kathleenwho's reviews
44 reviews

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party by Daniel James Brown

dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

For a historical non-fiction book (I usually find these quite dry and difficult to finish), this is really beautifully and skillfully written despite the horrible subject matter, and compassionate about the people involved and history in general. Way too many people involved to follow easily (not the author's fault) - keep a note of who's who! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Racism, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

challenging emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Vomit

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail

Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Eating disorder, Rape

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Meantime by Frankie Boyle

adventurous dark funny hopeful fast-paced

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

4.5

Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World's Most Famous Detective Writer by Margalit Fox

informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

Hex by Jenni Fagan

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

3.75

The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges

challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0