danielnski's reviews
112 reviews

Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan

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

3.75

I found Part three quite satisfying after spending time being frustrated with each of the family members. The story beats all make sense and all the characters' internal monologuing all fit, but their communication issues with each other felt quite irksome even though I know that is somewhat the point.  
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D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

A really fun romance with a lot of charm. The reality TV elements are woven in pretty seamlessly. I loved how authentic the family dynamics felt. 
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

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challenging emotional reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Such a lovely and meditative story told in a really compelling voice. An easy - but deep - read.  
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The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

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funny lighthearted mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

I think this book is really charming and I enjoyed a lot of the characters, but for me, there were a couple of parts that were a little absurd that took me out of what the story was building. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others, I just don't know if it fully got its point(s) across as a result.
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The Group by Mary McCarthy

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-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

4.0

I really enjoyed the structure of this book and how it showed the evolutions of the characters. It is long (but not slow) and I wonder how much of my discomfort/dislike of parts of this book comes from not necessarily understanding or relating to the historical context. All in all, I think there is a lot in this book though that is still relevant today and I really enjoyed the process of reading it. 
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The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Blindness by José Saramago

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

4.0

The way it is written is very disorienting, which is very apt for the topic and makes it feel a lot like the early days of the COVID lockdowns. But that does make it quite the challenge to get through. Overall, I loved how the style fit the substance of the book, but this is more of a book I am glad I can say I have read rather than one I will revisit. 
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A classic that is very silly, fun, and British. 
My Father Left Me Ireland: An American Son's Search for Home by Michael Brendan Dougherty

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

The writing is beautiful and the exploration of Irish culture, history, and language has made me really want to learn more. At a time when it feels really complicated to have a nationalistic sense of identity, seeing how he related to the history of Ireland and how that informs his worldview was a really interesting journey to take. 
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

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adventurous funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.5

I think there are uneven elements to the plotting of the book, but at the end of it, I enjoyed it so much that I didn't mind them. Aru is a fun heroine and all of the supporting characters, mythological and otherwise, feel very real and age-appropriate. I loved getting glimpses of different aspects of Hindui mythology through this book, and am excited to learn more about some of the stories and figures referenced in this book.