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danaaliyalevinson's reviews
96 reviews
Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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
2.5
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I will be thinking about this book for a long long time.
An audacious story about the rise of fascism and descent into civil war in Ireland told not through the eyes of those in power, but through the quotidien life of the Stack family.
An audacious story about the rise of fascism and descent into civil war in Ireland told not through the eyes of those in power, but through the quotidien life of the Stack family.
The book did an incredible job of portraying the escalation into war through the lens of everyday choices, capturing so well the constant question of when is the point of no return? When is leaving no longer an option?
The way the author first set up normal life and then took the reader on the ride of a slow drip of conflict escalating into a food, with such emotionality, and with such attachment to character, was incredible. And as the war spiraled out of control, I couldn't help but think of Kfar Aza, and Gaza City, and Damascus, and Mariupol, and everywhere war touches, intruding upon and often destroying the lives of those who just want to live in peace, safety, and dignity.
And this was clearly an intentional choice, keeping the contours of the conflict hazy, and in effect it could be about anywhere, which allows the book to serve as both prophecy and warning. And while at first I found the fact that it didn’t use any paragraph breaks or quotation marks to be difficult, by the time I got to the second half of the book, its effectiveness as a literary device became clear, making the reader feel as if they are in the same panicked stream of consciousness as the characters, bringing us into their emotional state.
It is no wonder this book won the Booker. A truly triumphant work of fiction.
And this was clearly an intentional choice, keeping the contours of the conflict hazy, and in effect it could be about anywhere, which allows the book to serve as both prophecy and warning. And while at first I found the fact that it didn’t use any paragraph breaks or quotation marks to be difficult, by the time I got to the second half of the book, its effectiveness as a literary device became clear, making the reader feel as if they are in the same panicked stream of consciousness as the characters, bringing us into their emotional state.
It is no wonder this book won the Booker. A truly triumphant work of fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder and Sexual harassment
All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
A vampire who has seen so much destruction in the world having lived in Europe and Egypt for 200 years in the company of Roma, Jews, and Arabs who she loved, must face her nihilism when strange parents enroll their equally strange child into the upstate NY private school she runs.
At the end of the day, it's about grief and choosing to live through immense pain. And in a weird way, the moral ambiguity of bringing a child into a painful world. It dealt deftly with themes of abuse, abandonment, loss, genocide, destruction and new beginnings. It was actually kind of fascinating from a thematic perspective. The prose was well written and compelling as were the characters.
My only issue is that occasionally the narrative felt repetitive. And it also toggled back and forth between Europe and Egypt from the 1800s-1945, and 1984 New York and the two timelines didn't always feel connected. So I kept on finding myself needing to 'get back into it' every time we switched between time periods.
But overall, I definitely liked it a lot and there's a lot in here that was quite fascinating. And it did have a 15/10 ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.75
This book was short and sweet. A misanthropic ‘Buffy’ and ‘what I eat in a day’ video obsessed vampire artist grapples with art and connection in present day London. If you’re a fan of Otessa Moshfegh and Ocean Vuong… imagine a vampire novel written by the two of them.
At the end of the day, this book was about breaking generational trauma, and female desire and its challenge to the gender hierarchy. And I don’t exclusively mean sexual desire, I mean ambition as well.
The prose was absolutely beautiful. The characters were rich and fascinating. Sometimes I felt the grand themes got away from the book a little. But overall, I really really enjoyed this one.
At the end of the day, this book was about breaking generational trauma, and female desire and its challenge to the gender hierarchy. And I don’t exclusively mean sexual desire, I mean ambition as well.
The prose was absolutely beautiful. The characters were rich and fascinating. Sometimes I felt the grand themes got away from the book a little. But overall, I really really enjoyed this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.75
A fascinating take on the Vampire legend set against the backdrop of the Mexican American War. Like all good vampire novels in which the vampire is a metaphor, here they were a metaphor for the loss of a way of life and American expansionist violence.
I will say, I wanted to like this one more than I did. I definitely liked it but I wanted to love it. It suffered from my biggest pet peeve: when most of the conflict arises from two characters seemingly deliberately refusing to communicate.
And this frustration was compounded by the fact that the book switched POVs between the two main characters who were deliberately not communicating so we were constantly getting inner monologue about said miscommunication from both sides. And for me I also found myself frustrated by the constant switching of POV when it was most often switching between the POV of two characters in a scene together. So it felt a bit unnecessary. There was nothing being revealed plot wise for the most part that the reader needed to see a different POV to understand. It could’ve just been written from an omniscient 3rd person or third person multiple which it basically already is, without distinguishing between POVs.
And this frustration was compounded by the fact that the book switched POVs between the two main characters who were deliberately not communicating so we were constantly getting inner monologue about said miscommunication from both sides. And for me I also found myself frustrated by the constant switching of POV when it was most often switching between the POV of two characters in a scene together. So it felt a bit unnecessary. There was nothing being revealed plot wise for the most part that the reader needed to see a different POV to understand. It could’ve just been written from an omniscient 3rd person or third person multiple which it basically already is, without distinguishing between POVs.
These frustrations did ease by the second half, and I'll say that the final act really saved the book for me. It was exquisite. The very very end was a bit too 'easy’ in my opinion, but generally the climax was incredibly well done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
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
4.0
I can always rely on Grady Hendrix for a good time. I wouldn't say this was my favorite of his books, that crown still belongs to "How To Sell a Haunted House," but I still really enjoyed it. A fun southern gothic horror comedy that manages to squeeze in commentary on racism, sexism, who people choose to believe, and how easy it is for us to refuse to see what's right in front of us.
Additionally, I always love how he manages to put a twist either on the lore of the horror he’s tackling, or on the lens it’s filtered through. In this one, I love how he filtered it through the lens of the “true crime” genre. It was unexpected and fun for a vampire novel.
Additionally, I always love how he manages to put a twist either on the lore of the horror he’s tackling, or on the lens it’s filtered through. In this one, I love how he filtered it through the lens of the “true crime” genre. It was unexpected and fun for a vampire novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, and Classism
Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears by Michael Schulman
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
A super fun read for Hollywood fans. I almost wish it went more in depth and was a bit longer. It worked best when the author used the Oscars as a mirror, sometimes for the world (whether WWII or the Red Scare) or for tectonic shifts in the entertainment (the transition from silent films to talkies, the transition from the studio system to the power of indie film). Overall I enjoyed it!