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meredith_w's reviews
593 reviews
The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
2.5
Kinda boring. I liked the characters and glad they got their HEA. The 'Big Secret' was understandable and really not that big of a deal.
The Outside Circle by Patti Laboucane-Benson
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Learned about 'In Search of Your Warrior' program.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
emotional
funny
fast-paced
4.0
Emily Henry's books are reliably unputdownable.
The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
The portrayal of the near-future in this book is very believable. There was a lot of 'telling', and not a lot of 'showing', and it 100% felt like Doctorow wanted to get some things off his chest. I get it. Climate change makes me furious, frustrated, and exasperated too. Overall I was convinced by the imaginative take on what our climate-emergency world may look like in 80ish years, and the kinds of cultural revolutions that may result. The Flotilla was perhaps the most believable part - I'm kinda surprised it isn't already a thing. The main character was very saccharine (he uses the word smooch ALL THE TIME), and read as very YA.
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This was an emotional read. I felt Rushdie's account of his emotional and physical recovery (since the 2022 attack) very honest, insightful and engaging. I've read some reviews implying that Rushdie wrote this 'too soon', and therefore 'Knife' felt underwhelming and distant. I disagree. Processing trauma happens in phases and stages, and Rushdie's voice in 'Knife' felt very appropriate and relatable for the early stages of a life-long recovery. I haven't read anything else by Rushdie, so this was a very intense introduction. Amazing 10/10 book cover.
Love That Story: Observations from a Gorgeously Queer Life by Jonathan Van Ness
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
I really like Jonathan Van Ness telling me things. He speaks so genuinely and with heart. Highly recommend the audio version.
A Fire So Wild by Sarah Ruiz-Grossman
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Overall, I really liked this book. The characters were a tad predictable and cliche, but I didn't really mind. This book is short, and is super accessible to facilitate conversations about climate change, and how people are negatively impacted - specifically who is impacted the most (spoiler/not spoiler, it's not the rich). If these characters actually existed IRL, I would have 100% donated to some of their GoFundMe accounts.