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ctenophora's reviews
84 reviews
A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Tristan Jimerson, Archie Bongiovanni
3.75
Throw this at your cis friends
A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities by Mady G., J.R. Zuckerberg
3.75
Cute and educational
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
There are two stories in this book, Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow, I’ll comment on both of them.
Firstly, The writing is beautiful, this author has such an amazing way with words. The way she treats the kitchen is so comforting to me. It isn’t because she is a woman that she frequents it, it’s because she truly, wholeheartedly loved the place. The relationship between Yuichi and Mikage is so soft. Just two young people who are trying to learn how to grieve and go through their lives. I love how instead of being a “they fixed each other” kind of trope, they both understand they have to take time alone to process what they’re going through. They understand that dealing with sadness and pain sometimes means being away from the people you love and that's okay. They’re there for each other to make each other laugh, and to share food together. This is a very healthy and pure love, when no one was there they found a family in each other. Seeing Yuichi and Mikage joke together after all they’ve been through gives me such a nice feeling. This story is a beautiful take on the found family trope. One huge problem the book has is the way it is spoken about its trans characters. I am unfamiliar with the way trans language works in Japan, but from what I have seen it is normal to refer to a trans person by their birth sex. It still feels uncomfortable to see Yuichi refer to his mom as a man when we get no indication she is okay with it or when she never refers to herself the same way. This has made me want to research about being Transgender in Japan more. The only reason I didn't consider it a big problem in this book is because it's clear Eriko is meant to be a great person in this story and in a way it feels like it raises awareness. This is only my uneducated opinion, I'll do more research and come back to this again.
- 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
3.5
“It’s so great, I thought, having tea in the afternoon with someone you really feel at home with. I knew how wildly he tosses in his sleep, how much milk and sugar he takes in his coffee. I knew his face in front of the mirror, insanely serious, as he tries to tame his mop of unruly hair with the hair dryer.”
There are two stories in this book, Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow, I’ll comment on both of them.
Kitchen:
Moonlight Shadow:
I don’t have much to say about this story. The writing was still beautiful and heartwarming, the characters still had depth and were interesting. The ending shook me, there’s nothing much to say about this other than it was a lovely story.
The book overall isn’t anything groundbreaking or revolutionary, but I really enjoyed it and that’s all that matters.
The book overall isn’t anything groundbreaking or revolutionary, but I really enjoyed it and that’s all that matters.
The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
I am so happy i love this
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
i love them <<33333
Nana, Vol. 1 by Ai Yazawa
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
I can not for the love of me get through this, even though its just a manga
At first, I thought Nana certainly was an interesting unreliable narrator. I’m not sure if it seemed like unreliable narration because of me and because I know those things are wrong, therefore making me presume the manga is trying to portray that as well. I’ll just stick to that belief though, I don’t need another reason to dislike this.
The guys here fucking suck and I didn’t even get through the first chapter. When that one dude said that horrible shit to her then she forgot it all because she figured out he likes her is when I really gave up on this manga. In that specific moment it really seemed like the manga was trying to push this way of thinking, but again I didn’t read long enough to figure that out so😀
Also so much fucking text holy shit I can not do this
I’ll just watch the anime I cant put my eyes on this again
At first, I thought Nana certainly was an interesting unreliable narrator. I’m not sure if it seemed like unreliable narration because of me and because I know those things are wrong, therefore making me presume the manga is trying to portray that as well. I’ll just stick to that belief though, I don’t need another reason to dislike this.
The guys here fucking suck and I didn’t even get through the first chapter. When that one dude said that horrible shit to her then she forgot it all because she figured out he likes her is when I really gave up on this manga. In that specific moment it really seemed like the manga was trying to push this way of thinking, but again I didn’t read long enough to figure that out so😀
Also so much fucking text holy shit I can not do this
I’ll just watch the anime I cant put my eyes on this again
The Homeric Hymn to Demeter: by Homer
fast-paced
3.5
The fact people precieve Demeter to be the one overreacting here and Hades to be sane in this hymn is stupid
Sure, the mother who’s grieving and depressed from her dear daughter being kidnapped is overreacting but the kidnapper is in the right here because he told Persephone he’ll be a good husband and will give her power, right before slipping her some pomegranate seeds that will bind her to the underworld against her will.
Yep, Hades is the sane one here definitely.
Sure, the mother who’s grieving and depressed from her dear daughter being kidnapped is overreacting but the kidnapper is in the right here because he told Persephone he’ll be a good husband and will give her power, right before slipping her some pomegranate seeds that will bind her to the underworld against her will.
Yep, Hades is the sane one here definitely.