coralinejones's reviews
413 reviews

1984 by George Orwell

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I'm so torn right now.

I always hate disliking beloved books, especially classics and books where the message is very clear and in your face; 1984′s entire theme is living in a dystopian, censored, totalitarian government where said government (see: Big Brother) is quite literally always watching you. This way of society is feeding it’s civilians with propaganda night and day. I totally get it, and that’s the reason I wanted to read this book so badly in the first place. I can link points and themes from this book to modern society, which is what I wanted to do (because I did that while reading "The Hunger Games" and enjoyed it. Same with "Dune" recently. I love reading sci-fi and dystopian novels for this reason). However, I really can’t stand when the narrative of these stories, where the intent and point should circle around those themes entirely, get lost in misogyny, rape fantasizes, boring characters, and long winded passages that don’t feel like they serve a purpose. Don't get me wrong, I 100% get that this book is bleak and isn’t a “fun read” but I do have fun reading dystopian, bleak novels so that’s not really what I’m getting at, here.

I think this would work better as a academic essay of sorts... Like a Ted Talk rather than a novel.

It isn’t even that this book is a chore to read or that I necessarily dislike Orwell’s writing style (it’s not my favorite, anyway) but these problematic traits don’t even progress the book, in my opinion?? I think had he just continued expressing how the government is anti-sex and how sex is a political act without the “I hate women, I want to rape and kill them” the point would’ve still been made… in this specific case the distasteful commentary doesn’t advance the plot or do anything for Winston’s character and makes this book really displeasing in that aspect, not so much how realistic and true this is.

However....! The ending got me. The last few chapters absolutely drilled in the overall theme and I can't help but give this novel 4 stars. I understand why it's beloved and even referenced in modern media 'till this day. I can't give it 5 stars because of the above but I'm absolutely going to be thinking about this book for a long time.

Content Warnings

Dune by Frank Herbert

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challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

wow..... i'm sad it's over, honestly

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Although Hesina was a little annoying to me, I'm giving this book 5 stars, anyway. The plot was incredibly immersive and fun to read. The world building wasn't too much, but gave you enough to feel like you're in the palace with all the characters. I audibly gasped at certain points.

Hesina, while irrational and far too immature for the role she played here, was still a lovable lead. How this ended, I firmly believe we're getting a second book, and I can only assume in the sequel we'll get the character development for her I assumed we would get in this book.

With that said, the ending! The twists! I almost wish this wasn't a YA novel, I think we would've gotten a bit more had it been marked towards adults. Nonetheless, 5 stars. Would read again.

Hide by Kiersten White

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dark medium-paced

2.25

Not great. Fun premise, though:

A group of young adults play an intense game of hide-and-seek in an abandoned amusement park for a large sum of money. They have 7 days to do so and slowly things begin to get creepier and more eerie, the entire game falling apart around them.

"Hide" reminded me a bit of "Battle Royale" and "The Hunger Games" just not as scary, not as iconic, and while saying absolutely nothing. There were too many characters to follow, some better than others, but all being kind of dull and not very interesting to read about after their initial introduction. We didn't get any real backstory or depth for any of the 14, even the main character (who we, at least, know a smidge about in comparison to the other 13), and that ruined a bit of the story for me as well as I couldn't make any emotional attachments to the cast.

I think the whole thing started to fall apart in the middle. It began reading too much like a YA novel.

You'd think with this "fight to the death" / "fight to win" trope we often see in horror like this, it would be a lot... Scarier? Bloodier? I mean "The Hunger Games", a series written for young adults, felt more like a horror series and it's officially marked as a Sci-Fi Dystopian. There was literal body gore in those books. This, a horror book made for adults, had nothing but a bunch of references to pee, a random bit of homophobia, and loads of potential.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I saw the movie first thought out knowing there was a book. I'm obsessed with Iain Reid's writing style after reading "Foe" before this one. This book is insane and even better than the movie. (Aren't they always, though?)

Absolutely a wild ride about halfway through. Many highlights and underlines during my read; quotes I'd love to get back to and decipher with my own thoughts. What a real sad, disturbing, interesting story.

Paper Girls, Vol. 6 by Brian K. Vaughan

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4.0

Paper Girls, Vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan

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5.0

Paper Girls, Vol. 4 by Brian K. Vaughan

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4.0

Paper Girls, Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan

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4.0