kaileehaong's reviews
423 reviews

Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief by Victoria Chang

5.0

Stone Fruit by Lee Lai

emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Easily one of the greatest graphic novels I've read. This one was heartbreaking, I devoured it in nearly one sitting. Content coverage: queerness, strained familial relationships, the innocence of youth (and perhaps how this innocence can be healing), learning to overcome grief... There are a million things I could say about this, but instead I'll just say: read it.

salt slow by Julia Armfield

fast-paced

4.0

I really enjoyed this story collection. Magical realism is strewn throughout, but lightly, so that even those who might not like magical realism would still be able to greatly enjoy this collection. The ideas and concepts in each of the stories are fresh & invigorating in a way that feels both exciting and horrifying. It was a quick read, although as with most story collections I had favorites and others I didn't like as much. For me, favorite stories here: "The Great Awake," "Formerly Feral," and "Cassandra After."

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

This is an essay collection I've been dying to get my hands on, and I'm so glad I did. I learned so much queer history, and history/memory surrounding the AIDS crisis and movements in solidarity out of San Francisco through Alexander Chee, it felt like a book that every queer person should read at some point. On top of that, it was relevant all the way through for me personally, as a queer, Asian writer trying to navigate this largely white, cis, straight world of literature. Excellent essay collection.

Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

This is a very cool memoir and unlike anything I’ve read. Emezi writes each “chapter” as a letter to someone in their life, and through each letter bits and pieces of Emezi’s life an experiences unfold. 

Recitatif by Toni Morrison

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

4.0

Toni Morrison is obviously a literary genius, but this shirt story was such an inquisitive read from start to finish, the most fascinating element being that Morrison never names which character is which race. I really enjoyed Zadie Smith’s introduction, which felt like a critical essay examining this choice of Morrison’s, and it certainly aided in my reading of the story.

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I really liked the writing style of this novel. There’s so much repetition uttered throughout but in a way that makes you appreciate and reflect upon the things that are being repeated. While there are a few cliches, they weren’t enough to bother me or keep me from reading. The novel follows Gilda, a gay woman who finds herself working at a Catholic Church, lying to all of the people she loves, and battling her own anxiety and depression. It felt very honest and also heartbreaking. The ending did feel a little bit rushed and neatly packaged in a bow (where everything seems to resolve itself), but again, didn’t bother me enough to ruin the whole book.

Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This memoir was an absolute knock out. It was a little slow to get into at first, and the second person, “letter to my mother” style of writing made it difficult at first, but once I hit a stride I could not put it down. This book is painful and raw and heartbreaking, yet so beautifully and honestly written. It’s incredibly moving, and I would recommend it to just about anybody. 

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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

3.75

A really cool YA speculative fiction novel. I love everything Akwaeke Emezi writes, so I was excited to dive into this one. As always, the descriptions are vivid and alive, having you feel as though you're standing right there, in the room with Pet, ready to hunt "monsters." The book operates on a slow-reveal type of premise, where you slowly uncover what and who the monsters of Lucille truly are. Emezi writes of family dynamic, with both Jam and Redemption's families, and also of the friendship between Jam and Redemption, the trust (and the challenges) that come along with being a teenager in this world. 

Em by Kim Thúy

emotional informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

One of the most exciting things about this book is definitely the form that Thúy is playing with here. The chapters are quick, 1-3 pagers that give you a tiny insight into a character, a “thing,” a historical event, a food, a relationships between characters, etc. These characters get revisited at different points in their lives and at different points during the war in Vietnam. It’s very interesting and I learned a lot, like you might from reading a nonfiction book or memoir, but it also has those classic fiction/nov-elesque elements of storytelling. Really cool, unique book.