crywithclaire's reviews
49 reviews

Spare by Prince Harry

1.0

read this for a book club a while back. it was readable and i did feel bad for meghan. however, other than that it was mid as fuck

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

5.0

so this was YUMMY ugh i honestly think it’s rated so high for me because like, it was just peak enjoyment. i’m not saying it’s groundbreaking literature but im obsessed with this era of music, the narrative style was really good, and safe to say i was GRIPPED. some of it was tropey yeah but tropey can be FUN. in conclusion, this book is FUN. such a fun era of music and culture and also just a good weird situation yanno will they? won’t they? that’s for me to know and you to find out ❤️ now onto watch the prime miniseries

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

2.0

i listened to this instead of reading myself and maybe that was my first mistake. the version is listened to was on spotify and it was legit some old guy who sounded like he was narrating a nature documentary. and not a good one. i wanted to like this so bad but i literally would fall asleep listening to it and simply was not gripped. i may go back and try to read it myself but usually audiobooks are pretty engaging for me and this one just was not. also, like i just didn’t care. idk. i really wanted to care but they could not make me.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

4.0

this is a reread ofc (listened to it at work) at it really does hold up. love the story and all ofc it gets 4/5 mostly just because the prose is not always my favorite. that being said percy jackson is a middle school boy so what do u expect from his voice. anywayyyy still a slay time to watch the disney plus series byeee

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

4.0

perfectly comically grim and a bit on the nose for consuming while diligently working at a desk job. kafka doesn’t miss. the voice actor was great on the audiobook too

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

3.5

listened to this at work after reading about half of it on a vacation about a year ago when i borrowed from a friend (heyyy allison). as a twilight enjoyer it is good kick of nostalgia and comforting to read a familiar story, albeit from a different perspective. the prose is interesting but that being said, it’s still stephanie meyer lol. and it is SO MUCH LONGER than OG twilight as well which like…go off edward i guess. i don’t actually really have any major complaints other than the usual stephanie meyer mormonism stuff that permeates all her writing and is hard to ignore and takes me out of the story sometimes lol. i had a good time i just can’t give it 4+ stars because it didn’t make me feel anything new. idk.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

4.0

this was a re read for me from MANY years ago and i was obsessed as a child and honestly it mostly holds up. lil baby anne reminds me SO MUCH of myself at that age and it’s also a nice lil comfort read. not a 5 for me mostly because i don’t always love the dialogue idk and also anne’s complete plot armor is a bit obvious at times. i know this book was written for children so of course it’s going to not be so bleak all the time but anne does stupid things a lot (as children do) and somehow it’s always … fine? idk it gives me fable vibes where like, everything works out for anne but there is a moral/lesson learned after each fuckup and then whee it’s moving on like nothing happened. i know in later books this is not always the case but idk. overall a good time would recommend especially if u enjoy old timey things and heavily neurodivergent characters xoxoxo

Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion by Gabrielle Stanley Blair

4.0

given that my interest in reproductive justice is basically a personality trait at this point, this book wasn’t particularly groundbreaking for me, but i do think it would be very impactful for a lot of people. it’s short and to the point, which i really admire. the arguments themselves are very strong, and it only takes about an hour to read cover to cover. i think every sexually active person should read it, especially straight men lol. in conclusion, the title says it all.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

3.0

it’s been a while since i’ve read a book that hit me this hard. because of the time jumps you know something goes wrong with jesuits in space, but you don’t know exactly what until nearly the very end. the protagonists unfolding of and reckoning with what happens is both captivating and gut wrenching. the best way i can explain it is like a car crash that you can’t look away from, but in an oddly beautiful way i guess? i also enjoyed how interwoven this book is with anthropology, linguistics, theology, philosophy, etc. i’ll admit there were some occasions where characters would be having a conversation about one of the above topics and it became clear through their conversation what the AUTHOR likely thought, as if she were using the characters as a mouthpiece for her ideas, but i guess all authors do that? currently sprinting to google Russell and her background because tbh i think that would explain a lot.

UPDATE: i’m back after reading that the author wrote this as a DEFENSE OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS?!? there were clear parallels to colonialism and the willful misunderstandings and assumptions made by those in a “white savior” mindset … but i really struggle to understand the columbus parallel like, at all? i read this book as a condemnation of colonialism, not as a defense of colonizers. i have much more to say about this ridiculousness but ill leave it here - i had to change my rating despite this book being well paced and well written because that just left the most sour taste in my mouth. disgusting bye

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

5.0

i was one of those sheltered kids who was never allowed to watch nickolodeon, so i picked this up with no background on jennette mccurdy at all. people in my life who know me well enough kept recommending this book to me, and now i see why.

i honestly thought it was going to be like my mom sucks and used me for money and fame type stuff, which there were of course elements of that, but jennette’s story is so much more than just child star-related mommy issues. i loved her writing style and her honesty, and the way she writes about certain issues is like, idk, the exact thought process/inner monologue is just … painfully realistic. that being said, i personally would have liked a bit of a content warning. i did the audiobook so maybe there is one in the print version, idk? the way she verbalized her ed thoughts was just a lot for me.