moonyreadsbystarlight's reviews
608 reviews

Terrorism and War by Howard Zinn

informative

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide and War

The House of My Mother by Shari Franke

reflective sad tense

4.5

This is an incredible, harrowing but measured story of the author's experience growing up in an abusive household with a religious mommy vlogger who managed to take a turn for the worst. She tells of so many aspects of her story in a balanced and well-paced way while also being cautious of her siblings' privacy. 

It also talks about the aftermath of trauma and how impacts how people act in different ways. She describes how she learned about trauma and the important role that processing it was; explaining fawning; and the ways that different traumatic experiences can impact each other, including discussing her experience in an abusive relationship with an older man shortly after turning 18. She also discusses how even her mother's actions are in part a trauma coping mechanism, discussing NPD in a thoughtful, compassionate way. 

Stories like these are so important. There are aspects to take away from this in terms of internet privacy and vlogging with children, and also high control religions. I was thinking a lot during this about Jill Duggar's and Britney Spears's memoirs, both speaking to children's privacy and trauma, and the former also discussing religion. Shari's story is her own and unique, but unfortunately the horrors in the details are more indicative of larger problems in society that need to be resolved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Miscarriage, Torture, and Stalking

Doughnuts and Doom by Balazs Lorinczi

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

Cute art and sweet. Interesting premise, but it is way too fast paced (even by sapphic relationship standards), clunky, and part of the story remains unresolved. I wasn't mad at the time I spent with it, but it needs to be more developed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

Wherever Is Your Heart by Anita Kelly

emotional hopeful lighthearted

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

This was so cute! With romance novellas, I often have to suspend certain expectations and be okay with things feeling rushed and writing that's a little awkward. But I did not need any of that for this story (save for the amount they used each others names). This did such a good job setting up the background of this slow burn relationship that it felt perfect. I am also in love with how *gay* this was. I mean, it's butch4butch and set in a gay bar with a Brandi Carlisle song as the title, but there were details of how they interacted and were as people that were just so... butch, so dykey, I'm just completely obsessed. 

I could say so much more, like about how it's cool to read about older characters (especially older, thriving gay characters), or how present the setting is. There is just so much I love about this. It looks like I stared with book 3 (I'm assuming that won't affect much since they're all about different characters), so I am stoked to read the other two (and everything else Anita Kelly has out)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Medical content

Addicted to War: Why the U.S. Can't Kick Militarism by Joel Andreas

informative fast-paced

4.0

These brief overview of America at War from its inception until 2003 is a great starting place to understanding the US military industrial complex and with it's exhaustive citations, it easily leads to to being able to look further. It doesn't aim to cover each war in great depth or mark every single US conflict, but rather to outline this (continually growing) issue of the US and war. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Islamophobia, and War

Moderate: Torture

Colonization, Population Contacts, and the Emergence of New Language Varieties: A Response to Peter Trudgill by Salikoko S. Mufwene

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Reading Sexualities across Cultures: Anthropology and Theories of Sexuality by Evelyn Blackwood

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What We Mean When We Say "Creole": An Interview with Salokoko S Mufwene by Michael Collins, Salikoko S. Mufwene

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Homophobia Without Homophobes: Deconstructing the Public Discourses of 21st Century Queer Sexualities in the United States by Jane Teal, Meredith Conover-Williams

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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

emotional tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

Rereading this before Sunrise on the Reaping and it really does hold up. I read it in a day, still sobbed... it's more horrific in ways reading it as an adult (the age of the characters, but also understanding what inspired the setting and how much it reflects some issues still). I'm so excited to reread the rest of the trilogy! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Ableism and Fatphobia