jennyvetvik's reviews
57 reviews

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.75

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

5.0

I actually really loved this book and have frequently thought about it since I finished it. It is a beautiful exposition of a Muslim family living in California. It grapples with so many different issues, and the writing was breathtakingly beautiful. The best part was the last chapters, written as a letter from the father's perspective to his estranged son, and that absolutely broke me. Love love loved this book. 

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

adventurous mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.25

I Will Find You by Harlan Coben

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

All The Broken Places by John Boyne

slow-paced

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

2.0

Not an enjoyable read to me. As a sequel to a wonderful book, the concept was great, but the plot and characters just felt a little off the whole time. The ending was meant to be seriously shocking, but it fell somewhat flat for me, and wasn't believable at all. So yeah I didn't much enjoy this. 

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I enjoyed the concept of this book - a slice of life exploration of infidelity and infertility. However, I felt like it was sort of clumsily done, and I felt sort of like the characters were being held from me at an arms length even though we were meant to be in their heads. So all in all a pretty decent book. 

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was an absolutely insane memoir. I really enjoyed reading it, as Walls' life has been insane. I felt like the portrayed her messy family with honesty, yet great compassion. The writing is really great, and I think that if she had been a Christian and ended with that perspective, it would have been an easy 5 star. 

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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

4.25

I enjoyed this. I loved the concept of writing the story from the perspective of AI in a future dystopia society, and exploring through its lens what it means to love. I thought the writing was wonderful, and the characters were well fleshed out. I feel like it could have pushed the limits more, and been a bit more ambitious in the writing style. But other than that, wonderful.