darryn_gray's reviews
130 reviews

The Temperature of Me and You by Brian Zepka

medium-paced

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

2.75

Honestly-- I struggled with a lot of this book. All of Dylan's decisions were kinda stupid and made no sense. I really struggled with the way the author wrote teens, there were some references that were really dated, such as a character saying "whats the 411" despite that the book was published in 2022 and seems to take place between 2010 and now (given the references to Instagram and other social media-related things. The main plot was alright, it at least kept me somewhat interested; however, there was just too much going on at once and really some of them never seemed to do anywhere. 

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Honestly, I didn't know what to think going into this story. I mostly just because interested because I'm a clipping fan. But i throughly enjoyed this book! It took the story of the clipping song and turned it into a different version of the same story. Not quite a retelling, but just another telling, a different perspective. But even then, it still stands in its own without the orignal song! The story was great. I love the characters.

Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman

emotional lighthearted reflective 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

4.25

The more I get into this story the more I absolutely love it! It's just absolutely amazing!

Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.25

Read this over on Webtoons, currently caught up! And I love this series, its so sweet, well done, and just brings the joy that relationships can and should bring. It just keeps getting better and better the more I fall in love with Nick, Charlie, and all of their friends!

Heartstopper Volume 3 by Alice Oseman

emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

This story just gets cuter and cuter! Absolutely loving it!

Heartstopper Volume 2 by Alice Oseman

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

The more of this I read, the more I am absolutely loving it! It's just a nice sweet story!

Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

Its so cute, left me wanting more! Super fast read!

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious medium-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

5.0

God I want to give this book more stars. 10/5 stars if I could! As a young transmasc hoping to one day become an author- it was just amazing to see my gender identity reflected in a story. Julian is the best ally anyone could ever ask for. This book had me crying because it was SO GOOD. Thank you Aiden Thomas for leading the way for other transmascs like me to one day have a published book out there with trans main characters

A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

I haven't read a fantasy book in a long time and wow did this book get me back into them! I bought it purely for the booktok mystery of the author, but found myself completely forgetting about all of it, the story just spoke for itself

Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! I haven't read a book so fast in so long, I found myself nearly instantly falling for the characters and relating to all of them in different ways. This might be my all-time favorite book by Becky Albertalli! It's a very fluffy book that mos of the time leaves you feeling all warm on the inside. Very well written as I felt like I perfectly understood everything going on in not only Kate's mind but also her best friend Anderson's. The friendships felt real and honest.
The chapters are very short and its a very easy read, easily a book you can read in the span of one day, even if you're a slow reader

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, and Alcohol

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia