eliya's reviews
89 reviews

Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly McGhee

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Maybe my favorite book I have read this year so far. It is worth noting that the books that call to me or especially are touching to me are the ones that follow the human experience in its rawest form. The characters are neither good nor bad (debatable to some), just plagued with choice and consequence.

Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind is about the lies we tell ourselves to quiet the sting of guilt and regret. It is about the crushing weight of what we owe to those around us. Jonathan Abernathy is a well-meaning man in so much financial debt, he does what he is convinced is the “right” decision - the only way to get out of the debt he is submerged in. He is a rule follower, he actively doesn’t do things that might cause him any more pain and suffering than he already endures. Jonathan Abernathy is so afraid of making a bad decision, he makes none. So many of his circumstances happened upon him, so he appears to think that even if he does absolutely nothing, bad things will happen. He is a spineless man and he is me at my worst. This character really resonated with me.

The book ends so beautifully. This is such a heartbreaking story and I will remember it for so long.

Content Warnings

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

god when i say i c r a w l e d through this book

luckily, the book is fairly fast paced and easy to follow, so i didn’t find myself losing focus or having to go back at all, which i was definitely worried about
at first the way that the scenes really do race by— like this book is literally “this happens- then this happens- then this happens- then this happens” was jarring, but i sort of liked the flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants feel when i was reading this lmao
to Lev Grossman’s credit, i do think he made it as short as he possibly could (this is 400 pages & 17.5h audiobook) lol

quentin is insufferable!!! dont let him around me or my girls!!!

i like an unlikeable character- one of my favorite tropes- but christ alive this guy STUNK! it wasn’t like any of his devious were the folly of being a person who does good and bad thing, he just did shitty things because he’s shitty!! genuinely don’t know how he kept friends or girlfriends around and i’m excited for the tv show because i’ve heard it’s completely different

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

heartbreakingly raw and hard to listen to at points. stephanie foo shares some truly horrifying memories.

fascinating approaches to CPTSD

some approaches i’m familiar with, some i’ve only day-dreamed about haha.
would love to approach conversation in a Nathan Fielder’s “the rehearsal” way lol. gave me some sold things to bring to my therapist when i have one. made me reconsider the way i interact in conversations.

very informative, kept coming back to the body and physiological responses to trauma, as the title suggests.

lots of information regarding generational trauma and how it effects people of color.
i was particularly intrigued by the
rat study about generational trauma

cringy / cheesy at some points, as is the nature with healing books. some eyeroll moments where the author acknowledges very briefly but very obviously obligatorily her class privileges to be able to access this type of care. ultimately helpful for me as a reader, though, to see what type of healing is possible (?) even though it definitely feels out of reach rn.

truly moving and hopeful.

Content Warnings

Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks

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challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I love bell hooks’ writing style. I love how she doesn’t miss a beat, or a perspective. I love her attention to detail, her straightforwardness. I never feel that she repeats herself just for the sake of word count.

I learned a lot from this book, I definitely intend to reread this, get the physical book and highlight some things.

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green

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adventurous hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

much different vibe than the first book, felt like this was a sequel just to have a sequel. the chance in pace and characters was jarring, and this lost all what was great about the first book.

the voice acting was still good, but this felt like the story was rushed and a little repetitive where the characters over lapped, if we had one or even two POVs (april, non-april) we would have saved a lot of time.
story itself felt phoned in and predictable, where the first was creative, new, and exciting, this one fell flat and wanting. there were some exciting bits, but ultimately the ending was predictable and cheesy.
Also spoiler
what was the point of this? I understand the analogy of AI and how quickly it’s developing, but what was the point of the “alien invasion” vs “success rate” if at the end they just wind up destroying it? What was Carl send for if not for humans to learn a lesson in teamwork? A little lame payoff.

All in all, disappointing and completely different from the first book. I was so excited 😢

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

Perfect sci fi.

Very interesting, easy to digest. Voice acting done VERY well I found myself in a little panic towards the end that the voice actor from the first novel wouldn’t be joining us in the sequel, but I’m so glad it’s the same person 😭.

An unlikeable main character, a creative twist to

alien invation

. Not a huge fan of

lying as a plot device

, definitely takes me out of it, but all in all this is just about exactly what I like in a book. Thinking I might not like the sequel as much as the first just by starting it like 3% but we’ll see lol.

Content Warnings

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

Historical fictions are difficult for me, and this one was beautifully written. I loved following two people as they grow up, I found it very interesting and informative the different ways in which they interacted with and experienced the war. Heartbreakingly told, such incredible detail done in every moment.

I think this is a book I would not recommend the audiobook for - I found myself getting too distracted on the small details and had to go back several times. I started the beginning chapters probably thrice. Although, Zach Appelman does an incredible job - there was so much consistency throughout the 16 hours I was astonished.

I learned a lot about radios and sound waves and science. I learned more about WWII.

I particularly enjoyed

the story about the Sea of Flames, I listened to that probably three times it was so fantastical..

I savored Yutta’s story as much as I possibly could. I found her fascinating. Verner

:-( I totally get why he had to die but :-( did he really have to. I get that he did some bad things and made some bad choices but 😭 I wanted them together so badly.

Liked this book a lot, other than the out of no where horrificly anti-fat descriptions of fat people lol. I am excited to see what Netflix does with it.

Content Warnings

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

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dark slow-paced

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

0.0

R*PE IS NOT SEXY.

This book is kink for people who don’t understand the consensual trust between sexual partners. A person who thinks that raunchy sex can only exist completely opposite to their understanding of sex. It made me really sad to read this book. I was really excited for creepy, scary kink and this book let me down.

The plot of the book is boring,

I don’t care about the grandmas murder, the killer was obvious.

The book is too long, 600 pages of the main character “i don’t like it… i shouldn’t like it… but i do” over and over and over again made me want to slam my head through a wall get new material

The characters are poorly written, Adeline is so obviously the author, Zade is so self-righteous about his conflicting morals — stalking a women “i’d never hit a woman” ass bitch while hitting and choking addie???

Below are direct quotes from the book -

"If you were my little girl, I would worship every inch of your body for as long as our souls are tethered to this earth. My tongue would leave no part of you untouched." pg. 342

“‘Stop it’ she pants, but don't listen. She swats at me, but those tiny hands: no match against mine.“ pg. 344

“But I know that I would've woken up the next day and hated myself. Because I would've slept with a stalker, a murderer and a man who has forced himself on me on several occasions. I would've slept with a man who doesn't respect my boundaries, my personal space, or the word no.” pg. 409

“she shrieks, her voice pitched so high, it nearly makes me cringe. God. Fucking women and their screeching.” pg 442

“A wicked smile forms, though the heat in my eyes remains. "Sounds to me like you don't understand a woman's body well enough to know when it sings for you, even when her mouth tries to resist." pg. 531

fuck this book.

Content Warnings

Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls

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adventurous challenging funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

beautifully written. blew through this in about 3.5 hours, the pacing was sooo refreshing and added to the tension of the story. i absolutely adored the way that mrs caliban was written, specifically in the beginning when she’s making dinners. the comedic timing of the first few chapters is spot on, very silly and i thoroughly enjoyed it. this book definitely crosses maybe four genres / moods in such a short time. efficient read for sure.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This is written so beautifully. The narration is so heartbreakingly aware of minute details that make interactions meaningful. There were so many times listening to this book that I thought “yes!! that!!” at something that i’ve experienced interpersonally and wasn’t able to verbalize myself before.

The chapters are written not like a story, but like a painful memory that the author is recounting for us as we try to understand what went wrong, where. This felt so real to me.

Listening to the audiobook was a treat, the vocal performance was as stunning and empathetic. I plan on obtaining a copy of this book for myself and rereading it in a few years, just long enough so that I can forget enough of it to love it a second time. I loved this book.

Content Warnings

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eliya's reviews 89 reviews

eliya's reviews
89 reviews