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grimalkintoes's reviews
140 reviews
Revival, Vol. 2: Live Like You Mean It by Mike Norton, Tim Seeley
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Colson Whitehead is a literary powerhouse, The Nickel Boys a devastating coming of age story eaten whole by the violence of institutional "reform." It is a novel of anger, despair — a painful act of truth-telling in a world that forces privileged forgetfulness and blatant deception. It is a legacy, a calling-forth, a naming for the Black boys who never made it out of the real Nickel Academy.
Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
2.0
Mary Kubica's Local Woman Missing is a rollercoaster of a novel — the multiple twists and turns shaking you out of your comfort zone. I'm not entirely sure, though, if that added to the narrative or detracted from it. I oftentimes found myself grasping for something to hold on to amid the shifting storyline(s).
Mary Kubica is certainly a gifted storyteller, but I feel like Local Woman Missing bit off more than it could chew within the space that Kubica gave it. I was invested in the characters, but they felt one-dimensional, pawns in an intricate tangle/tango. The ending twist, too, was a sinkhole in the plot — the implausibility of it all left me feeling disappointed and quite frankly, bored.
Mary Kubica is certainly a gifted storyteller, but I feel like Local Woman Missing bit off more than it could chew within the space that Kubica gave it. I was invested in the characters, but they felt one-dimensional, pawns in an intricate tangle/tango. The ending twist, too, was a sinkhole in the plot — the implausibility of it all left me feeling disappointed and quite frankly, bored.
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
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
▸BOOK CLUB REVIEW◂
Lisa See's The Island of Sea Women is a striking tale of friendship, heartbreak, grief, anger, forgiveness, and resiliency that spans decades. Tracing the relationship between two women, Young-sook and Mi-ja, readers bare witness to the violence of Japanese colonialism, WWII, the Korean War, as well as personal tragedies shared between the two friends and their multifaceted worlds and communities.
Through her narrative structure and prose, Lisa See transports us to the Korean island of Jeju, where Haenyeo (sea women) harvest from their sea fields and commune in a matriarchal society. It is there where our story unfolds and where Lisa See holds us, struggling to stay afloat amid calamity.
“Every woman who enters the sea carries a coffin on her back,” she warned the gathering. “In this world, in the undersea world, we tow the burdens of a hard life. We are crossing between life and death every day.”
Lisa See's The Island of Sea Women is a striking tale of friendship, heartbreak, grief, anger, forgiveness, and resiliency that spans decades. Tracing the relationship between two women, Young-sook and Mi-ja, readers bare witness to the violence of Japanese colonialism, WWII, the Korean War, as well as personal tragedies shared between the two friends and their multifaceted worlds and communities.
Through her narrative structure and prose, Lisa See transports us to the Korean island of Jeju, where Haenyeo (sea women) harvest from their sea fields and commune in a matriarchal society. It is there where our story unfolds and where Lisa See holds us, struggling to stay afloat amid calamity.
“Every woman who enters the sea carries a coffin on her back,” she warned the gathering. “In this world, in the undersea world, we tow the burdens of a hard life. We are crossing between life and death every day.”
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
3.0
Krystal Sutherland offers up an alluring urban fairytale with House of Hollow. Following the lives of the ethereal Hollow sisters after a fateful disappearance on a New Years' evening when they were children, this YA novel is nothing short of haunting. The aesthetics of the prose were the shining grace of this book, Sutherland evoking the frightful feeling of being stalked in the forest, eyes ever watchful.
“You are like the death flowers that grow rampant in your wake: lovely to look at, intoxicating even, but get too close and you will soon learn that there is something rank beneath. That’s what beauty often is, in nature. A warning. A disguise.”
“You are like the death flowers that grow rampant in your wake: lovely to look at, intoxicating even, but get too close and you will soon learn that there is something rank beneath. That’s what beauty often is, in nature. A warning. A disguise.”
Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel
dark
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
4.0
Special thanks to Libro.fm for a free, electronic ALC of this novel.
Expected publication date: May 17, 2022
Anne Heltzel's latest thriller, Just Like Mother, is a visceral examination of motherhood, family-ties, feminism, and what it means to live in a body that isn't seen as your own. Following Maeve, a survivor of the cult known lovingly as the Mother Collective, this novel will leave your skin crawling — the itch of paranoia at the edge of your perception. It's brilliant and bloody, a must read for fans of body and psychological horror. Rosemary's Baby walked so that Just Like Mother could run.
Expected publication date: May 17, 2022
Anne Heltzel's latest thriller, Just Like Mother, is a visceral examination of motherhood, family-ties, feminism, and what it means to live in a body that isn't seen as your own. Following Maeve, a survivor of the cult known lovingly as the Mother Collective, this novel will leave your skin crawling — the itch of paranoia at the edge of your perception. It's brilliant and bloody, a must read for fans of body and psychological horror. Rosemary's Baby walked so that Just Like Mother could run.
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My mom is a teacher and her school is doing a community read of Peter Brown’s The Wild Robot. Because my mom loves me and loves that I’m a librarian, she wanted me to join in on the read so that we could talk about the book together *insert crying gif here*
After reading Becky Chambers’ A Psalm for the Wild-Built, I was primed and ready for another wild robot tale and Peter Brown delivered.
The Wild Robot is a sweet middle-grade novel detailing the adventures of Roz, formally/formerly known as ROZZUM unit 7134, after the ship ferrying her for delivery wrecks on an island, stranding her in the wilderness. A charming tale about the intersections of nature and technology, this book is a must-read for those wanting to explore themes of found family, adaption, growth, and wonderment.
After reading Becky Chambers’ A Psalm for the Wild-Built, I was primed and ready for another wild robot tale and Peter Brown delivered.
The Wild Robot is a sweet middle-grade novel detailing the adventures of Roz, formally/formerly known as ROZZUM unit 7134, after the ship ferrying her for delivery wrecks on an island, stranding her in the wilderness. A charming tale about the intersections of nature and technology, this book is a must-read for those wanting to explore themes of found family, adaption, growth, and wonderment.
Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman
emotional
lighthearted
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
Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper is a delightful coming-of-age boy meets boy YA graphic novel. It follows Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson as they navigate teen friendship, awkward love, and the complications of sexuality and coming out.
As an adult queer person, this graphic novel was reminiscent of the confusing feelings I felt in high school about friendships and relationships and where those lines blurred. The color palette is muted, but the story is vibrant, and I’m too stoked about the Netflix series releasing on Apr. 22, 2022.
As an adult queer person, this graphic novel was reminiscent of the confusing feelings I felt in high school about friendships and relationships and where those lines blurred. The color palette is muted, but the story is vibrant, and I’m too stoked about the Netflix series releasing on Apr. 22, 2022.
Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
BOOK CLUB REVIEW 🫀
I’m not a historical fiction reader and yet here I am reviewing a historical fiction novel. Amy Harmon’s Where the Lost Wander is a harrowing peek into the trials of the Oregon Trail as the story follows the lives of Naomi May and John Lowry, a half-Pawnee man who guides the train of families through the expansive plains.
Through elements of romance, heartbreak, courage, and resiliency, Harmon offers glimpses of the human experience on the Trail. She doesn’t shy away from the grit, nor from the achingly painful glow of love among the perils.
“The pain. It’s worth it. The more you love, the more it hurts. But it’s worth it. It’s the only thing that is.”
Something that could have made this reading experience better would have been a companion critical review of Amy Harmon’s usage of out-dated terminology and iconography for Native Americans. Deemed “historically accurate,” this depiction of Native Americans is incredibly harmful and it didn’t add anything to the story to have them positioned as such a huge trial for the families to face. The Oregon Trail was devastating, yes, and the relationship between Native Americans and the migrating families were fraught with miscommunication and violence, yes, but the focus did not have to be so heavily on that. Though John Lowry, a real-life distant relative of Amy Harmon, was used to “ease” this view, I don’t think that it was done thoughtfully or with much care.
I’m also still not quite sure how I feel about Harmon giving away a huge plot point in the prologue. In my opinion, it made the grittiness of the book incredibly transparent but it was also a cheap hook for the racism against Native American “savagery” in the story.
I’m not a historical fiction reader and yet here I am reviewing a historical fiction novel. Amy Harmon’s Where the Lost Wander is a harrowing peek into the trials of the Oregon Trail as the story follows the lives of Naomi May and John Lowry, a half-Pawnee man who guides the train of families through the expansive plains.
Through elements of romance, heartbreak, courage, and resiliency, Harmon offers glimpses of the human experience on the Trail. She doesn’t shy away from the grit, nor from the achingly painful glow of love among the perils.
“The pain. It’s worth it. The more you love, the more it hurts. But it’s worth it. It’s the only thing that is.”
Something that could have made this reading experience better would have been a companion critical review of Amy Harmon’s usage of out-dated terminology and iconography for Native Americans. Deemed “historically accurate,” this depiction of Native Americans is incredibly harmful and it didn’t add anything to the story to have them positioned as such a huge trial for the families to face. The Oregon Trail was devastating, yes, and the relationship between Native Americans and the migrating families were fraught with miscommunication and violence, yes, but the focus did not have to be so heavily on that. Though John Lowry, a real-life distant relative of Amy Harmon, was used to “ease” this view, I don’t think that it was done thoughtfully or with much care.
I’m also still not quite sure how I feel about Harmon giving away a huge plot point in the prologue. In my opinion, it made the grittiness of the book incredibly transparent but it was also a cheap hook for the racism against Native American “savagery” in the story.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman is an unorthodox and strangely intoxicating love letter between a woman and the convenience store in which she works. The narrative follows Keiko Furukura as she grapples with being a social outcast, never living up to the standards of her family or her wider community. 36 and still working at her first and only job, a corner convenience store, she must decide if fitting in with her family and peers is more important than the fulfillment she gets from working at her presumably “dead end job” — the one place where she can clearly make sense of her purpose through the predictability of the store.
Convenience Store Woman is a unique and inventive novella that dissects the labels we place on ourselves and each other, turning them on their side and asking: “does this shit really even matter?”
Convenience Store Woman is a unique and inventive novella that dissects the labels we place on ourselves and each other, turning them on their side and asking: “does this shit really even matter?”