fflur's reviews
51 reviews

Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

Beautifully written, with such an interesting writing style. It perfectly captures grief, and I was surprised to learn that not only was the story not based on the author's real experiences, but also that it was his first book. It's a very quick read, and I couldn't put it down once I started. Highly recommend! 
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

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

5.0

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

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

3.0

Strange book. I enjoyed that (possible spoiler?)
the mystery of the noise was left unsolved/unexplained
- it added a lot of intrigue and suspense, which I enjoyed. the description was very detailed, which was good most of the time, but at some points felt overly drawn out, making the pacing a bit weird. I also went into the book thinking there was going to be a lot about race/class, but honestly there wasn't that much, just the main two adults expressing slight biases and going "hmm am I racist? I don't think so!" once or twice. Not much actual discussion sparked about either of those issues. 
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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informative reflective 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

4.5

How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow

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challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

The writing style sounds like it truly is coming from a teenager (and I mean this in the best way, because it made it so much more realistic). This book was a beautiful story about grief and coping with the loss of a loved one. Several parts managed to hit home and had me sobbing. 
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The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

I'm very big on characters, so I loved how the majority of the characters' personalities, inner thoughts, flaws, etc. were delved into, as well as how the book largely focused on their interactions with each other. I thought the character exploration was excellent for most of them, but, for some of the characters (mostly Reina), readers don't get as much insight into her character, which is a little disappointing as I was very interested in her character when starting. However, I'm hopeful that we'll get a better understanding of her in the next book, which I'm very excited for!
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Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved it so, so much. Sadly an event stopped me from reading it all in one go, but if I could've, I would've. It was so hard to put down and held suspense from the very first page to the last. Such an interesting story, with a crazy plot twist. 
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Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

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adventurous funny informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.5

This book does an excellent job of using humour to convey more insightful and serious themes. Though I loved all of the book, I found the sections surrounding the father's relationship with his kids to be the most thought provoking parts of the book, and the parts I enjoyed the most. 
I fell in love with hope by Lancali

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

Incredibly beautiful and absolutely devastating. As well as the lyrical writing and the deep connections you form with the characters, this story offered me a fresh perspective on what it's like living with disease and being constantly surrounded by it. Simply a phenomenal story about love and loss.
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The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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

5.0