ladybugwrites's reviews
277 reviews

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Is this book riddled with cliches that you come across in most YA fantasy books? Yes. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily.

I think, because it's been almost 10 years since I originally saw this book in the bookstore (didn't buy it) and thought, I'd like to read that, I went into this book with the mindset that I would be disappointed. Part of me was certain that, I'd love this at 16 and my tastes have evovled and this wouldn't be that good. I was pleseantly surprised that I actually quite enjoyed the book. Yes, it'd has a lot of cliches and a lot of tropes and not all of them are super good or really all that orignal, but part of me didn't care. It was relatively well-written, it has a lot of good moments and I think the plot is interesting. 

I don't know if I'll pick up the next book, if I care enough to actually read on because by the end, I wasn't that interested anymore. The first half of the book is definitely better than the second half and I wish it wasn't like that. Pretty sure, if I do pick up the next book, it's gonna be audio, but I doubt I will honestly.

It was certainly a book that was better than expected and I enjoyed reading it, but I still think I have matured from that place of YA fantasy where half the plot relies on romantic interests that I don't really care about. I thought this would be different at first, but it really wasn't. I am happy I gave it a try.

Scattered All Over the Earth by Yōko Tawada

adventurous funny informative inspiring 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? Yes

3.75

This is a book about languages, about lack of borders, about connection between people who don't speak the same language. It's beautifully written with a relatively unimportant plot - the plot isn't the important part, it's the backdrop of a what this book encapsulates, which is a love of languages and a love of people.

I really liked the first part and I like the ending, but I thought the book dragged a little. Some of the chapters contained the entire backstory of a character, and it got boring when the real art that appears in this book is the one created between the characters. 

Now, I will have one gripe with this book that really annoyed me. It won't spoil it, because I don't think it's important to the plot and therefore the reason it annoyed me so much. Whilst it never says that the terror attack in Norway is the one that happened the 22 July 2011, the description of it is a clear reference to it and the use of the name Breivik on a character right after felt, it felt mean almost. By how it was glossed over, it felt like it was making fun of the seriousness of it. It's barely there, it didn't need to be in the book, or - since the book makes the impression it's in some kind of future - it could've been a completely different one. It was completely unnecessary and it left a really bad taste in my mouth, especially when the rest of this book was good and I really liked it. This might be because I'm Norwegain, I don't know. But it felt like it was in bad taste and that annoyed me.  

Making Money by Terry Pratchett

adventurous funny inspiring medium-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

4.5

Honestly, this is just a really good time.

How to Survive Your Childhood Now That You're an Adult: A Path to Authenticity and Awakening by Ira Israel

1.0

This is one of the most annoying books I've ever read and finishing it was only powered by spite. The guy opens up fairly okay and the premise has potential, but then he starts talking about diagnoses and a bunch of stuff he should know but clearly doesn't. He has a few points every now and again that I didn't entirely disagree with, but his pretensiousness and outright dismissal of people's problems make him a really sucky psychotherapist (which is what he says his job is) and I think he should consider changing professions before he ruins someone's life.

That might be harsh, but this book is, in an of itself, an offense. 

Unge Werthers lidelser by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

4.0

Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin

slow-paced

3.5

This book is very well written in a kind of diary format that works very well for the story it's telling. It's dark, it's intense, it's sad, it's relatable. This is a story about identity, coming to terms with your own and freeing yourself from the confines of societal labels. And yet, it's a little too much for my taste. Not everything is that interesting to read, a lot of it is unnecessarily repetitive.

However, considering the way this is written, considering how it's written, it seems slightly biographical of the author. There's also the crocodile metaphor that I found really interesting and wishes there was more of. Absolutely not a bad read in any way and I will want to check out more because the writing style was really nice, but not as good as I hoped it to be. 

The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto

emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.5

This was an interesting read that I think I would've liked a lot more if not for one specific thing. I just don't care for it, found it unnecessary, but I liked it. That one thing is just such a big part of the book and gives me enough ick to take of a few stars, but if you look past that, it's a very nice story of self-exploration and being true to yourself. 

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

4.25

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

mysterious reflective medium-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

Da vi var yngre by Oliver Lovrenski

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I feel mean for giving this book three stars, which is not really something I usually feel. However, this book feels like it's telling a specific story of what it's like to grow up in an environment that never actually wants you to succeed and I think it's an importan insight into it, and yet I just didn't really engage that well with it. It's definitely interesting and I think it really hit on something during that last part (the sadness really came through), but I just didn't like it that much. 

This doesn't mean I don't think it should be read. It's probably important to a degree, but it was just meh to me. It's a book and it was okay and there's not really more to it. And honestly, I didn't really care for the misogyny even though I know it's a part of the environment that is the whole point of the book (I just don't need to read about it)