luckyonesoph's reviews
278 reviews

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo

emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

oh! well. ok then.

edit: ok i took some deep breaths and thought about it some more, and lowered my rating a little bit. i do think parts of this make for a fantastic memoir, but there are several damaging and outdated statements in here (primarily about certain modalities, professionals, and medications) that absolutely should have been edited out, or at least cautioned against, that I just can't move past. i understand that its a memoir, and that the author herself may not be able to assess her own experiences and her own work objectively, but with a topic as important and as potentially life-saving/ruining as this, an editor should have. and while my opinion is also subjective of course, i feel pretty good about it because im seeing several other reviewers with personal experiences of C-PTSD (like me) also noticing these issues. there's more to say, but i think some of the other reviewers do it better than i could rn. 

sending big hugs to other c-ptsd survivors who picked up this book hoping to feel validated. take care of yourselves <3

Bunny by Mona Awad

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

i need to know what drugs mona awad was on when she wrote this so i know to stay away from them forever

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

adventurous dark hopeful fast-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? No

4.0

this was (surprisingly) such a good read? admittedly, my hopes were low, because i was not a fan of veronica roth's writing in the divergent series. but this was much sharper, much more politically aware, with more complex characters than that series ever had - impressive, given that its just a short novella. i read it in one sitting and i'm really looking forward to the follow-up! 

also,

niko baby you have my whole heart <3

I Think They Love You by Julian Winters
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.

Shaky plot, and tropes I don't gravitate towards. Paid like $4 for the audiobook while it was on sale, so I may re-visit this one day. 

The Black Unicorn by Audre Lorde

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

4.25

a wondrous collection - audre lorde is labelled a revolutionary for a reason. some of the poems did go over my head a little bit, but not in an offputting way; i just need to re-visit them sometime soon. i read this digitally and took so many screenshots of some really breathtaking lines that i'll probably think about for a long time. 

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson

emotional hopeful sad 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? No

5.0

a masterpiece. a love letter to love, community, music, art, family, language, dreams, memory. 

“We stand in silence, the air heavy with things we don't like to say to each other but can never forget: to forge these worlds for each other means to collectively dream of our freedom. In the wake of violence, acute or prolonged, we ask what we might need, how we might weather this time, how we might care for each other, how we might cultivate the space which encourages honesty, which encourages surrender. How we might build a small world, where we might feel beautiful, might feel free.”

Let the Games Begin: A Novel by Rufaro Faith Mazarura
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

Loved the premise, but the writing is just not for me. I could feel it pulling me into a slump and I don’t want to slog through this just to give it a low rating. 

Thirsty by Jas Hammonds

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.0

Devastating and raw and real - so, so real. Heed the trigger warnings in the author's note: this book is exactly what it says it is, and Jas Hammonds does not shy away from writing messy imperfect teenagers and uncomfortable, unwinnable situations. And yet, the characters are compelling, even when they are being irresponsible and annoying, and I found myself rooting for Blake to get the help she so desperately needed and deserved, for Nettie to finally stand up for themself, and for Ella to stop being ~ like that ~. This is a book I know a lot of teenagers - especially Black teenagers, especially lesbian teenagers - really need, and I'm glad it exists. I'm glad I read it. 

Jas Hammonds has turned into an auto-read author for me after reading both Thirsty and We Deserve Monuments, and I can't wait for her next project. 

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

emotional hopeful sad 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

3.5

Beautiful and compelling and electrifying - I couldn't put it down. I thought the jumps between pov + timeline would be confusing, especially because there was also the one-week structure, but the transitions were seamless and perfectly timed. Audre was such a light - probably my favourite character, even though I'd never trust her as my therapist - and she brought so much comic relief to an otherwise emotionally-difficult book. I also loved the chronic illness/disability representation. It felt real. 

I struggled a little bit with the pacing. The book is relatively short, and Eva

and Shane get (back) together so quickly, they're given very little time to develop their relationship on-page. We see so much of them struggling, fighting each other or their life circumstances, and I don't actually see them falling or being in love other than a few conversations and intimacy scenes. And I know the whole point is that their special connection from high school is what sustains them, but it read like a trauma bond to me with little connection beyond that. We are told they are deeply in love, but I just don’t really see it? But then again, I don't think that "this is all tell, no show" is a fair assessment because Tia Williams is an incredibly talented writer, so maybe I will just say that the book should have been 50-60 pages longer so that we could have had more on-page build-up and connection outside of addiction and trauma between Eva and Shane.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

emotional funny 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

5.0

Jane Austen understood that nothing is sexier than standing seven feet away from your crush at a party, making brief eye contact, and then immediately going home. Freddie & Anne my beloveds.