juliannewarren12's reviews
69 reviews

The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

The Goodbye Cat is such a sweet collection of cat stories. I enjoyed how a lot of them were interconnected. I cried at many of the stories in this book. If you love cats and are ready to cry, this is a must read. 

Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve by Drew Afualo

funny hopeful medium-paced

2.5

As a fan of Drew’s content, it’s fun to learn more about her life in this book, but the themes weren’t anything new. It’s good to read about women’s rights and respecting yourself, but I think it’s far too repetitive for anyone older than 16yo. I found myself skimming through a lot of this book but I ended up finishing it  because I enjoyed the personal stories. Not a waste of time to read, but it’s not going to change the way you think most likely. 

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons

emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.25

It was an emotional story and fairly interesting but nothing blew me away. I’ll probably forget about this book in a week. It wasn’t a waste of time to read but it wasn’t anything special to me. 

To be honest, the ending disappointed me. I get why the author chose

to have her die surrounded by her friends and show that you can be loved until the end, but I think the whole assisted suicide storyline should’ve happened. There was so much to go into involving the ethics, her friends receiving the letters, etc. I also hated how Monty died. It’s cute that Rose got a kitten but I wish she got Monty instead.

I did really enjoy that Eudora wasn’t men-focused. Her and Stanley

staying platonic and not romantic was nice to see.

It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over by Anne de Marcken
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.

Every time I tried to read this I would just get distracted. It couldn’t hold my attention and ultimately put me in a reading slump. I’ll try this book again this year. 

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

emotional fast-paced

4.0

I wasn’t expecting there to be so much focus on eating disorders but this book is written beautifully. It was sad to read but it’s also so important to hear about these kinds of issues/experiences. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Vomit, Death of parent

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

I really don’t get the hype for this book. It was a very quick read and kind of enjoyable but the plot was awful. The last half of the book was too rushed and chaotic to where I was just looking forward to finishing it. Like most people,

I had incorrectly guessed Ethan was EJ from the very first tape. We find out that wrong but I wish the book took that direction. I think it would’ve been way more enjoyable if Ethan was EJ and was faking loving Tricia. I hateddd the whole story of Tricia being PH and helping Dr Hale kill EJ. The plot twist was so poorly executed and frankly boring. Ethan being GW’s son and killing her was also too rushed. The whole confession from Tricia where Ethan just blindly accepted it was poorly written as well.

I think if this book wasn’t so short and quick to read, I would’ve DNFd it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder

Minor: Stalking

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

emotional 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

5.0

Ugh this book was sooo good. The characters are lovable and the banter between Clementine and Iwen is so cute. The romance wasn’t very in your face but I preferred that personally. The discussions on grief was so raw and real. I thought Clementine was a great representation of someone grieving and it really struck home. The magical element was cute, not complicated, and executed perfectly. I will be reading this again. 

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land

emotional medium-paced

3.25

Super emotional and interesting memoir. Very eye opening to the struggles of surviving poverty and navigating gov assistance. 

Stephanie’s

’happy ending’ felt so glossed over and didn’t get the recognition it deserved. I would’ve loved to hear more about how she made her life in Montana and how the stability changed her life for the better.

Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff by Dana K. White

funny informative slow-paced

3.25

Motivational and lighthearted. A little repetitive but not necessarily in a bad way. 

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.

Explored very interesting topics and I think it could’ve been very good if written differently. This felt like porn with an apocalyptic side plot. There were too many characters introduced, many unnecessary, which was way too hard to follow. The characters were not interesting either which made it hard to read. Was highly recommended so I was disappointed to DNF this.