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jenyakohnson's reviews
142 reviews
The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
i’m writing this review on no sleep so pls don’t take it to seriously.
i had a fun time ! i gasped, i kicked my feet and giggled, i yelled, i cried ! it was good. it was fun ! (some of the writing / wording was a bit repetitive though :/)
i respect the fact that every holly jackson book has
1) women’s wrongs being supported
2) absolute SIMPS for love interests
and 3) cops being the incompetent useless pigs that they are
thank you holly jackson, a real treasure :’) <3
i had a fun time ! i gasped, i kicked my feet and giggled, i yelled, i cried ! it was good. it was fun ! (some of the writing / wording was a bit repetitive though :/)
i respect the fact that every holly jackson book has
1) women’s wrongs being supported
2) absolute SIMPS for love interests
and 3) cops being the incompetent useless pigs that they are
thank you holly jackson, a real treasure :’) <3
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
i read “parable of the sower” by octavia e. butler for the first time this month. it was immediately clear why this story is considered a classic and a pioneer in scifi.
written in 1993, the story begins in, what was then considered, the faraway dystopian future of 2024. climate change caused intense natural disasters, extreme heat + UV rays, lack of precipitation and clean drinking water, and coastal cities are underwater. capitalistic greed brought back company towns and indentured servitude. those who are not the 1% live in poverty resorting to violence and theft to survive. the world is changing and lauren, from a gated community in robledo, california, is observing it very closely. she believes that her neighborhood wall won’t keep them safe from the chaos on the other side, and she desperately wants to be prepared. so lauren starts packing a to-go bag, encouraging people to do the same, and discovers the foundation of her religion earthseed: god is change. when, not if, the time comes, lauren will head north, establish earthseed, and survive.
good dystopians examine our past to create a world that eerily mirrors our own. that’s exactly what “parable of the sower” did. it is both a brilliant and hard read. when butler began to describe the america in the book, i thought about the new diseases that are popping up (bird flu + long covid), the undrinkable water on reservations and in flint, michigan, and the increasingly severe hurricanes that are hitting the gulf of mexico. when lauren started to express her frustration with the previous generation’s denial and inability to adapt to the changing world, i thought about the world’s initial reaction to covid and climate change denial. the capitalistic greed is very apparent when i think about prison workers and unlivable wages. when i read about the cops in the book, i immediately thought about all the lives taken at the hands of our police and how time and time again they do nothing to protect communities and prevent crime. as an american, i dont even want to talk about the parallels between the politicians in the books and ours (i know one says “make america great again” in book 2). butler’s (very educated + researched) predictions about the future are not far off from our reality.
despite all of this, i did not come away from the book feeling discouraged. lauren was not a doom and gloom character. she makes it clear that survival requires adaptation and community. although lauren’s neighborhood’s didn’t last, they were a tight knit community, which for the most part, tried to take care of each other. they held schools, neighborhood watches, and shared food / resources when a neighbor was in need. when lauren left, she formed her own community with other travelers bc moving up north alone makes you a vulnerable target. a group of 3, 6, or 10, however, is not only intimidating, but allows everyone to benefit from different skills.
the story was a wake up call for me and it made me want to evaluate what i’m doing to adapt to the ever changing world around me and how i’m giving back to my community. at the end of the day, the government, politicians, and police won’t protect us, we keep us safe. an amazing read, excited to read book 2, parable of the talents.
written in 1993, the story begins in, what was then considered, the faraway dystopian future of 2024. climate change caused intense natural disasters, extreme heat + UV rays, lack of precipitation and clean drinking water, and coastal cities are underwater. capitalistic greed brought back company towns and indentured servitude. those who are not the 1% live in poverty resorting to violence and theft to survive. the world is changing and lauren, from a gated community in robledo, california, is observing it very closely. she believes that her neighborhood wall won’t keep them safe from the chaos on the other side, and she desperately wants to be prepared. so lauren starts packing a to-go bag, encouraging people to do the same, and discovers the foundation of her religion earthseed: god is change. when, not if, the time comes, lauren will head north, establish earthseed, and survive.
good dystopians examine our past to create a world that eerily mirrors our own. that’s exactly what “parable of the sower” did. it is both a brilliant and hard read. when butler began to describe the america in the book, i thought about the new diseases that are popping up (bird flu + long covid), the undrinkable water on reservations and in flint, michigan, and the increasingly severe hurricanes that are hitting the gulf of mexico. when lauren started to express her frustration with the previous generation’s denial and inability to adapt to the changing world, i thought about the world’s initial reaction to covid and climate change denial. the capitalistic greed is very apparent when i think about prison workers and unlivable wages. when i read about the cops in the book, i immediately thought about all the lives taken at the hands of our police and how time and time again they do nothing to protect communities and prevent crime. as an american, i dont even want to talk about the parallels between the politicians in the books and ours (i know one says “make america great again” in book 2). butler’s (very educated + researched) predictions about the future are not far off from our reality.
despite all of this, i did not come away from the book feeling discouraged. lauren was not a doom and gloom character. she makes it clear that survival requires adaptation and community. although lauren’s neighborhood’s didn’t last, they were a tight knit community, which for the most part, tried to take care of each other. they held schools, neighborhood watches, and shared food / resources when a neighbor was in need. when lauren left, she formed her own community with other travelers bc moving up north alone makes you a vulnerable target. a group of 3, 6, or 10, however, is not only intimidating, but allows everyone to benefit from different skills.
the story was a wake up call for me and it made me want to evaluate what i’m doing to adapt to the ever changing world around me and how i’m giving back to my community. at the end of the day, the government, politicians, and police won’t protect us, we keep us safe. an amazing read, excited to read book 2, parable of the talents.
Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
i saw this book promoted on twitter by some my favorite authors and i was drawn to the beautiful cover. after reading the description, two aroace people at a historically women’s university with rivaling romance centric advice blogs, i knew i had to get my hands on it once it was released.
this new adult coming of age novel is centered around friendship and coming into your identity which are two topics i always love reading about but don’t see enough of. the fact that the two main characters, sophie and jo, are both queer (specifically aroace) made it more interesting bc i got to see how relationship dynamics differ between allosexual people and aspec people. i found myself constantly thinking about how society views familial, romantic, and platonic relationships and how, in many instances, our expectations for these relationships don’t align with queer identities. for example, many allosexual people prioritize their romantic relationships over their platonic ones which can be isolating for aspec people. this was a huge theme and a fear expressed by both of our main characters, but it was more prevalent with jo.
both jo and sophie stated that they never met another aroace person before. their relationship allowed them to find comfort in their shared experiences / fears like uncertainty in their identity, being told they’re not queer, unaccepting family, and being ignored when their friends got into romantic relationships.
although the story and message was beautiful, i wasn’t a huge fan of the writing. the voice for sophie and jo were extremely similar despite the fact that they’re supposed to be polar opposites which made it a bit confusing to know who’s pov i was in sometimes. a lot of the scenes felt very rushed as well. scenes that i wish were really wrapped up kinda quickly (it would be an emotional scene and it would wrap up like “and then we talked about being a spec, and romance, and this and that for about an hour). that between the time jumps made me feel like the friendship between jo and sophie (although beautiful) escalated really fast.
overall i really liked the book. jo and sophie spend a good portion of the book not knowing what a future looks like without a romantic partner, but they chose to find a community of aspec people to navigate life’s uncertainties together. they realized that just bc they’re aroace and society says you will not be fulfilled without a romantic relationship, they don’t have to be alone and without love in other forms.
Something More by Jackie Khalilieh
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
i picked this book up hoping for something fun and lighthearted to read after finishing two incredibly heavy books. this did not disappoint. it's a story about 15 year old jessie kassis as she navigates her first year in H.S. she's scared that she would struggle to make friends or find romance bc of her intersecting identities (her autism and the fact that she's palestinian) but she really wants to try.
at the heart of this is a story about a teenage girl who desperately wants to fit in which i find incredibly relatable to the general high school experience. its a big life transition and everyone is scared of being an outcast or "weird" for things they can't control and i think the book perfectly encapsulates these feelings. from the extremely petty friendship drama, the exciting yet confusing boy problems, arguments with parents for more independence, and trying to find yourself, this book felt like high school.
although its marketed as a love triangle, i felt like it was pretty clear who jessie was going to end up with from the beginning. one of the guys clearly wasn't a good match for her, but knowing that didnt take away from the story. if anything, i was excited to see how jessie would navigate this relationship knowing she wanted one so desperately and has a huge crush on him.
i really loved all the characters in the story. the relationships jessie has with them (whether it be platonic or romantic) allowed her to figure out the kind of people she wants in her life. i loved how the characters held space for Jessie's identities and how best to show up for her even when she felt ashamed of them. all of the characters had flaws (they’re teenagers of course they're flawed) but they tried their hardest to make amends and be better which i appreciated so much.
overall it was a really fun, hilarious, mushy gusy, YA love triangle romance which was exactly what i needed.
TW for book: death of a family member, cheating, underage drug & alcohol use, adult/minor relationship
at the heart of this is a story about a teenage girl who desperately wants to fit in which i find incredibly relatable to the general high school experience. its a big life transition and everyone is scared of being an outcast or "weird" for things they can't control and i think the book perfectly encapsulates these feelings. from the extremely petty friendship drama, the exciting yet confusing boy problems, arguments with parents for more independence, and trying to find yourself, this book felt like high school.
although its marketed as a love triangle, i felt like it was pretty clear who jessie was going to end up with from the beginning. one of the guys clearly wasn't a good match for her, but knowing that didnt take away from the story. if anything, i was excited to see how jessie would navigate this relationship knowing she wanted one so desperately and has a huge crush on him.
i really loved all the characters in the story. the relationships jessie has with them (whether it be platonic or romantic) allowed her to figure out the kind of people she wants in her life. i loved how the characters held space for Jessie's identities and how best to show up for her even when she felt ashamed of them. all of the characters had flaws (they’re teenagers of course they're flawed) but they tried their hardest to make amends and be better which i appreciated so much.
overall it was a really fun, hilarious, mushy gusy, YA love triangle romance which was exactly what i needed.
TW for book: death of a family member, cheating, underage drug & alcohol use, adult/minor relationship
Educated by Tara Westover
i enjoyed the book. this isn’t a review just a heads up about some stuff i wasn’t aware of going into it
heads up that the n word was used several times in ch 20. also in ch 29 there is some anti semitic statements.
heads up that the n word was used several times in ch 20. also in ch 29 there is some anti semitic statements.
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- .... .- -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- / ..-. .- .-. .. -.. .- .... / .- -... .. -.- . -....- .. -.-- .. -- .. -.. . / ..-. --- .-. / -.-. .-. . .- - .. -. --. / .--. . .-. ... . .--. .... --- -. . / ... - ..- .- .-. - .-.-.- / .. / .-.. --- ...- . / .- -. -.. / -.-. .... . .-. .. ... .... / .... . .-. .-.-.- / --- -... ...- .. --- ..- ... .-.. -.-- / - .... .. ... / -... --- --- -.- / .-- .- ... / .- -- .- --.. .. -. --. --..-- / .. / --. .. ...- . / .. - / .- .-.. .-.. / - .... . / ... - .- .-. ... .-.-.-
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
i buddy read this book with my friend bc we were bored and both fans of the tv show.
this book was def written in early 200s (not derogatory). if you read the clique books growing up then this is the next series. lots of mean girls & gay girls which was great ! lots of pedos and that made me v uncomfy 🫠
this book was def written in early 200s (not derogatory). if you read the clique books growing up then this is the next series. lots of mean girls & gay girls which was great ! lots of pedos and that made me v uncomfy 🫠
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, and Racism
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
i was so incredibly happy when ari beat the living shit out of that dude who hurt dante. get him again for me !
To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
i had so much fun but ngl they lost me with the fantasy chemistry. anyway i kept picturing baby zym from the dragon prince
Everyone's Thinking It by Aleema Omotoni
giving very ace of spades vibes. thoroughly enjoyed was a little confused but it’s okay