lizetteratura's reviews
64 reviews

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Babel by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.25

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.75

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.25

Middlemarch by George Eliot

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

dorothea (and will) you are so dear to me

This Is How You Remember It by Catherine Prasifka

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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? Yes

3.5

This Is How You Remember is a brilliant try at a novel about growing up online and navigating public as well as private spaces while growing up as the first generation to have the ability to do so. This coming-of-age story is told in the second-person pov, from when a girl's family purchases a computer when she is nine years old, and she (also as the reader) rapidly realises how wonderful it is to be able to find anything on it, from exploring virtual pet sites to entering chat rooms and conversing with people who become friends. Quickly, as the use of the internet and social media becomes more frequent, the attempts to fit in the offline world get confused with the ones online, especially as the lines get blurred. 
As someone who grew up throughout the rapid growth of the internet, this book spoke to me deeply, especially because of the close 2nd-person pov and the shocking but real events described in the book.
So far, so good, but here is where it fell flat for me. In the execusion. 
The writing is very simple and straight-forward, but the rapid timelines can make a person confused about where they are in the story.
What also fell short for me was that the takeaway appeared to be a little shallow in comparison to what could've been a vast exploration of online space, boiled down to more or less 'put down the phone and live in the moment' as a moral. It was pleasing to see the protagonist mature, gain confidence, and move away from the addiction of social media, as one might anticipate from a coming-of-age story, but it lacked the necessary weight and clarity for me because of how fast-paced the story line was. I wish there was more dedication to the development of both the story and characters, but seeing as everything is fast on the internet, I will blame it on being a calculated move. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Canongate for the ARC!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, and Alcohol

Minor: Grief and Fatphobia

The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

3.0

Don't Look Now and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.5

1. The breakthrough
2. A borderline case 
3. Don't look now 
4. Not after midnight 
5. The way of the cross

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content

What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England by Daniel Pool

informative medium-paced

5.0