lermonysnickers's reviews
271 reviews

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.0

I rated the book itself higher but it is absolutely criminal to have this many songs in a book and the narrator just reads through them. Like c'mon now. Why aren't we singing.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

I understand that the entire point of this book is that Snow is a bad person, but doing that with incredibly slow pacing for over 500 pages is asking a lot from me. If this book was even just 100 pages shorter, it probably would've been a 5 star read. That being said, I'm always down to revisit the world of the Hunger Games and I respect the place this book holds within that.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-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

4.0

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-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

4.0

Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.5

I love this series but oof you can feel the middle book syndrome in this one. I still love it and all the characters, but the pacing is a bit slower and the POVs are less spread out than they were in the previous book. Like the first 10 chapters are just Jax and Tycho and then they aren't in the same place again until the very end, which was a little disappointing since the premise of this book implied that they would getting more time together, not less. I think the best word to describe how this book felt to me is anticlimactic. We know the stakes have risen because that's what we're told, but it doesn't FEEL like they've risen compared to the first book. And maybe I wouldn't be feeling these things if I had read the book in one week instead of three (I've been sick and not reading as much). All that said, I like how this book is setting up for the last one, so hopefully everything it's done pays off in the end.

Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.5

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

5.0

I actually don't like this book, but I understand that that was the point. It's supposed to be bleak and uncomfortable and gut you to realize that all the characters you love have become different people. And I hate the ending. It was the right ending for the story and the only conclusion that could be genuine but it still sucks that this is the best it can get for these characters after what they have been through. Mockingjay does not hold back on the real effects of war and oppression and how that trauma destroys people. If you're not up for that, then this book won't be for you.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

5.0