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ivyldc's Reviews (416)
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love time travel books, and this icon of the genre was long on my TBR. It is a marvelous book with a great structure. A true writing masterpiece. I appreciate it for the ideas, the beautiful writing, and achievement it is. I was left wanting more, though. I felt there were some loose ends that were not tied up, like did the family just never speak about the shooting in the woods, did Henry’s obvious alcoholism go away or what, and did Henry get closure for his mother’s death? I also wanted to know more about the genetic disorder/other time travelers. Maybe there just wasn’t any time. I felt the book lost a bit of steam after Alba was born. Like the central plot for half the book was TTC and after that the book wandered a bit trying to find the story again. Overall, loved it. But it left a lot of questions, too.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-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
Janie Woods relates the story of her life to Phoebe after returning home from burying her 3rd husband, Tea Cake. This is the story of a young woman trying to find love and herself in Florida. Janie Crawford is beautiful and young when she is married off to her first husband, the Rev. Killicks by her grandmother, whose primary goal for Janie is security. Janie runs off with the charismatic Jodie Starks to found the town of Eatonville. He becomes the mayor and a store owner, and “keeps” Janie as a thing to be admired until his death. As a widow, she falls in love with Tea Cake, 12 years her younger. Together they go down to the Everglades, love each other fiercely, and go through good and bad times. Janie’s life is full and she understands why people judge and how to forgive them for it.
Gorgeous prose. The writing is full of wisdom and earned life experience even as the story goes by quickly. It is layered so that you think it is a simple love story, but it contains so much commentary on Black culture, colorism, oppression, joy, and again, wisdom.
Gorgeous prose. The writing is full of wisdom and earned life experience even as the story goes by quickly. It is layered so that you think it is a simple love story, but it contains so much commentary on Black culture, colorism, oppression, joy, and again, wisdom.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Birdie is a struggling young mother to Emaleen. They are living at the lodge where she works tending bar. Sometimes she leaves She’s drinking too much and dreaming of more when she meets the reclusive son of a former Alaska state trooper, Arthur. Arthur lives completely off the grid in a remote cabin up on the North Fork of the Wolverine river. Birdie and Emaleen go to live with him. It’s a hard hard life, and Arthur comes and goes, but it’s pretty happy until Arthur’s secret life is revealed.
I loved the Eowyn Ivey signature blend of magical realism, Alaskan nature writing, and dreamy, fairytale allusions.
I loved the Eowyn Ivey signature blend of magical realism, Alaskan nature writing, and dreamy, fairytale allusions.
emotional
hopeful
fast-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
Read aloud to my oldest, who actually had already read it for school. He liked it enough to want to hear it again. The story centers around Castle Cranshaw and his first few weeks as a newbie on the Defenders track team.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rocky, a mom of young adult kids and daughter of aging parents, spends a week each year at Sandwich beach in Cape Cod with her family. Rocky and Nick, their kids Jamie and Willa, Jamie’s girlfriend Maya, and her parents Mort and ?? (Did we ever get her name?) are in a small cottage with questionable plumbing doing all the vacation things. Rocky reflects on her children and her love for them and her choices over the years.
There is nothing but love in this book. Even the anger and irritation between characters is rooted in love.
My only criticism is the final day at the beach, the reflections take over the narrative a bit, and some of the rumination feels unnecessary.
I Loved Rocky’s “voice.” I loved her relationships with her children and parents and spouse. For such a short book, I felt like I knew each of them. I was happy to see that Newman has another book with Rocky coming out this year (2025). I will definitely be reading it.
There is nothing but love in this book. Even the anger and irritation between characters is rooted in love.
My only criticism is the final day at the beach, the reflections take over the narrative a bit, and some of the rumination feels unnecessary.
I Loved Rocky’s “voice.” I loved her relationships with her children and parents and spouse. For such a short book, I felt like I knew each of them. I was happy to see that Newman has another book with Rocky coming out this year (2025). I will definitely be reading it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this family saga story told in 3 parts. First by Lillian, then her daughter Georgette, and lastly Lillian’s husband and “Jette’s” father, Ryan. The story is of Lillian and Ryan’s complicated marriage and the pacts of addiction/alcoholism on a family and secrets. Some of the sentences were just absolutely stunning truth bombs. I didn’t particularly care for the wrap up which was more of a philosophical statement than something that seemed to fit the plot. I still really liked it and was rooting for all the characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a very challenging book. From the names of the characters to the style of writing to the perspective changes, to the dream sequences it is very complex. I listened to this on audio after
having heard about it on the New York Times book podcast. The Narration was incredible. The language pronunciation was so good. That said it helped me quite a bit to do a part of this as a tandem read with the written words. It’s very vivid and very visceral. I started to think about it as a play at about the halfway point, and that helped me feel very connected to the narrative. So. What is it about?
It is about the Hernan Cortes audience with Moctetzuma in Tenochtitlan. Moctetzuma was very interested in the horses, which they had never seen. The opening scene is of the opening lunch being served by the princess and the priests. Then Moctetzuma takes a nap and then they have the audience. And so much more. It’s very hard to explain.
having heard about it on the New York Times book podcast. The Narration was incredible. The language pronunciation was so good. That said it helped me quite a bit to do a part of this as a tandem read with the written words. It’s very vivid and very visceral. I started to think about it as a play at about the halfway point, and that helped me feel very connected to the narrative. So. What is it about?
It is about the Hernan Cortes audience with Moctetzuma in Tenochtitlan. Moctetzuma was very interested in the horses, which they had never seen. The opening scene is of the opening lunch being served by the princess and the priests. Then Moctetzuma takes a nap and then they have the audience. And so much more. It’s very hard to explain.
dark
mysterious
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:
No
Solid police procedural, serial killer mystery set in a small Virginia community. Titus Crown is Charon County’s first black Sheriff and a hometown guy. When a bizarre school shooting kills the town’s beloved and favorite white teacher and the police shoot the young Black gunman, Titus finds himself among roiling racial tensions and a probable serial killer on the loose.
This plot hits the typical beats for crime fiction, but with an authenticity of the rural Black experience that comes from the author’s lived experience. I enjoyed Cosby’s Characters and writing possibly more than the overall thrill ride. It was quite vivid in its depictions of gore, which I know is one of his trademarks. One night after falling asleep reading this book I woke with a nightmare screaming, “They’re All Dead!” So yeah. Beware the gore.
This plot hits the typical beats for crime fiction, but with an authenticity of the rural Black experience that comes from the author’s lived experience. I enjoyed Cosby’s Characters and writing possibly more than the overall thrill ride. It was quite vivid in its depictions of gore, which I know is one of his trademarks. One night after falling asleep reading this book I woke with a nightmare screaming, “They’re All Dead!” So yeah. Beware the gore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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
Read aloud bedtime book. It was cute. A boy grows some empathy while he grows some radishes.
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lula Dean is leading the charge to rid Troy Georgia of “inappropriate” books from the town library. She starts her little library in front of of her house with titles like The Southern Girl’s Guide to Etiquette and Chicken Soup for the Soul. As a joke, Lindsey Wainwright exchanges the titles with the very books Lula banned by swapping their cover jackets. So when grandma Wilma finds a naughty cake cookbook inside Party Cakes for your Family, and Chicken Soup For the Soul contains Rivals and Lover, the townsfolk go a little sideways. I. Loved this light, satirical comedy that gave voice to some real world issues. It successfully shows why book bans are particularly ridiculous.