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justjaqueline's reviews
616 reviews
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I need another twenty of these. These characters were so alive, they have to be based on people the author knows. I want to know what happens next!
What a book.
What a book.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I was going back and forth with my rating simply because I loved Kindred so much I felt this didn't hit quite the same, but it is a perfect book, it is a perfect dystopia.
We're thrown in a world that's on the brink of collapse. Everything is falling apart and people live how they can manage to, some of them more fortunate than others.
We follow Lauren, a girl, almost eighteen, who was born with a condition called 'hyperempathy' so she can share the pain and pleasure of other people. Considering the world she's in, that seems like a curse.
We start with change, because everything changes or nothing ever will ("God is change", Lauren tell us, and what is that if not the enoxarable truth): the gated community in which she lives is attacked and she has to go, she has to find a new home, and us along with her. We're carried in Lauren's pack, among the seeds and food and gun, in this world in which there is so much brutality, so much violence and yet, we can't help to hope: for a better future, for community, for love.
Along this dangerous journey we gradually meet people, we feel for them; we're the hyper part of Lauren's empathy, echoing the sorrows and joys of everyone around her. Lauren has to choose between the safety of numbers and the safety of trusting noone at all.
Keep them, we whisper, when she's on the fence about someone, please keep them and plant them and let them grow.
There will be thorns, there will be drought, there will be birds to take us away, but some of us, in this world that wants us destroyed and alone, will prevail. Love will prevail.
We are heartseed, after all.
We're thrown in a world that's on the brink of collapse. Everything is falling apart and people live how they can manage to, some of them more fortunate than others.
We follow Lauren, a girl, almost eighteen, who was born with a condition called 'hyperempathy' so she can share the pain and pleasure of other people. Considering the world she's in, that seems like a curse.
We start with change, because everything changes or nothing ever will ("God is change", Lauren tell us, and what is that if not the enoxarable truth): the gated community in which she lives is attacked and she has to go, she has to find a new home, and us along with her. We're carried in Lauren's pack, among the seeds and food and gun, in this world in which there is so much brutality, so much violence and yet, we can't help to hope: for a better future, for community, for love.
Along this dangerous journey we gradually meet people, we feel for them; we're the hyper part of Lauren's empathy, echoing the sorrows and joys of everyone around her. Lauren has to choose between the safety of numbers and the safety of trusting noone at all.
Keep them, we whisper, when she's on the fence about someone, please keep them and plant them and let them grow.
There will be thorns, there will be drought, there will be birds to take us away, but some of us, in this world that wants us destroyed and alone, will prevail. Love will prevail.
We are heartseed, after all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cannibalism and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Minor: Child death
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
challenging
reflective
sad
2.75
I was bored for half of it. It's a pity, because the beginning and end were so interesting! Elphaba is such an intricate and flawed protagonist, I really liked following her and seeing just what made her "wicked". All the political themes were also interesting, but explored in such a way that made them tedious, after a while. I really hoped I would like it more.
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
🎶 I will fall in love with you over and over again, I don't care how, where, or when, no matter how long it's been, you're mine 🎶
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Did not finish book. Stopped at 46%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 46%.
I read half of this and realized I could not care less. The sections of the book are interesting, but the overall story just didn't grip me.
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
adventurous
dark
tense
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
4.0
I cannot watch The boys. While I would love to because of the political commentary on how "goodness" and "villainy" are shaped by the narratives we construct around them, the gore is just too much for me.
So I was overjoyed finding this book!!
We follow Anna, a woman whose entire livelihood is uphended when she comes in contact with an "hero" while on a job. Her job? Data analysis for supervillains. While the morality of it is dubious, the job market is what it is, and a woman has to eat. Did she deserve a catastrophic injury for it?
The whole book is about this question.
Anna is every bit as contradictory as you'd expect by someone on the "wrong" side of the law. I'm not sure where her idealism ends and her thirst for revenge begins, and neither does she, to be honest. Her every relationship is complicated. You can't be sure if you're reading the romantic undertones right because they're everywhere. Girl, so confusing.
I think the book suffers a bit from a tell-don't-show effect at times. I listened to the audiobook and I got so confused many times because of scenes changes in the middle of the action. I want to see what is happening while it's happening, please do not give me a rundown of the facts like I'm reading a diary. It got better as we got to the climax, thank God.
Overall, I think this book explores its themes in interesting ways, with enough nuance to not fall into predictability. I will absolutely read the sequel.
(Also if you liked this, I think you'd like Vicious by V.E. Schwab!!)
So I was overjoyed finding this book!!
We follow Anna, a woman whose entire livelihood is uphended when she comes in contact with an "hero" while on a job. Her job? Data analysis for supervillains. While the morality of it is dubious, the job market is what it is, and a woman has to eat. Did she deserve a catastrophic injury for it?
The whole book is about this question.
Anna is every bit as contradictory as you'd expect by someone on the "wrong" side of the law. I'm not sure where her idealism ends and her thirst for revenge begins, and neither does she, to be honest. Her every relationship is complicated. You can't be sure if you're reading the romantic undertones right because they're everywhere. Girl, so confusing.
I think the book suffers a bit from a tell-don't-show effect at times. I listened to the audiobook and I got so confused many times because of scenes changes in the middle of the action. I want to see what is happening while it's happening, please do not give me a rundown of the facts like I'm reading a diary. It got better as we got to the climax, thank God.
Overall, I think this book explores its themes in interesting ways, with enough nuance to not fall into predictability. I will absolutely read the sequel.
(Also if you liked this, I think you'd like Vicious by V.E. Schwab!!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror