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catalinamunoz's reviews
177 reviews
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.
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
This book was delightful to read because of Ephron’s funny voice. It masterfully balances the mundane details of everyday life with the extraordinary drama of betrayal and heartbreak. It detours into many different topics (friendship, New York vs. Washington, food) and succeeds in showing the main character’s mental state. Ultimately, it contains a lot of wisdom about life, marriage, and love.
“My marriage to him was willful an act as I have ever committed; I married him against all the evidence. I married him believing that marriage doesn’t work, that love dies, that passion fades, and in so doing, I became the kind of romantic only a cynic is truly capable of being.”
If you choose to read this, you will probably whisper to yourself, “The audacity!” multiple times, just like I did.
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Heartburn is a fictionalized version of how Nora Ephron’s high-profile marriage exploded in the public eye after his husband had an affair while Ephron was seven months pregnant with their second child.
This book was delightful to read because of Ephron’s funny voice. It masterfully balances the mundane details of everyday life with the extraordinary drama of betrayal and heartbreak. It detours into many different topics (friendship, New York vs. Washington, food) and succeeds in showing the main character’s mental state. Ultimately, it contains a lot of wisdom about life, marriage, and love.
“My marriage to him was willful an act as I have ever committed; I married him against all the evidence. I married him believing that marriage doesn’t work, that love dies, that passion fades, and in so doing, I became the kind of romantic only a cynic is truly capable of being.”
If you choose to read this, you will probably whisper to yourself, “The audacity!” multiple times, just like I did.
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
dark
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
It explores race, spirituality, toxic masculinity, the long-lasting effects of abuse, identity, family, female friendships, and more. It is emotional and conveys a message of hope for finding one's identity. The novel contains many social critiques; if you try to focus solely on the story, the author doesn’t let you. There’s no escaping the layers of complexity in this novel.
I liked how she writes letters to God in an attempt to transcend a life that is often too much to bear. The protagonist feels exceptionally raw and real.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
5.0
Even though it was sometimes difficult to read, I loved it. We follow Celie, a poor girl in rural Georgia who is married to an older man and forced to share her life with a harsh and brutal husband.
It explores race, spirituality, toxic masculinity, the long-lasting effects of abuse, identity, family, female friendships, and more. It is emotional and conveys a message of hope for finding one's identity. The novel contains many social critiques; if you try to focus solely on the story, the author doesn’t let you. There’s no escaping the layers of complexity in this novel.
I liked how she writes letters to God in an attempt to transcend a life that is often too much to bear. The protagonist feels exceptionally raw and real.