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catalinamunoz's reviews
176 reviews
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
It successfully challenges the Western worldview of “This can’t happen here.” The dystopian elements mirror political unrest worldwide and throughout history.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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? No
5.0
Prophet Song shows us a democratic society (Ireland, in this case) that becomes a totalitarian state and a mother who fails to flee while she can because she cannot envision how easily things fall apart. The book screams. I could feel the tension, despair, and grief.
It successfully challenges the Western worldview of “This can’t happen here.” The dystopian elements mirror political unrest worldwide and throughout history.
“...the world is always ending over and over again in one place but not another and that the end of the world is always a local event, it comes to your country and visits your town and knocks on the door of your house and becomes to others but some distant warning, a brief report on the news, an echo of events that has passed into folklore…”
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I love how her books are stand-alone yet share a universe and have character cameos and easter eggs. She positions the story she is telling in a way that makes sense for her fans and people who have read all her other work (Like me!)
Her latest books contain character studies of famous people. Malibu Rising follows four famous siblings, all surfers except one, a professional photographer.
What you know going in is that there is a party, and that night, their house burns down. From there, you follow each sibling, their issues, and what they did the night of the party. On the surface, there is nothing immediately special about the story, yet it ends up gripping you. I could not put the book down; the characters feel like real people.
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
5.0
I have yet to rate a Taylor Jenkins Reid book less than five starts.
I love how her books are stand-alone yet share a universe and have character cameos and easter eggs. She positions the story she is telling in a way that makes sense for her fans and people who have read all her other work (Like me!)
Her latest books contain character studies of famous people. Malibu Rising follows four famous siblings, all surfers except one, a professional photographer.
What you know going in is that there is a party, and that night, their house burns down. From there, you follow each sibling, their issues, and what they did the night of the party. On the surface, there is nothing immediately special about the story, yet it ends up gripping you. I could not put the book down; the characters feel like real people.
I love that you follow a whole family. There are heartwarming moments as well as challenging ones. I had a lot of fun!
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
The main character, Mungo, is born into a Protestant family. He is forced into street violence with Catholics and falls in love with a Catholic boy named James. As you read, you'll find yourself sitting in the front row, experiencing a beautiful, devastatingly moving romance.
I constantly felt and feared that something terrible was going to happen. This is a sad book, yet it doesn’t feel like sadness is its purpose. The writing is so descriptive that you feel like you are alongside Mungo. It has beautiful storytelling, exceptional writing, and both lovable and detestable characters.
Read at your own risk
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
There are some books you remember not only the story but the experience of reading them, and this one is one of those. Young Mungo is a family drama, a sweet love story between two fifteen-year-old boys and a coming of age set in a macho and homophobic Glasgow of the 1980s.
The main character, Mungo, is born into a Protestant family. He is forced into street violence with Catholics and falls in love with a Catholic boy named James. As you read, you'll find yourself sitting in the front row, experiencing a beautiful, devastatingly moving romance.
I constantly felt and feared that something terrible was going to happen. This is a sad book, yet it doesn’t feel like sadness is its purpose. The writing is so descriptive that you feel like you are alongside Mungo. It has beautiful storytelling, exceptional writing, and both lovable and detestable characters.
Read at your own risk
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel
reflective
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
3.5
Funny Story by Emily Henry
In this book, Miles and Daphne become roommates when their partners leave them for each other. While dealing with the breakups and their life as single people, they become friends and help each other overcome the insecurities of the past while adding a chaotic element: They pretend to date each other to cause jealousy in their exes.
This book has strong personal development; the characters are layered and lovable. I love how Emily Henry writes her stories with depth. Both characters experience personal issues, and Henry shows her skills by not making the relationship the “fix” for those issues.
4.5
Emily Henry's Funny Story was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. She and Abby Jimenez are the authors who make romantic comedies right: believable, funny, and with great characters.
In this book, Miles and Daphne become roommates when their partners leave them for each other. While dealing with the breakups and their life as single people, they become friends and help each other overcome the insecurities of the past while adding a chaotic element: They pretend to date each other to cause jealousy in their exes.
This book has strong personal development; the characters are layered and lovable. I love how Emily Henry writes her stories with depth. Both characters experience personal issues, and Henry shows her skills by not making the relationship the “fix” for those issues.
In Memoriam by Alice Winn
At one point, Gaunt’s family asks him to enlist to avoid the anti-German sentiment they face, and soon Elwood follows him to the front.
From there, the story unfolds both a beautiful romance and a heart-wrenching war narrative. The execution is flawless, and I felt I was with the characters–in the school and the trenches.
Moments of hope, love, and joy shine through, but the reality of war and its consequences for those men always resurfaces. I couldn’t put my Kindle down and felt like the characters were real people in my life.
The author carefully integrates issues of race, class, and sexual orientation into the narrative rather than directly confronting readers with them.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I wish I could erase this book from my memory and read it again for the first time.
The story begins with two English college students, Sidney Ellwood and Henry Gaunt (who is half-German), during 1914 as the war starts. Day after day, they read the college newspaper to find the casualties of students who died at the front during World War I.
At one point, Gaunt’s family asks him to enlist to avoid the anti-German sentiment they face, and soon Elwood follows him to the front.
From there, the story unfolds both a beautiful romance and a heart-wrenching war narrative. The execution is flawless, and I felt I was with the characters–in the school and the trenches.
Moments of hope, love, and joy shine through, but the reality of war and its consequences for those men always resurfaces. I couldn’t put my Kindle down and felt like the characters were real people in my life.
“The Hague Convention sought to make war more humane. We had reached a point in history where we believed it was possible to make war humane.”
The author carefully integrates issues of race, class, and sexual orientation into the narrative rather than directly confronting readers with them.
Since reading this book in May, I’ve been looking for a story as perfectly layered as this one. It was an easy choice for my favorite book of 2024.