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jainabee's reviews
509 reviews
Party of Fools by Cedar McCloud
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Book 1 by Emil Ferris
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What Fresh Hell Is This?: Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You by Heather Corinna
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Queer and authoritative menopause information by a snarky queer Gen-X who knows WTF they speak of! Trans men, trans women and other gender expansive people will find their concerns addressed here. If I could stuff everyone's stockings, this would be it. Also, straight, cis women will find what they need here!
Content Warnings
Everyone, and I mean everyone, would benefit from reading this book.
Glass Town: The Imaginary World of the Brontës by Isabel Greenberg
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg
emotional
funny
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
The story is a very sweet and fun teen romance romp, even as it weaves in very serious and challenging themes and topics. Nuanced characters emerge through confronting their own presumptions about each other and about themselves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Biphobia, Cursing, Kidnapping, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment
Remarkably realistic and accurate portrayal of rape, dissociation, gaslighting, addiction, and moving through various stages of trauma. The challenging material is handled with great care and shows healthy, functional family and community responses to trauma.
Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
Finally, the third time through this story brought into sharp relief the themes of abduction and imprisonment that the characters of color all experience. Theod narrowly escaped indentured servitude, after being accused and tried in court for “stealing" a dragon, by becoming a legal ward of Frau Kuiper, Liberty is indentured to Frau Brinkerhoff and explains the unspoken complexities of paying her way out, and Anequs may appear to be making a choice, however she comes to realize that her entire village and island could be eradicated if she fails her studies. Locked doors, vehicles with smoked windows, and even her corset all remind her of how she cannot escape her predicament. Even Frau Kuiper—who seems to have some sympathy for the protagonist—threatens to let the enemies of Anequs destroy her dragon and raze her village if she fails the expectations of the “darling of the Jarl.”
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
After reading the hardcopy once and listening to the audiobook twice, my appreciation for the rich complexities and top notch storytelling is even stronger. Magnificent. Listening to the wonderful character voices and accents performed by Charley Flyte brought out the intercultural class differences and complex social nuances more distinctly.
So much happens so quickly in this first installment of the series that I missed a few important details which deepen the characters—such as the look that Frau Kuiper gives Anaqus right before her skiltakraft final. The look that Anequs cannot interpret in the moment. I think I know what it means now, but it took three reads! The complicated social and political layers of this story are profound—and quite relevant to contemporary issues.
Another aspect that took me this long to get (I am white from a colonizer heritage and this tale is told from an Indigenous POV—there’s probably a LOT MORE that I don’t get) is the stylized language throughout the book. Though most of the places and objects in the book are all places and objects that are real, they all have abstracted names; English is Anglish, a penny is a pennik, a photographer is a lichtbildmacher, radium is strahlendstone, etc… why all of this confusing terminology??? Other than sustaining the tone of the alternate reality, it also puts a reader who has been educated in a typical American school in the same confusing position as the Indigenous protagonist. The words and customs that the colonizers all take for granted are almost as baffling to the reader as they are to Anequs. If the author had simply used words any typical American would understand, the reader would not be able to empathize with the confusion and frustrations and other obstacles that Anequs must move through.
The final layer I that understood more this time I wrapped in spoiler alerts in the content warning section.
I can barely wait for the next installment!
I couldn't put this down and I told each and every one of my friends, colleagues, and quite a few strangers that they really ought to read this book! I can barely wait for the next one—so curious to see where the story goes from the astonishing set-up of the first book.
So much happens so quickly in this first installment of the series that I missed a few important details which deepen the characters—such as the look that Frau Kuiper gives Anaqus right before her skiltakraft final. The look that Anequs cannot interpret in the moment. I think I know what it means now, but it took three reads! The complicated social and political layers of this story are profound—and quite relevant to contemporary issues.
Another aspect that took me this long to get (I am white from a colonizer heritage and this tale is told from an Indigenous POV—there’s probably a LOT MORE that I don’t get) is the stylized language throughout the book. Though most of the places and objects in the book are all places and objects that are real, they all have abstracted names; English is Anglish, a penny is a pennik, a photographer is a lichtbildmacher, radium is strahlendstone, etc… why all of this confusing terminology??? Other than sustaining the tone of the alternate reality, it also puts a reader who has been educated in a typical American school in the same confusing position as the Indigenous protagonist. The words and customs that the colonizers all take for granted are almost as baffling to the reader as they are to Anequs. If the author had simply used words any typical American would understand, the reader would not be able to empathize with the confusion and frustrations and other obstacles that Anequs must move through.
The final layer I that understood more this time I wrapped in spoiler alerts in the content warning section.
I can barely wait for the next installment!
I couldn't put this down and I told each and every one of my friends, colleagues, and quite a few strangers that they really ought to read this book! I can barely wait for the next one—so curious to see where the story goes from the astonishing set-up of the first book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting
The Tale That Twines by Cedar McCloud
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Savored this book for as long as possible, and now I am sure I will be going back to read it again and again like I did with the first of this series. I am in love with these characters and want to live in their world and be bffs with them! Cedar's storytelling is getting even better, with subtle themes filligried throughout the bold and compelling plotline. OMX how can I wait for the next installment?!?!?!?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, War
Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I am so glad this book exists because I NEEDED it. It needed to exist in the world. The question of how to balance fandom of my favorite works of creativity with the toxic and destructive behaviors of the creators is an issue that torments me. Dederer directly addresses some of my own pet monsters; Woody Allen, David Bowie, JK Rowling, Miles Davis. This book makes me think a LOT. This book is very uncomfortable in a vitally important way. This book challenges me in ways I needed. The chapter comparing and contrasting Valerie Solanas and Sylvia Plath (!!!!!) flipped my wig with the brilliance of unexpected insights about how women respond to the violence of misogyny. The chapter about Lolita is a sparkling gem of brilliant insight and analysis that might be the best review of it I've ever read (spoiler alert: Nabokov is not a monster, though he is a genius). This book is FULL of triggering content, as it describes the crimes of the creators. No way around that. The point of the book seems to be to face the monsters directly and feel the extremely uncomfortable dilemma between loving something, even the monster, "even after everything." I got a lot to think about here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, War, Classism
Minor: Drug use, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria
I need to read this book again. And probably again.
After Dark by Haruki Murakami
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Murakami messing with my mind again. A mystery that isn't a mystery. No clues to unravel, no startling conclusions. He'll bring the reader to a moment that seems momentous, and then slyly let it be mundane. And just to be absolutely clear about that, he'll address what you might think he's getting at and tell you point blank that's not what it is. Or you'll think you see a big plot twist and he'll say, nope, it's really what it appears to be. Somehow he fills this stark series of short chapters with lush cinematic details, complete with a playlist of tunes playing in the background of each scene. Or intense silence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Blood, Trafficking, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Grief, Stalking
Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Classism