librarymouse's reviews
281 reviews

The Gulf: A Novel by Rachel Cochran

dark 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

5.0

This was a really engaging read, but after reading the majority of the book in a single day, most of my thoughts on it summarize down into "what the fuck?"
It's honestly a really good read, looking at the interconnectedness of families in small towns and the insidious nature of cults and religions that prey on the vulnerable in order to grow their flock. Lou is an empathetic, if unreliable narrator - though she's also unreliable to herself, not hiding the truth on purpose. There's such interesting growth and change for all the characters.
Also, surprisingly, very queer.

the blood transfusion thing made me hate Kate. She may have been seeking redemption, but she, with the help of Peg, killed her daughter.
Joanna, becoming more sympathetic as a character throughout the novel, was such an interesting arc, even after the infidelity. The fact that they can remain friends is narratively interesting

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Blood

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Slavery and Gun violence

The Wall by John Lanchester

reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

The voice of the narrator, the militarism, and the pacing of the novel really reminded me of All Quiet on the Western Front. It's slow paced, but also a quick and enjoyable read, spending quite a lot of time in the narrator's head. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Medical content and Slavery

Slavery tagged because of "the help," as a subaltern class that is essentially enslaved.

Who Killed These Girls?: The Twenty-Five-Year History of Austin's Yogurt Shop Murders by Beverly Lowry
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.

The short amount of time spent humanizing the girls, as opposed to the long amount of time spent on exploring the investigator's methods and the history of violence in police work in the first 45% didn't sit right with me. It's also very slow and spends far too much time giving details of individual interviews and interrogations.

The Halloween Moon by Joseph Fink

funny 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 really enjoyed reading this. It reminded me of a combination of the Scary Godmother movies and The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, with some added flair of a heist novel. There's a quirk to middle grade that goes away in YA and adult fiction, where there are fun and interesting work arounds to avoid killing off characters. I liked having a reprieve from character death. This book also does a good job addressing bullying and anger issues without becoming a PSA. Esther is a fun character, and I was very much like her as a Halloween-obsessed youth (minus the scary movies. I do not like visual gore). Fink weaves a really fun and pleasantly spooky narrative about growing up and learning to face your fears, and I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a middle grade fantasy novel for a middle grader or otherwise! My only critique is that thirteen is most definitely not too old to be trick or treating.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, and Bullying

Minor: Antisemitism

If you deal with existential anxiety in any way, heads up about that.

Patient Zero: A Curious History of the World's Worst Diseases by Nate Pedersen, Lydia Kang

challenging informative fast-paced

4.0

This was an enjoyable read for the most part, though it was probably not the best life choice, in terms of the constantly thrumming anxiety in the back of my mind, to continue reading this after being exposed to covid. I couldn't always make sense of the way chapters transitioned into each other and the book did end somewhat abruptly. But I did learn things!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Child death, Drug use, Chronic illness, Excrement, Genocide, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Sexism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Death, Misogyny, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Self harm

Moderate: Classism, Confinement, Blood, Cancer, and Animal death

Down the Hill: My Descent Into the Double Murder in Delphi by Susan Hendricks

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

Susan Hendricks uses this book to showcase the lives of Abby, Libby, and their families, and lets their vibrance outshine the normally sensationalized detail on their deaths and the identity of the murderer. While this book works to showcase who the girls were, Hendricks also works to explore the downsides of social media and online sleuthing in murder cases like this one. Overall, a really thoughtful read.
It did feel odd for me, initially, that this book was published before the trial of the accused, however, after reaching the point at which Becky realized that there really is no closure in the possibility of knowing, this choice makes sense.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer and Blood

Minor: Pedophilia and Confinement

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean

funny informative medium-paced

4.0

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The author is genuinely funny in his delivery of the material, making jokes and grounding theoretical subjects in tangible metaphors/analogies/examples. At a certain point, near the 3/4 mark of the book, the physics and chemistry started to go over my head, and kept at that level. The history aspect was consistently engaging and accessible to someone who hasn't had formal instruction in physics or chemistry for the better part of a decade The author consistently ties the biographical information and historical events back into the science science, referencing back to the individuals mentioned in earlier chapters as they came up again and again. Overall, a really engaging read. I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 because I had to restart the book after my first attempt at the introduction and first chapter. That very well may have just been a me problem, and not the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Sexism, War, Torture, Car accident, Death, Genocide, Cancer, Violence, and Body horror

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

adventurous dark funny 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

4.5

I read this book for the first time when it came out in 2013. Over a decade later, I am so happy that this book has held up against the memory I had of reading it for the first time. It does hit some of the pitfalls of other vampire fiction, like a man who looks young but is nearly a century old falling in love with a seventeen year old girl. However, Holly Black's exploration of the characters and the reasoning behind the formation of their mutual interest being rooted in something other than just physical attraction, made it far less icky than it could have been. With the impulsivity of the young vampires and the impulsivity and hedonism of the vampires who were turned at a young age, it makes me wonder if there is a halting of mental and emotional development at the age at which they were turned in this iteration of vampire lore. This book is absolutely blood-soaked, with descriptive explanations of viscera and torture, but it is also incredibly funny, and oddly very human.

I really thought Aiden was going to kill Pearl after his shenanigans and coercion after being turned. It was a nice twist to see that even as they've become morally gray, they're still the same characters - the existential question underlying the entire book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Body horror, Murder, Violence, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Death, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Drug use and Infidelity

Minor: Dysphoria and Excrement

It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

I stopped reading on page 127 for over a month, for no discernable reason. However, I really did enjoy this book. I like reading things that make the author/artist feel real and tangible on the other side of the book. Somehow, that's still rare when reading memoirs. The illustrations are fantastic and Thorogood has a strong voice. I also really enjoyed the meta bits.

This book has one of the most eye catching and memorable opening lines I've read recently.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Blood

Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy

dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

There were some parts of this book I really liked and others I really didn't. The 39 year age gap between Lauren and her love interest who she first recognizes through associating him with her father is one of the major dislikes. I like both characters, but the situation is uncomfortable, especially when he is made out as a sympathetic, likable character. I'd had this book and the novel it was adapted from on my to read list for a while, and I'm glad I got around to reading this for school. It's really neat to see the roots of the literary solarpunk movement as it's rooted in afro futurism and the questioning of the continuing hegemony of colonial structures that are still being offered as solutions to the climate crisis today. It is weird to be reading this in 2024, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Classism, Incest, Slavery, Sexual content, Colonisation, Vomit, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Rape, Murder, Racism, Violence, Grief, Misogyny, Addiction, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Ableism, Animal death, Gore, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Dysphoria