lolajoan's reviews
929 reviews

Clear by Carys Davies

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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? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A lovely, gentle story about the Highland Clearances. I love it when a novel teaches vocabulary from an obscure language. 
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

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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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Beautiful, dark, intelligent. Reflects on ideas of personhood, individuality, control and personal development. 
All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman

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

4.5

Absolutely charming, full of useless superpowers and quirkiness.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A very lovely take on The Velveteen Rabbit. I didn't expect to cry so hard. Beautiful. 
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

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

5.0

A beautiful beautiful beautiful short story for Christmas. 
Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

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challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A tiny bit preachy at times, but on the whole a fun and moving book about important stuff. There are a lot of characters, but for the most part they maintain unique voices. 
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have never been so scared by a book before. I was in my living room, under the Christmas tree, all the lights on, the family hanging out nearby, and was terrified and had to stop reading. It's an amazing feat but I can't say I enjoyed it, lol! This book is brilliant, with LOST-level deep diving available for the devoted, and a tense gripping story even if you're just reading on the surface. Amazing.
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

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adventurous funny informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A fun, charming and clever kids book that is enjoyable for all ages. Definitely recommended. 
Wendy, Darling by A.C. Wise

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adventurous dark reflective tense slow-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

An interesting take on the Neverland mythos. I like the direction she went in and the characters are believable and unflinching. It's a little sluggish since there are at points for simultaneous story lines in three different time periods with two main POV characters, but it all comes together in the end.
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A pretty straight ahead continuation of the first book. A lot of the character growth happened in the first one so this one is more about plot and resolution. It has the same problem as the first one of the author using words that sound fancy and old-fashioned but aren't really the word she should be using. But on the whole it's extremely enjoyable and a lovely read.