femaletrouble401's reviews
147 reviews

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.75

This book is dark, tense, emotional, and a little bit slow-paced. I was ready for the action to happen for so long. It's also a tiny bit confusing sometimes. The narrator speaks beautifully but sometimes it's more abstract and less concrete than was comfortable for me to understand. It was hard to decipher if the narrator was dreaming, imagining things, or if things were actually happening. 

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.

Soooooo hard to follow

365 Days by Blanka Lipińska

medium-paced

2.5

Pretty shallow but the sex scenes were good. 

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

Tremblay keeps you guessing until the very end. Thrillers like these don't often keep my interest, but I had no clue what was going to happen from page to page. I also enjoyed the differing point of views, and the character motives....were....hard to pin down. It ended on a grimly hopeful note. Not sure I feel the need to reread but I did like it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence

Fish Girl by Donna Jo Napoli, David Wiesner

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

I really love the collaboration here between Wiesner and Napoli. The illustrations are beautiful and I loved the "house" that the main character inhabits. This modern retelling of the Little Mermaid is a beautiful quick read for young readers and adults. 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.

Began this book for a book club and just couldn't finish it. I just found that I didn't care at all about this single, thin, white woman and the reasons she killed herself. I read the spoilers and am glad I didn't finish it because I wouldn't have cared for the ending anyway. 

Distress Signal by Mary E. Lambert

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.5

This is a good book for middle grades. A survival story that is equal parts friendship and endurance. An easy read. 

Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

I really enjoyed this. Took me about two days to finish. The characters are diverse, loveable, and relatable. Recommended for 6-12th grades, IMO. 

Fangs by Sarah Andersen

dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.75

Really cute and quick read. The cover and binding is beautiful, but it took me about 20 minutes to read the entire thing. Was hoping for something a little more plot driven. Nevertheless I really enjoyed this sweet book. 

The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I enjoyed reading this graphic novel version of the original classic by Atwood. I was really disappointed throughout the story though that the illustrators included almost no people of color in their rendition of the book.