ghada_mohammed's reviews
514 reviews

Love Languages by James Albon

adventurous reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

 A story about loneliness, belonging, and bridging language barriers in order to forge meaningful connections. It touches on the frustration we feel when what we want and what we think we should want do not align, making us feel like imposters performing ourselves while missing out on living.

If you ever felt lonely in a crowd or needed a nudge to resume your halfway-finished Duolingo course, maybe consider giving this a shot.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Cut and Thirst by Margaret Atwood

funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

 

If you say, “Not too bland, but not too smelly,” she knows what you mean. If only you could preselect your social acquaintances that way.

A fast-paced and humorously wry short story about literature, sisterhood, and revenge. It touches on grief, the modern struggles of academia, as well as the distinct feeling of growing disconnected from our surroundings as we grow older.

I have never thought that I would write a review where I would complain about an author's characters being too well-written, and yet here we are: reading this felt like reading an excerpt from a full-length novel; both the descriptions and the dialogue seemed overkill for a 35-page story which made the ending seem rather jarring and dissatisfactory.

Personally,

I would rather know less about what kind of cheese the characters snacked on while plotting revenge on behalf of their friend and more about the process that led them to ultimately throw in the towel

, but that's just my opinion.

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Vol. 2 by Sakaomi Yuzaki

lighthearted reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness by Nagata Kabi

challenging dark funny hopeful

4.5

A candid and poignant narrative about loneliness, mental illness, toxic family expectations, identity and finding the path to being true to and loving ourselves.

Potato by Rebecca Earle

informative

3.0

In Rebecca Earle's Potato, the beloved root vegetable is a muse for artists and poets, a thorn in the side of capitalist hierarchy, the poster child of early public health campaigns, a tax evader, and according to the FAO, the ideal crop to provide food security in the developing world. Starting from their alleged birthplace in the South American Andes, the book recounts how potatoes came to be one of the most consumed crops worldwide.

I randomly picked this for a StoryGraph challenge. Otherwise, I don't think that I could have had the heart to get through it. I couldn't recognise any order or structure; the text seemed to oscillate randomly between several unrelated subjects including but not limited to history, art, politics, and the author's family legacy. This is just my opinion, but I would have liked it more had it stuck exclusively to the historical and social aspects.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

challenging dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Shimazaki in the Land of Peace 1 by Gouten Hamada

dark funny inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An equally heartwarming and gory narrative that follows Shingo Shimazaki, a man who, after spending thirty years fighting for a terrorist organisation that kidnapped him as a child, has finally made it back to Japan and is planning to lead a quiet life, but old habits die hard, and his past just won't stay in the past.

Shimazaki in the Land of Peace is a riveting and genre-bending manga with a healthy mix of slice-of-life humour and gore. I loved the art style and the realistic depiction of PTSD. I highly recommend it particularly to readers who enjoyed works such as The Way of the Househusband and Spy × Family.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Boys Run the Riot, Volume 3 by Keito Gaku

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

Boys Run the Riot, Volume 2 by Keito Gaku

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

Boys Run the Riot, Volume 1 by Keito Gaku

challenging emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

 Boys Run the Riot is a story about living true to oneself and following one's passions. It starts with an unlikely partnership between two high school students who, upon realising that they share an interest in fashion, decide to launch a clothing brand to help other people express themselves.

I loved how clothes were portrayed as a means for Ryo, a transgender boy who is struggling with finding acceptance, to fight back and live true to himself. I also loved Keito Gaku's depiction of young people in this story: the qualities of being cynical, listless, helpless, frivolous, scared, and so full of hope—sometimes, all at the same time in the same person. There is always something to admire in an author who not only remembers being that young, but makes the reader remember that too.

I highly recommend this manga to anyone looking for a story with a fresh concept, an engaging plotline, and heartwarming character dynamics.