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jukietoss's reviews
528 reviews
Ready or Not by Cara Bastone
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
fast-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? No
5.0
Greatest romance of 2024 so far! I absolutely loved this one, read it in one sitting. I loved the complex best friendship--the disappointment they felt in one another, the imperfections in how they showed up, and the way that they were still okay. I loved the building drama and the departure from the traditional 3rd act break-up--this worked so well and never made me so anxious I had to take a break. And I love creative approaches to family formation. This book shows that many ways that deep support and love happen outside of genetics or a nuclear family structure, and I loved that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
All Friends Are Necessary: A Novel by Tomas Moniz
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
I really enjoy stories that look at non-traditional family formation, and ALL FRIENDS ARE NECESSARY did this beautifully. Part of what I liked about this one is that when we join the story--although it is at an important point for our main character Chino--in some ways we join him midstream. So many of his relationships are already established and so much has occurred in the past that we are not privy to. We gain enough insight to learn his friends' names and deduce their importance to him, but I liked that minimal exposition was spent on them outside of how they showed up for him during this time.
As the book went on, we got more backstory, and I thought the gradual reveals and building depth worked really well. Some of Moniz's choices, like showing us how Metal Matt and Chino met, were so thoughtful and well timed. By the time we get that story, we take for granted that Metal Matt is a critical figure, and the time bounce back to their meeting isn't jarring and doesn't take us out of the present story but rather enhances and in some ways reminds us how much of their relationship we don't know.
This book rejects heteropatriarchy in really refreshing ways. The characters here conceive of family and caregiving outside of the heteronormative nuclear family model, and it's truly a joy to read. It requires that characters think deeply about what they want and don't want and how they want to live in order to be able to reject the status quo, and I love reading community and support like there is here.
As the book went on, we got more backstory, and I thought the gradual reveals and building depth worked really well. Some of Moniz's choices, like showing us how Metal Matt and Chino met, were so thoughtful and well timed. By the time we get that story, we take for granted that Metal Matt is a critical figure, and the time bounce back to their meeting isn't jarring and doesn't take us out of the present story but rather enhances and in some ways reminds us how much of their relationship we don't know.
This book rejects heteropatriarchy in really refreshing ways. The characters here conceive of family and caregiving outside of the heteronormative nuclear family model, and it's truly a joy to read. It requires that characters think deeply about what they want and don't want and how they want to live in order to be able to reject the status quo, and I love reading community and support like there is here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi
dark
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
5.0
Akwaeke Emezi is one of my favorite authors, and they only reinforced that with Little Rot. I love the way Emezi plays with genre, bending the boundaries and carving profound stories that defy strict categorization. Taking place over one consequential weekend, we are dropped into the characters' lives as observers of long-lasting relationships whose dynamics are all on the brink of major changes. I really enjoyed seeing the characters learn one another anew as circumstances shifted and events exposed new aspects of each's personality. Emezi so thoughtfully touched on both the depth of longterm friendships and that which remains invisible to them until/unless circumstances demand.
It's a story about what's hidden from the light, about the walls we put up and who and where and when we let people behind those walls. It shows the necessity of connection but also the limits to how vulnerable any one person is willing to be. Each character thinks they understand their own motivations and boundaries, but over the course of the book those are tested. They also think they understand the people by whom they're surrounded, but there are similarly limitations there, too. Despite their interdependence, this novel looks at deep loneliness. It is wrenching, raw, gorgeously written, and entirely absorbing.
It's a story about what's hidden from the light, about the walls we put up and who and where and when we let people behind those walls. It shows the necessity of connection but also the limits to how vulnerable any one person is willing to be. Each character thinks they understand their own motivations and boundaries, but over the course of the book those are tested. They also think they understand the people by whom they're surrounded, but there are similarly limitations there, too. Despite their interdependence, this novel looks at deep loneliness. It is wrenching, raw, gorgeously written, and entirely absorbing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence and Murder
How You Get The Girl by Anita Kelly
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
I loved this! I love a sports romance, and basketball is my #1, and this did not disappoint! The characters and their relationships were all lovable. Everyone was kind to each other. Even the third act "breakup" was handled with tenderness, and it didn't feel forced or contrived. There's sensitive mental health/depression representation as well as self-discovery around sexuality. There was a foster-care/addiction plotline that threaded the needle well. All in all, a delightful read! I'm going to have to go back now and read all of the other books in this series (this was my first!).
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction
Dixon, Descending by Karen Outen
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.5
This was a devastating and effective exploration of how we show up for one another, the ways we let each other down, and how to know when to stop trying to save someone. It broke my heart in so many ways. We follow the MC, Dixon, in his preparation for climbing Everest, the climb itself, and the aftermath--and Outen's jumps in time are wielded effectively to help us understand the characters' motivations, pain, and struggles. This was such an original way to explore human bonds. The setting is a powerful backdrop for getting to know Dixon and his demons.
This book takes on so much, and it does it really skillfully. It's part adventure story, part study of the criminal justice system and how kids are subject to it without being helped by it. It's also a look at how much influence one person can have on another, and where the limits exist in saving a life. There is so much pain in this book, but there's also tremendous love and care, and repeated willingness to keep on trying.
I recommend this book for anyone looking for layered literary fiction that centers human bonds and imperfections as seen through brothers, children/parents, cousins, mentors/mentees, and friends. You'll like it if you like an adventure story, but because it's so much more than that I also recommend it for folks who are interested in understanding what motivates people.
This book takes on so much, and it does it really skillfully. It's part adventure story, part study of the criminal justice system and how kids are subject to it without being helped by it. It's also a look at how much influence one person can have on another, and where the limits exist in saving a life. There is so much pain in this book, but there's also tremendous love and care, and repeated willingness to keep on trying.
I recommend this book for anyone looking for layered literary fiction that centers human bonds and imperfections as seen through brothers, children/parents, cousins, mentors/mentees, and friends. You'll like it if you like an adventure story, but because it's so much more than that I also recommend it for folks who are interested in understanding what motivates people.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
emotional
reflective
sad
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
5.0
I am not okay! This book wrecked me. I haven't been this bereft from a book since I read A Little Life. Similarly, the examination of friendship and its pushes and pulls along with how trauma informs our connection is devastating. There may be nothing I find more heartrending to read than friendships severed or time lost between people who truly care for each other--that just really gets me. So this book pulled on every heartstring. It's beautifully written, the characters are rich and their dynamics are complex and well-formed, and the gaming setting supplements the character development meaningfully. It's not so excessively traumatic as A Little Life, but if you're anything like me it'll get you right in the gut and stick with you.
Hangman by Maya Binyam
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I don't know quite what to do with this one! The voice itself grated on me; I didn't enjoy the cadence or tone after the first couple of chapters--its charm wore off. That said, the ending is super strong, and it casts the book in a different light once you're finished. So I like it more in hindsight than I did as I read it. In that way, I'd say it's worth the read, even if the act of reading it is mid. If you can read it in one sitting, do that. I think it reads best as one gulp rather than allowing time for the reader to try to make sense of it piecemeal.
Exhibit: A Novel by R.O. Kwon
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
What a masterpiece! Kwon wields language like a knife, maneuvering it so deftly that she conjures never-before expressed meaning through her sentences, imagery I could not have thought up through her paragraphs. I was humbled as she vividly drew this story in a way that fundamentally changed my grasp of the language I previously thought I was fluent in.
And her range! She captures desire, betrayal, motherhood, loss, creation, passion, partnership, curses, and more. Her characters are no one thing; they each contain multitudes. Decisions are complex and nuanced. Their humanity brims.
And her range! She captures desire, betrayal, motherhood, loss, creation, passion, partnership, curses, and more. Her characters are no one thing; they each contain multitudes. Decisions are complex and nuanced. Their humanity brims.
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
emotional
funny
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? No
5.0
I loved this book desperately. It does so many things and does them all so well. It takes on grief, death, family, addiction, and love and weaves them together with such depth and sensitivity, each feels thoroughly examined and uniquely represented. The characters are drawn with such detail and care, they implanted directly into my heart. The storyline itself is compelling and perfectly crafted. Sometimes I find changing perspectives and time periods jarring and that it takes me out of the story, but here it's executed with such precision and purpose I happily went for the ride, and it paid off.
I recommend this book for anyone who needs to be quickly absorbed into a compelling story where every character is worth knowing. It's perfect for folks to look at death, grief, and life's purpose with an author whose perspective on those subjects is so deeply considered. The writing is gorgeous, the story is riveting, and the characters are robust. It has it all!
I recommend this book for anyone who needs to be quickly absorbed into a compelling story where every character is worth knowing. It's perfect for folks to look at death, grief, and life's purpose with an author whose perspective on those subjects is so deeply considered. The writing is gorgeous, the story is riveting, and the characters are robust. It has it all!
Yours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn
reflective
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? No
4.0
This was a really original take on the cli-fi sub-genre looking at how society reacts to the climate crisis. It raised some interesting questions and imagined a set of solutions (and actors) that prompted considerable reflection. It's a take down of girlboss feminism and climate change denial. The book isn't subtle in its critique, but subtlety is overrated--this book says it all with its full chest.
This book is best enjoyed without overthinking every detail of plausibility in the world it builds. Suspend disbelief and you'll enjoy stepping into the characters' shoes, imagining the life and decisions they're facing.
This book is best enjoyed without overthinking every detail of plausibility in the world it builds. Suspend disbelief and you'll enjoy stepping into the characters' shoes, imagining the life and decisions they're facing.