itsmelaurenc's reviews
31 reviews

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Death of parent, Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Bullying, Gun violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, Torture, Vomit, Sexism, Grief, Murder, and Classism

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

4.5

There’s some corny bits sprinkled in but they pale in comparison to the story surrounding them. Such a wild ride. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual content, Slavery, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and War

Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut

adventurous funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Super interesting story, hated that the racism of the time was still somehow inserted in. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Infidelity, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Violence

The World As I See It by Albert Einstein
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Incest, Racial slurs, Car accident, Child death, Infertility, Death of parent, Outing, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, War, Death, Deportation, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, and Body shaming

The Fever Code by James Dashner

adventurous mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

There was so little plot for the amount of content, I feel like this could have been half the length and still have gotten the point across. Not nearly as action-packed as the other books in the Maze Runner series.

Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach

adventurous challenging hopeful informative mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I found the main character to be insufferable, but the concepts behind Ecotopia were fascinating. It would be a whole different experience to go through and read JUST the descriptions, skipping the main character’s monologues. 

Facing and Overcoming Codependency: Practical Guidance to Fix Your Codependency, Stop Being a People Pleaser, and Start Loving Yourself by Andrei Nedelcu, Andrei Nedelcu

informative inspiring reflective

5.0

I feel like I grew from this.

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

informative inspiring reflective

4.5

I was so immersed in the writing that I would frequently forget what the point was, but would be brought back by the end of each chapter. My only gripe is that some of the stories were uninteresting and hard to get through, otherwise loved the book and the perspective it offered.