isabel_reyes's reviews
193 reviews

We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memoir by Raja Shehadeh

3.75

not a lot i didn’t already know and a little too historical to truly be considered a memoir. but that in itself is a commentary because it makes it clear that history is inseparable from the palestinian identity 

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

5.0

brilliant apocalyptic prose 

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

5.0

this was such an excellent quick read. i skimmed a lot of the poetry bc that stuff kinda goes over my head but i was enthralled. read it in like 45 mins

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward

4.25

i wasn’t particularly blown away by this book but it was a solid memoir and very hard hitting, although i am far removed from what the authors writing about

Foster by Claire Keegan

3.75

definitely well written but i found myself finishing the book with a feeling that i was missing the thing that makes this book so critically acclaimed 

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

5.0

absolutely soul crushing to read about the sliver of hope the taliban brought. also tragic that this book ended on a relatively positive note in 2007 just for the taliban to again rise to power a decade later. devastating and khaled hosseini is an absolute genius. the last line made me cry

1984 by George Orwell

4.0

if i had no preconceived notions of this i would’ve rated this lower but it was certainly a feat of its time. listening to this was prolly a good idea - i was able to think through things as they happened

until they become conscious they will never rebel. and until after they have rebelled they can not become conscious

insaneeee

Carmilla by Kim Turrisi

1.25

ummm oh my GOD this was atrocious. no idea where this was recommended from but this never should have been published. i was audibly laughing out loud at how terrible the writing was

also i have a lot of questions like:
- why was the mushroom club trying to control everybody?
- why were there always fish being thrown?
- why would laura ever like carmilla?
- why make a NB person just to misgender them?

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

3.5

idk something abt this j didn’t rly click for me

Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest by Gregg Olsen

3.25

had to dragg myself through this book. about 200 pages too long. creepy af tho