally, like a not-even-walking-yet baby) but hauling said baby around town in a regular ol’ red flyer wagon hitched up to a bicycle? “Skidding to a halt” and leaving him alone outside the public library while she goes in to drop books off? These parents didn’t even set eyes on the actual baby from that morning until well AFTER the sister sneaks off in the middle of the night to rescue him.
There’s more, but I don’t really want to dedicate more time to every little thing. Really, the book could have easily been at least 100 pages shorter. The biggest issue I have is with their completely helpless and incompetent parents. It’s a pet peeve of mine in children’s literature. Yes, give us strong, resilient, intelligent children. But for the love of all the things, let them also have adults in their life that are realistic and reasonable!After hearing about the baby still being missing in these somehow-impenetrable woods, the parents are all like, Oh well, I guess we just live without him. Dad literally says, “We can be happy, the three of us.” 😳 Okaaayyy.
Anyway. I guess other than my own hangups with the story, being a boring grown up and all, it’s still a pretty fun adventure. There’s lots of travel between areas of the woods (realms?), random sidekick friends made along the way, battles, etc. The violence is actually a bit more than I would have expected—including guns used in battle and people and animals being shot and killed, in case that’s something you’d like to stay away from as parents. The ending is also left wide open for the next book. I believe there are three? I don’t think I’ll be reading them, but they’re there.
This was chosen from a selection of books by my library middle grade book club kiddos. I have not discussed with them yet, however. I’m very interested to see what they thought!
Sure, this was an adventure. And there was the teeny tiniest hint of magic (not nearly as much as I anticipated going into it), and maybe a bit of a folktale vibe. But man, talk about suspending disbelief. I have a hard time with that anyway, but we jump right into a 12 year old not only being 100% responsible for a baby (literally, like a not-even-walking-yet baby) but hauling said baby around town in a regular ol’ red flyer wagon hitched up to a bicycle? “Skidding to a halt” and leaving him alone outside the public library while she goes in to drop books off? These parents didn’t even set eyes on the actual baby from that morning until well AFTER the sister sneaks off in the middle of the night to rescue him.
There’s more, but I don’t really want to dedicate more time to every little thing. Really, the book could have easily been at least 100 pages shorter. The biggest issue I have is with their completely helpless and incompetent parents. It’s a pet peeve of mine in children’s literature. Yes, give us strong, resilient, intelligent children. But for the love of all the things, let them also have adults in their life that are realistic and reasonable!
Anyway. I guess other than my own hangups with the story, being a boring grown up and all, it’s still a pretty fun adventure. There’s lots of travel between areas of the woods (realms?), random sidekick friends made along the way, battles, etc. The violence is actually a bit more than I would have expected—including guns used in battle and people and animals being shot and killed, in case that’s something you’d like to stay away from as parents. The ending is also left wide open for the next book. I believe there are three? I don’t think I’ll be reading them, but they’re there.
This was chosen from a selection of books by my library middle grade book club kiddos. I have not discussed with them yet, however. I’m very interested to see what they thought!
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
If you are struggling to make sense of the way things are looking right now, pick up this book. I felt such a boost and heightened sense of hope every time I read a chapter or two. True, it is apparent that McMahon has opinions and isn’t afraid to insert them. It reads with an almost conversational tone at times, and I would expect this to be more in the YA range than adult. I did get a little lost here and there when she inserted oddly placed side stories. I’d love to see how she grows as a writer, as there is definitely room for growth. Still… I loved how I felt after reading. There have been so many good people doing good things for our nation, simply because they are the right things to do. It’s easy to lose sight of that while staying glued to the news.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
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:
Complicated
A short but impactful book! We are studying world geography this year in our homeschool, and this was a fantastic conversation starter on topics such as human rights violations, the Taliban, women’s rights, etc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Grief, War
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay, this one dragged. Like… a lot. It starts off almost TOO fast and action-packed, and then shows way down basically until the last chapter or two. We get a good, long look inside Alina’s mind while her army trains and… waits for the end to come? Idk. There were a lot of unexplained moments and things that seemed pretty random. I enjoyed the first book much more, which is when I decided to buy book 3 😂 I’ll read it when it comes in. Hoping it finishes strong.
P.S. How could I forget? Nikolai is a fun new character. I would read the third book just to see his story play out!
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
I went into this expecting to hear a lot more about the author’s experience as an undocumented immigrant than we got. The humor and personal experiences made for an enjoyable read (oh, the chaotic thoughts of a teenager!) and tempered some of the tension of her family’s struggle toward citizenship, but it was almost watered down as a result. I think being targeted to YA makes a lot of sense though. It was pretty engaging, more so for the target age group I’m sure.
Parents: I previewed this (skimming mostly, but I tried to catch any potentially questionable content) for my 14yo who chose it as her next reader for homeschool. In case it helps others: There are 1-2 brief mentions of masturbation (not description, just in passing). There are a couple of instances of smoking pot, with one being a description of what the experience felt like (negative). There are a couple of super brief mentions of other drugs, none that the author took or was really around. There’s mention of alcohol consumption, not a lot though, but one story of her older cousin (and sister I think) bringing over vodka to try and get her drunk at 13. There are many references to body image issues such as having a unibrow, boobs developing, etc as well as plenty of talk about having crushes. One relationship lasts for a couple of years later in high school, and she talks about deciding to lose her virginity to him (I think senior year? Not descriptive, just that it was an awkward experience).
That’s all I can think of. I hope it helps other parents who don’t have time to pre-read it. FWIW I am on the fence about it at 14yo and might wait a year or two.
Parents: I previewed this (skimming mostly, but I tried to catch any potentially questionable content) for my 14yo who chose it as her next reader for homeschool. In case it helps others: There are 1-2 brief mentions of masturbation (not description, just in passing). There are a couple of instances of smoking pot, with one being a description of what the experience felt like (negative). There are a couple of super brief mentions of other drugs, none that the author took or was really around. There’s mention of alcohol consumption, not a lot though, but one story of her older cousin (and sister I think) bringing over vodka to try and get her drunk at 13. There are many references to body image issues such as having a unibrow, boobs developing, etc as well as plenty of talk about having crushes. One relationship lasts for a couple of years later in high school, and she talks about deciding to lose her virginity to him (I think senior year? Not descriptive, just that it was an awkward experience).
That’s all I can think of. I hope it helps other parents who don’t have time to pre-read it. FWIW I am on the fence about it at 14yo and might wait a year or two.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol
Minor: Body shaming, Sexual content
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
Super cute. I would have rated higher, but the book did kind of drag a little bit in the middle. Also… wth about Edward’s whole revenge obsession? I get being hurt, but it seemed just a bit over the top. Anyway, I sped right through this book and enjoyed most of it. It was nice to read about a fairly mature FMC—I read a lot of YA.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
I’m hooked. There were a few really convenient plot devices that seemed a little out there, but I gave those a pass because this is YA. I can see a notable difference in her adult novels compared to this, which I appreciate. On to book 2!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Bullying, Sexual content
Seduction via position of power. Parents: a couple of kisses and one passionate makeout scene with discussion of “coming to your room later” but no details beyond that.