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ladybugwrites's reviews
279 reviews
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
It's hard to put this book into words.
It's about a lot of heavy and important themes. It's about the nuances of something that's more often than not seen in black and white. It's about growing up, being a teenager. It's about being a girl in a western society.
This book is about how we often don't see the things that are happening to ourselves even if we recognize it with others, and it's about knowing what happened and not being ready to call it by its real name.
My Dark Vanessa is an important book. Mainly because it makes you discuss the themes with others, themes we should talk about to be able to make society better. It's definitely an interesting story, and whilst I don't particularly like Vanessa all that much, her story is important and I wanted to listen to it.
This is a well-written book, with a good narrator that I give all the credit to have managed to separate the voice of Vanessa between the two parallell stories - she sounds like a teenagre during the teenage years, and more grown up when she's supposed to be - and it makes it feel realistic, like listening to a person telling the story. And even better, a lot of the things happening are realistically written. It's something that can happen, that does happen, and it's not over the top or too little, but shows the reality of a situation like this with a lot of nuance.
I do think the book was maybe a little too long. Whilst I understand the choice of having a lot of things in it, some things fell flat and it dragged out the story more than necessary. Some parts of the plot were so-so to me, and I think it got a little too much with all the literary references at some points. I get it, it just felt like too much.
But I did like the ending. It didn't feel like an ending as much as peace, and that felt a lot more realistic than it could've ended.
It's about a lot of heavy and important themes. It's about the nuances of something that's more often than not seen in black and white. It's about growing up, being a teenager. It's about being a girl in a western society.
This book is about how we often don't see the things that are happening to ourselves even if we recognize it with others, and it's about knowing what happened and not being ready to call it by its real name.
My Dark Vanessa is an important book. Mainly because it makes you discuss the themes with others, themes we should talk about to be able to make society better. It's definitely an interesting story, and whilst I don't particularly like Vanessa all that much, her story is important and I wanted to listen to it.
This is a well-written book, with a good narrator that I give all the credit to have managed to separate the voice of Vanessa between the two parallell stories - she sounds like a teenagre during the teenage years, and more grown up when she's supposed to be - and it makes it feel realistic, like listening to a person telling the story. And even better, a lot of the things happening are realistically written. It's something that can happen, that does happen, and it's not over the top or too little, but shows the reality of a situation like this with a lot of nuance.
I do think the book was maybe a little too long. Whilst I understand the choice of having a lot of things in it, some things fell flat and it dragged out the story more than necessary. Some parts of the plot were so-so to me, and I think it got a little too much with all the literary references at some points. I get it, it just felt like too much.
But I did like the ending. It didn't feel like an ending as much as peace, and that felt a lot more realistic than it could've ended.
Penance by Eliza Clark
This perfectly encapsualted how we view true crime. We may not be the hand that killed, but the way we view true crime as entertainment, is us "jacking off to the memory of their pain and suffering."
On top of that, I want to highlight another thing I think this book is about that lies maybe more between the lines than as obvious as the critcism of true crime. This book goes into detail about four teenage girls, both victims and perpetrators in their own ways, and I think that's a smaller but important part to take away from this. The moment someone is a little different from us, a little weirder in a way that stands out, we pick on it, we judge it the same way we're judge for our own weirdness. This book also offers commentary on how soceity treats and deems those different and how we're all victims of it at the same time as we perpetuate it. I really like this commentary and how it's done.
Now, I didn't give this five stars despite what I think is a pretty good review and I can't really explain why that is. I have a rating system that works weirdly in my head and on my excel sheet, and a combination of a few annoyances here and there and everything added together, and the fact that, whilst this is a great book with a lot of important things to note (many of which I have not commented on here), this isn't the vibe of a five star book for me. It has it's flaws and in some ways wears them proudly.
I do know, though, that I will be picking up Boy Parts soon.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
When I started this book, it was really interesting to me. The way it's written reads so nicely in a unique and fascinating way, almost hiding the fact that this is pure fiction. Everything feels so real, down to the tiniest detail, and I think that's one of the reasons this book is a good as it is.
Now, unfortunately, I ended up going into somewhat of a reading slump where I didn't pick this back up for something close to a month, which was stupid because I don't remember everything very well from the first half of it, but I know I liked it, enjoyed it.
For the second half, I finished it all in about a day. (It is currently 3am as I write this review bc I just had to finish the book, and reviews are easiest just right after, because I have thoughts and I just, need to write them out).
This book has a clear purpose that I think is most obvious at the end of it, completely at the end after the book within the book is over. This is the picture perfect moment where we see exactly what Clark is criticizing. And I think it's very well done. At this point, the way true crime is presented to us, comes out clearly as a somewhat disregard for the people involved, and often more about monetary gain and fame than anything else. I think it's very well done, and even more shown in a murder referenced in the book (I am not highlighting this as a spoiler because I don't deem it to be one):
Now, unfortunately, I ended up going into somewhat of a reading slump where I didn't pick this back up for something close to a month, which was stupid because I don't remember everything very well from the first half of it, but I know I liked it, enjoyed it.
For the second half, I finished it all in about a day. (It is currently 3am as I write this review bc I just had to finish the book, and reviews are easiest just right after, because I have thoughts and I just, need to write them out).
This book has a clear purpose that I think is most obvious at the end of it, completely at the end after the book within the book is over. This is the picture perfect moment where we see exactly what Clark is criticizing. And I think it's very well done. At this point, the way true crime is presented to us, comes out clearly as a somewhat disregard for the people involved, and often more about monetary gain and fame than anything else. I think it's very well done, and even more shown in a murder referenced in the book (I am not highlighting this as a spoiler because I don't deem it to be one):
"The hand that killed your children jacks me off to the memory of their pain and suffering"
This perfectly encapsualted how we view true crime. We may not be the hand that killed, but the way we view true crime as entertainment, is us "jacking off to the memory of their pain and suffering."
On top of that, I want to highlight another thing I think this book is about that lies maybe more between the lines than as obvious as the critcism of true crime. This book goes into detail about four teenage girls, both victims and perpetrators in their own ways, and I think that's a smaller but important part to take away from this. The moment someone is a little different from us, a little weirder in a way that stands out, we pick on it, we judge it the same way we're judge for our own weirdness. This book also offers commentary on how soceity treats and deems those different and how we're all victims of it at the same time as we perpetuate it. I really like this commentary and how it's done.
Now, I didn't give this five stars despite what I think is a pretty good review and I can't really explain why that is. I have a rating system that works weirdly in my head and on my excel sheet, and a combination of a few annoyances here and there and everything added together, and the fact that, whilst this is a great book with a lot of important things to note (many of which I have not commented on here), this isn't the vibe of a five star book for me. It has it's flaws and in some ways wears them proudly.
I do know, though, that I will be picking up Boy Parts soon.
Vår ære og vår makt by Nordahl Grieg
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Valgslektskapene by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25