ellpeck's reviews
91 reviews

Normal People by Sally Rooney

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective tense fast-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

4.5

We Are Not Like Them by Jo Piazza, Christine Pride

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

If you’re into troubling, but deeply honest depictions of racial issues, and the effect they have not only on the victims and their families, but also on everyone around them, I highly recommend We Are Not Like Them. 

I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.75

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

adventurous challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.25

What If It's Us by Adam Silvera, Becky Albertalli

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense 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

4.75

This is a beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking story about what trans people go through, and the struggles that extend far beyond strangers and straight into personal relationships. It’s also incredibly hopeful, though, depicting Noah as someone

who gets more comfortable with himself and his identity while figuring out who is the one for him.

The story also includes a character who is trying to figure out which pronouns suit them best, and the book cleverly incorporates this process into the story by using the pronouns they’re currently trying while talking about them. I loved that.

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

5.0

 So, right off the bat, I need you to know that I don’t usually read books with sad endings. While I agree that crying can be freeing, I also have a pesky habit of getting depressed about fictional dead characters for a week after they die. Which I don’t particularly enjoy. 

But when I saw They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, I didn’t know it was going to be as bittersweet as it was. Well, I had some idea based on the title, of course, but for some reason I didn’t clock that it was going to be a romance. A romance where both characters die at the end. I cried so much. 

The stories are told from multiple people’s perspectives, with each chapter being told either by one of the two main characters, or occasionally by some of the many side characters, which I loved.

If you like close-to-reality sci-fi, and heartbreakingly tragic queer romance stories, then I really recommend these two books. 

She Gets the Girl by Alyson Derrick, Rachael Lippincott

adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch

funny informative lighthearted slow-paced

4.0

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.5