jasbeingjas's reviews
842 reviews

The Sandman Vol. 8: Worlds' End by Neil Gaiman

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A fun assortment of stories within a story.  Enjoyable enough read.  As I've been reading the sandman series I wish I had someone to discuss some of my more nuanced or niche opinions on representation and storytelling devices in the series.  I'm excited to find out who the Kindly Ones are.
The Sandman Vol. 7: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Getting to see the sibling dynamics between the endless in this volume was sweet and sad in many ways. I’m hoping the following volumes will allow for exploration of more of the siblings. 
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The Sandman Vol. 6: Fables & Reflections by Neil Gaiman

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mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This was an interesting collection of short stories. I enjoyed all of the mythology but I wish the stories didn’t just sprinkle in triggering plot lines. I would check content warnings. 
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The Sandman Vol. 5: A Game of You by Neil Gaiman

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This was an interesting storyline but I would love to know more about Thessaly. Many of the character endings were also pretty sad. 
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The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman

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emotional funny lighthearted 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? No

4.0

This was a fun installment in the Sandman series. I skipped most of the introduction though. It was super pretentious and full of itself and it made me want to put down the whole series. 
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It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror by Joe Vallese

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emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

Despite being someone who actively avoid horror/thriller/suspense genres, this was a really cool collection of essays. The concept is cool to explore the connection between the horror genre and queer experiences/identities, but the execution did not disappoint! I would check content warnings, as certain essays included some triggering topics. 
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The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was a much shorter volume than I was expecting and I don’t think the stories each did much for the overall story arc, but it was an enjoyable read. The comic script included at the end was cool but I wasn’t particularly interested in reading it having just read the story of calliope. Maybe I’ll go back and read it one day. 
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The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman

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mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I’m enjoying the way the story is unfolding, especially as someone who isn’t a fan or horror but sometimes the themes are too dark for me. I would check content warnings for sure. 
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Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

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dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

This is a great collection of poems from a very promising poet.  Personally I didn't enjoy the collection as much as I thought I would, because many were about Covid, and in some ways those poems felt a little cliche at times.  But my personal mood aside, the poems were not only well written but interesting in formatting choices as well.  I think the most jarring part was reading the poem from the inauguration and knowing in hindsight how much worse everything has since gotten.
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The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Having finished the whole series now, I want justice for Susan.  But also the religious undertones really started to feel like overtones in the last few books as well.  I think in a lot of ways this could be a really good book to discuss big ideas and questions with kids, but I don't know that I would want children to just read it without checking in on what they got or what they might have missed in the story.