clare26's reviews
94 reviews

The Odyssey by Homer

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

4.0

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

adventurous mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Such a beautiful book about love and loss and everything in between. It's the type of story that makes me want to live life to the fullest and to never be afraid of going out to experience new things! After all,

It is not too late.

The Will of the Many by James Islington

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Brilliant book, I honestly have no words. I loved the characters and the story and the setting and the magic system and everything! Can't wait to read more.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I don't think this book is really for me, but it has some passages and points that I absolutely LOVED! Overall, this is an incredibly reflective book about the earth and humanity and where we've been and where we may be headed.

The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives by Viet Thanh Nguyen

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

Listen I just love this book a lot! Admittedly read this after watching the movie and it actually gave me a greater appreciation for the story but also for the nuances between books and movie adaptations and all that!

If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga

challenging informative reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Nearly gave this book 3 stars but that last 1/3 brought up so many questions and points of reflection that I think tied the previous parts together very well. This book interrogates race and identity and the idea and act of "returning to the homeland" (for lack of a better term) and forces the reader to think and form and change their opinions of these as it goes on.

I can't speak to the accuracy or quality of representation of Cairo and people from Egypt, but I do appreciate the footnotes that explain culture and give me a deeper look into socio-cultural norms and customs.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Loved this book! Would have loved to hear more stories from Lenni but, other than that, I truly loved and enjoyed reading this. Lenni and Margot are such wonderful characters and it's such a lovely experience getting to know them and hear their stories. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Medical content

Moderate: Child death

Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

To be honest, it took me a bit to get used to the writing and storytelling style of this book. But, once I did, I grew to appreciate this book a lot! There are a lot of subtleties in the writing (eg. how Hekla refers to the different people in her life throughout the book) that I learned to look out for and appreciate, and overall I loved the characters of Hekla and Jón John. Would honestly reread this again in the future as I expose myself to even more styles of writing, and I think I may even give this a higher rating then!