dionnesims's reviews
35 reviews

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I haven't read a book for fun this fast since I was in high school. The only disappointment was the end, but that's just because I think it could've really shot for the stars and it felt like it pulled back. A bit repetitive at times. Incredibly nauseating main character, loved it.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

The ending almost moved me to tears. I loved it. Can a book be a hug and also a thrill ride at the same time?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Cursing, Death of parent, Racism, Sexism, Car accident, Death, Grief, and Murder

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

Devastating. The prose is so beautifully strange and the characters are endlessly interesting, as humans are. I cried a few times reading this book and I can't recommend it enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Blood, and Death

Fat Off, Fat On: A Big Bitch Manifesto by Clarkisha Kent

dark emotional funny fast-paced

2.5

This would've been really great as a collection of essays, rather than a full memoir. As it is, I felt like there was a lot of filler and awkward transitions between chapters/stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Child abuse

Don't read this if you're easily triggered by descriptions of suicide attempts, eating disorders, or abuse especially.

The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I love the premise of this book, and the twist is a REAL twist. but I found the second half of the book repetitive, and was confused by some of the plot points.

Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers? by Junauda Petrus

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

This is a book with pretty pictures for kids, words for adults, but an overall warm feeling for everyone! Abolition is an imaginative practice and kids are so full of imagination. They love the idea of grandmas running the city. It softens the entry into explaining why we would want to in the first place.

Bravo to the author!

Displacement by Kiku Hughes

emotional informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Really cool premise, beautiful art, but the way it's written is very one-note. Struggled to hold my interest, but I learned quite a bit.

Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

funny lighthearted medium-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

4.5

Despite the somewhat-predictable nature of the Fake-Dating trope, the characters are so fun and enjoyable and hot that I didn't care. I ate this whole book up!

What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon

emotional informative fast-paced

4.0

I learned so much reading this. I'm encouraged to continue my body justice journey, and also like "god, things are STILL so fucked up." 4 stars because the flow was disjointed at times and read more like a trivia fact sheet than cohesive chapters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Medical content, Ableism, Bullying, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexism, Violence, Body shaming, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

There are some absolutely incredible pieces of wisdom in this book. The prose was a bit heady at times for me though, and I skipped the entire interview chapter because it was so dry.