kaileehaong's reviews
397 reviews

Wild and Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

Great novel reexamining the tale Moby Dick in a female-centered lens. Interview with the author forthcoming. 

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Conceptually interesting—time travel and the consequences of it. I felt the ending wrapped up a little too neatly and in an unsatisfying way (think: a story ending like: “and then he woke up and everything had been a dream!”). But there were certainly interesting concepts and suspense here. Despite my dislike for the ending, I can say I didn’t necessarily see it coming, which was appreciated. 

Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

3.75

I’ll read pretty much anything Akwaeke writes. I’m very glad to have read PET prior to this, as the little context we get about Bitter from that novel helped create a richer, stronger character in this one. The ending tied up extremely nicely/neatly, which is always a little too convenient for me, but there certainly were twists at the end that were unanticipated which made for a nice, hooking surprise.

What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It’s not often that I get to read a book that feels happy, light, and a breath of fresh air without it feeling too cheesy or stereotypically genre-y. This book was exactly that! Each chapter follows a different character, each touched by the magic of their community library and more specifically, by the astute observations and listening skills of their keen librarian (who unintentionally hells characters get out of a rut, turn their life around, make positive change, etc). A very light-hearted and pleasant read.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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? No

3.0

Notes: I stopped up and picked this back up multiple times over the course of a few months and it probably would have been better read in one “session.” I don’t read YA much, but this was a decent novel. Likable characters that you can easily empathize with paired with some gorgeous descriptions of place (the place being San Francisco). 

My qualms were mostly with the switching in and out of storylines. I wasn’t interested in the parents/aunt chapters and felt it detracted from Lily & Kath’s story, which begged to be the center of attention. 

People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami

adventurous fast-paced

3.0

Review forthcoming! 

Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

dark medium-paced

3.75

Very interesting story collection—futuristic, elements of magical realism. My favorite story of the lot was one that resembled “Klara and the Sun,” if it became extremely dark and meshed itself with something of the likes of a Black Mirror episode. 

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

4.0

Boy Parts by Eliza Clark

dark fast-paced

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

2.0

Brash and shocking to the point of being extremely distasteful. Never before have I read a protag who is so wholly unlikeable that not a singular thing about them could be latched onto in order to make it a pleasurable read. Grotesque with an unsatisfying finale. I read Penance first by this author and enjoyed that book quite a lot; cannot say the same for this one.

Penance by Eliza Clark

dark informative mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

This was one of those “cultural reset” type novels. I loved the way Eliza Clark played with form, by integrating text messages, blog posts, podcast transcripts, narration, etc. into the novel. It made it fun and playful (while the tale being told at hand is anything but fun & playful). She does an excellent job of making you sympathize with really bad people, and that’s always a sign to me that an author is a good writer.