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kalira's reviews
380 reviews
Green by Laura Peyton Roberts
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Fast-paced and catchy, I was snagged into Lily's world quite quickly - if some of the early bits, still in the human world, a bit . . . well, she is only thirteen. Sometimes it shows . . . and occasionally her focus seems a little wonky even for a teenager.
The adventures and how she both panics and struggles to think her way out of things when she's in a tight spot were delightful and made me feel right along with her, rooting for a way out and excited when she figured things out! I was taken by surprise by a twist or two along the way, disappointed (in a character I liked, not the writing or the story) by one, and definitely left wishing there was more of Lilybet Green to read about, or even other Keepers and such.
The adventures and how she both panics and struggles to think her way out of things when she's in a tight spot were delightful and made me feel right along with her, rooting for a way out and excited when she figured things out! I was taken by surprise by a twist or two along the way, disappointed (in a character I liked, not the writing or the story) by one, and definitely left wishing there was more of Lilybet Green to read about, or even other Keepers and such.
Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
4.0
What a fascinating and well-structured look at a very specific historical period in England . . . and a rather horrifying illumination or reminder of some things that were simply accepted as the norm at the time. (The repeated assertions that misery, violence, and abuse are not enough to justify a divorce, for example, and explicit statements that men and women should indeed suffer on through such in a marriage.)
Indeed, as the coda poses and as Isabella herself did in one diary entry, one pities her, even if she was the author of some of her own ill fortune - equally perhaps she was a victim of the society in which she lived, and outsize consequences following choices she made, and nearly everyone she knew turning on her when it came to it.
It is somewhat of a shame that Isabella's original journal and indeed the copies made for legal reasons have been destroyed; not that it would offer any more clarity to what truly happened but one is left curious what it was like in its entirety. (Though there are many excerpts in this book, gathered from papers of the time, around the divorce proceedings.)
The author has quite a knack for representing well and both admitting when there are impossible-to-fill gaps and at times theorising for them. I'm left quite curious and will have to look up some of her other works in similar vein.
Indeed, as the coda poses and as Isabella herself did in one diary entry, one pities her, even if she was the author of some of her own ill fortune - equally perhaps she was a victim of the society in which she lived, and outsize consequences following choices she made, and nearly everyone she knew turning on her when it came to it.
It is somewhat of a shame that Isabella's original journal and indeed the copies made for legal reasons have been destroyed; not that it would offer any more clarity to what truly happened but one is left curious what it was like in its entirety. (Though there are many excerpts in this book, gathered from papers of the time, around the divorce proceedings.)
The author has quite a knack for representing well and both admitting when there are impossible-to-fill gaps and at times theorising for them. I'm left quite curious and will have to look up some of her other works in similar vein.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence
Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
4.0
The Dracula Tape by Fred Saberhagen
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy by Tia Levings
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
4.5
Tia writes her story (and shades of so many others' stories, both in their likeness to hers and in the way she touches on the lives of others in her own) with beautiful and shocking clarity. She clearly illuminates so many reasons why - and ways how - people are pulled into these horrific places (traps, prisons, if not ones that can be so outwardly escaped) and even why they stay - whether or not they supposedly would have freedom or ability to leave.
While she never shies away from the choices she made, nor does she soften what others did that affected her, and the choices she made or options that were removed from her.
I appreciated that her story continued solidly after the theoretical 'breaking point' and her escape, but through her recovery (and finding a type of therapy that didn't work, and later one that did), as well as the wavering path along it. Her search for others who came from the same tight, pressured place she did - those who escaped, those who were still there, and no way to know whether it was happily or not.
While she never shies away from the choices she made, nor does she soften what others did that affected her, and the choices she made or options that were removed from her.
I appreciated that her story continued solidly after the theoretical 'breaking point' and her escape, but through her recovery (and finding a type of therapy that didn't work, and later one that did), as well as the wavering path along it. Her search for others who came from the same tight, pressured place she did - those who escaped, those who were still there, and no way to know whether it was happily or not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Stalking, Pregnancy
The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
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
Discovering the Folklore of Birds and Beasts by Venetia Newall
1.0
Firstly: no fault of the book itself but I see it described as folklore worldwide (and had some dubious reactions, because it's quite a small book for such a broad topic), and it is definitely in Britain, specifically. (Some mentions of related things in Europe - mostly Scandinavian, Norse, or 'northern' by which she means 'Norse', which are mostly wrong - a few mentioning other places - Asia, Africa, the Americas. She closes with Zebra, which she points out certainly has no British folklore associated, but it's the perfect one to end on, so she quotes an African piece of folklore. Supposedly. It's the only one in the entire book that is not relating to something from the British Isles.)
Secondly: it is mainly not so much folklore as it is superstitions - many things including beliefs and actions, such as historical medical practises and the like. There are very, very few actual folklore stories or beliefs.
Relatedly: there is a lot of animal death. Tons of it. As I would expect from a book focusing on historical medical practises and similar, but a) I didn't know this was, and b) it's . . . a lot even for that.
There are also not a few items that I happen to know from other research are incorrectly reported here - whether that knowledge has been refined in the decades since this book was written or was demonstrably known to be incorrect even in the '70s I do not know. (There are also a number of superstitions repeated identically, say, across half a dozen different bird species - presumably because of variation across regions and time passing, but should then be treated as related or at least mentioned as such, not handled as though they are entirely separate.)
The author occasionally comments on a belief being "still current" - some of them I gave a side-eye but I certainly wouldn't know enough to dispute, fair enough. Some of them I feel fairly certain are not - for example, I doubt people in Britain in the '70s were, say, regularly dosing their children with the ashes of a songbird mixed with honey to cure a cough.
The section on the Cat is the longest in the book (the Wren and the Wolf are the runners-up) and save for one (incorrect) bit at the beginning referring to Egypt, almost the entire several pages are a litany of horrible ways to kill cats and use their corpses. It is unrelentingly negative and it is the only animal in the book that has more than a brief entry that is so. Even the wolf is not so bad and has several positive things mentioned, but not so much with the cat. I know there are positive superstitions from the British Isles relating to cats, but either the author did not or she simply dislikes them.
Secondly: it is mainly not so much folklore as it is superstitions - many things including beliefs and actions, such as historical medical practises and the like. There are very, very few actual folklore stories or beliefs.
Relatedly: there is a lot of animal death. Tons of it. As I would expect from a book focusing on historical medical practises and similar, but a) I didn't know this was, and b) it's . . . a lot even for that.
There are also not a few items that I happen to know from other research are incorrectly reported here - whether that knowledge has been refined in the decades since this book was written or was demonstrably known to be incorrect even in the '70s I do not know. (There are also a number of superstitions repeated identically, say, across half a dozen different bird species - presumably because of variation across regions and time passing, but should then be treated as related or at least mentioned as such, not handled as though they are entirely separate.)
The author occasionally comments on a belief being "still current" - some of them I gave a side-eye but I certainly wouldn't know enough to dispute, fair enough. Some of them I feel fairly certain are not - for example, I doubt people in Britain in the '70s were, say, regularly dosing their children with the ashes of a songbird mixed with honey to cure a cough.
The section on the Cat is the longest in the book (the Wren and the Wolf are the runners-up) and save for one (incorrect) bit at the beginning referring to Egypt, almost the entire several pages are a litany of horrible ways to kill cats and use their corpses. It is unrelentingly negative and it is the only animal in the book that has more than a brief entry that is so. Even the wolf is not so bad and has several positive things mentioned, but not so much with the cat. I know there are positive superstitions from the British Isles relating to cats, but either the author did not or she simply dislikes them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death