mxarson's reviews
83 reviews

The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

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slow-paced

5.0

A published book belongs to the author just as much if not more than to the public. It’s clear to me that Sarah Broom comes to terms with her sense of place by writing about and during her exploration of it. This book needs a very close-read and you might even want to draw diagrams  to help you follow along with her words. If you don’t, you may lose track of the story,  the characters, and the setting. This books is not intended for a light-hearted read. Sarah Broom may have written a short book, but simply looking at the length will not capture the depth of her explorations and words. This book took me a while to get through, but I finished and I’m excited to read it again and again and again. I had to look up a lot of things she mentions, but every second of my outside research and close-reading was worth it. I am forever changed by this book. This book is not for the faint-hearted either. There are a lot of content warnings. I don’t know if I mentioned every single one. Do a lot of research on the content-warnings if you have triggers. There’s no gore, but enough had to be said for the injustices that lower-income Black communities in America face every day. 
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Okay, Cupid by Mason Deaver

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

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tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

WHAT IN THE WORLD???? DAMNNNN THIS GIRL IS CRAAAAZY OH MY GOD? This is so beautifully complex and twisted and I’m here for it. 
The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There by Angela Kinsey, Jenna Fischer

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.25

What a fun book- a passion project that these two business ladies wrote! They truly love each other and the audiobook was hilarious. It’s definitely a must-read for office fans~
Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

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dark emotional 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

This book has so many complicated relationships and executes the unraveling really well. It’s a bit dark and it must be traumatic for teens to be dealing with it  all.  I am so happy I read this book. 
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Absoloutely gut wrenching. I couldn’t put it down yet I had to put it down several times to look up the references and try to feel the emotions as best as I could. I don’t blame Britney for not being able to narrate her audio book and the narrator for it did it justice. I am so angry at everyone who wronged her and her book is just so raw. I sobbed and clenched my teeth. This book is definitely a 5
Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

It was a very very good ending to the series. Whereas the second book is a book that is happening directly after the first, there’s some time jump here. They’re seniors in high school and I read the audiobook. The audiobook’s narrator had changed and it was slightly weird for a few seconds, but this narrator, Ali ahn was WAY better. She’s Korean so she pronounced the Korean words correctly, which changed the entire mood of it all. I didn’t realize how different the third movie was to this book. It’s very different. I think the third movie had more creative liberty with them hinting at a spinoff show, xo kitty. I liked this book so much more because everything kinda gets answered and nothing is that childish. The narrator also has a deeper voice than the first two books’ narrator and it made everything seem a little… sweeter. I see the raw emotion of these teenagers and I love love Trina as a character. I wish there was an option on storygraph to say that the book was cute. This series is cute. Very very cute. The sisters love is cute and everything changing? Man I know that feeling. It’s just so cute!!
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

It’s interesting seeing the movie then reading the book. The movie version of the first one actually had details of the second and I never knew. Huh. This one feels a lot more highschool romance to me than the first and I am so annoyed with both of them in this. I am so annoyed with Peter and Lara Jean but I can’t blame them because they’re just 16. I am however sooooooooo in love with the way John Ambrose was written which makes me get annoyed with Peter and Lara Jean even more. I think I liked the first one more than this one but it was cute. Also, I LOVED the narrator’s performance. She makes everything feel more youthful. Stormy’s voice too was just chefs kiss.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It’s really cute. I like that the book feels too young for me because I’m not the target audience. For the movie, it felt like I could still watch it because I was younger then but also because they cast adults to play them. The relationships between the sisters are really wholesome and makes me want sisters. I don’t agree that Lara Jean is too naive that it’s gross or whatever. I  understand that daddy and mommy have been sexualized a lot but it’s really not little girls faults that everything they do become sexualized. I think it’s beautiful that Lara Jean is sheltered from all of that and would rather learn life from books which makes her naive. She learns a lot of wholesome lessons from her mother and sisters and do not fit into a show like euphoria. I think that’s great and makes her annoying sometimes but she’s 16!! It’s fine!!! The ending felt a little bit rushed or sudden though. Also,
i don’t love the way the letters thing was fleshed out. They did this in the movie too but why does Lara Jean literally never try to figure out who did it? She just gets over it after a few pages? Idk.