kelseyland's reviews
615 reviews

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

dark funny fast-paced

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

5.0

A surreal and yet disconcertingly accurate parable about being a cog in a corporate machine. Like all the best satire, the exaggeration only adds to the feeling of veracity. 

Want by Lynn Steger Strong

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

Fantastic book about the ways in which life can slowly drift off course from the expectations we set for ourselves

Girlhood by Melissa Febos

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Addiction

Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I don't think there's anyone who writes as well about being a person who thinks too much about their own emotions as Brandon Taylor. Every single one of these stories is a gem 

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

challenging dark funny reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

I mean no one writes about the experience of being a Very Online Millennial like Patricia Lockwood. This book in particular is stunning in how it handles the collision of real-life tragedy with a worldview that has no framework for any emotional stance other than detached irony.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Child death

For Small Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World by Sasha Sagan

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer

emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

So funny and heartfelt and poetic, I love this book

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian

adventurous funny lighthearted 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

4.5

It’s gay and it slaps!

n.b. this is the first book of a series, so plot-wise there are a few loose ends that don’t get tied up neatly. But if you know that going in, the intrigue elements are as satisfying as the relationship ones IMO. 

What Doesn't Kill You: A Life with Chronic Illness - Lessons from a Body in Revolt by Tessa Miller

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

A good guide for newly chronically ill/disabled people and/or their loved ones, since it's mainly focused on practical, day-to-day information along with stories of the author's experience with Crohn's disease. 

Content note, per the author: Hospitalization, sexual assault, physical and emotional abuse, details of bowel disease 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness

Moderate: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse