imstephtacular's reviews
1217 reviews

Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Racism, Body horror, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Trafficking, Gaslighting, War, Police brutality, Classism, Deportation, Sexism, and Death

I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom by Shannon C.F. Rogers

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

The writing was so compelling and lush and even though the narrative sometimes felt like it jumped around or was unclear, it made sense in the context of the story 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, and Death of parent

Moderate: Infidelity, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Medical content, Alcoholism, Classism, and Mental illness

Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Dog Man by Dav Pilkey

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

As an adult reader, this is so dumb and I’m not the intended audience at all

However, as a children’s librarian, I can see why kids love these. They’re silly and fun and the colors are bold and the drawings and goofy and approachable. There are also some interesting parts where the logistics behind comics and reading comics are explored, which I appreciate. These are great for kids and burgeoning readers 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, War, and Animal cruelty

How to Dance by Jason B. Dutton

emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Violence, Ableism, Mental illness, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Body shaming, Sexual content, Grief, and Miscarriage

The School for Invisible Boys by Shaun David Hutchinson

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Violence, Gaslighting, Body horror, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death and Child death

When We Become Ours: A YA Adoptee Anthology by Shannon Gibney, Nicole Chung

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I usually struggle with anthologies and story collection, but this piqued my interest. I was fascinated by the differing stories and found this collection helpful as a white woman for understanding and unlearning some of the harmful language I’ve use myself when interacting with adoptees in the past. I am glad this book exists, even if not every story was a knockout in my opinion. I appreciated the variety of stories even though they shared similar themes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cursing, Abandonment, Bullying, Mental illness, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Pregnancy

Minor: War, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Violence, Colonisation, Animal death, Classism, and Infertility

How You Get The Girl by Anita Kelly

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Sexual content, Cursing, and Drug use

Minor: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Acephobia/Arophobia, Eating disorder, Grief, and Transphobia

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I will read this series forever. Every entry continues to be wild and unique and riveting and I am glad this particular installment was a return to a group of already lover characters 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Gaslighting, Death, and Violence

Minor: Racism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Child death, Abandonment, Transphobia, Body horror, Bullying, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Wren Martin Ruins It All by Amanda DeWitt

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Oh I loved this! You’ve got mail vibes, but make it YA and modern. Wren is kind of a pain in the ass, but I also love him so much. This is just full of smooshy feelings, tropes, and real life stuff and I thought the combination was excellent. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cancer, Death of parent, Cursing, and Alcohol

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Death, Drug use, Classism, Bullying, and Grief