nuhafariha's reviews
1210 reviews

A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Thank you to Ecco and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Be prepared with your tissue boxes, this book is a bawler. Starting with Chung's childhood as an Asian adoptee to a white family in rural Oregon and going all the way to the present day, this is a beautiful exploration of loss, love, and family. Chung grapples with the death of her family members, never shying away from questioning the class disparities present in today's medical industry. The later half of the book is especially emotionally poignant as Chung experiences two losses back to back in the middle of the pandemic. Above all, this book will make you call your mom one more time.

The Lucky Ones: A Memoir by Zara Chowdhary

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Bitter and unrelenting, Zara Chowdhary's The Lucky Ones is a glimpse into the horrors of the 2002 Gujrat riots where many Muslims faced religious persecution and violence at the hands of their Hindu neighbors. Chowdhury is not afraid to discuss the larger political and social implications of the masacre and its cover-up today, but what really tears at the heart is her depicition of every day life under the brutal Modi regime. Even an act of taking a state exam can carry exteme mental duress as Chowdhury has to try to disguise her religious background. I enjoyed learning about this chapter of Indian history and look forward to reading more of Chowdhary's work.

Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.25

Thank you to One World and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available now.

Bouyed by zingy one liners, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio's Catalina is a raucous coming of age. As she navigates class, immigration status, pop culture, and more - Catalina must find her place in the increasingly confusing world of the wealthy and powerful at Harvard. The whole story reads as one monologue and I found myself laughing out loud at parts of Catalina's experiences. I loved the family dynamics in this book, the balance of tender devotion and guilt many immigrants navigate. Sometimes, I would get thrown off by Catalina's meandering thoughts, but as a whole it was a bemusing read.

Savings Time: Poems by Roya Marsh

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.0

Thank you to FSG and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available February 4th 2025.

Short but substantive, Roya Marsh's "savings time" packs a mean punch. The collection explores Black liberation, police violence against Black women, and every day acts of horrific prejudice in America. Yet, as Marsh herself reminds us, no one is coming to save us but ourselves and that includes making time for joyful resistance.

The Rich People Have Gone Away by Regina Porter

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Salacious yet addictive, Regina Porter's The Rich People Have Gone Away is a wonderful way to spend a cozy afternoon in. What stood apart to me is how Porter embodies so many different COVID experiences all at once - the chef, the musician, the teenage student, the teacher, the interior designer, disgruntled Target employee, police and more. Porter floats in and out from story line to story line, almost as quickly as changing the frequency on a radio station, in search of the elusive truth - what happened to Darla? And yet, when the mystery is finally solved, there are even more uneasy questions raised.

Model Home by Rivers Solomon

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.25

Thank you to FSG & NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Though I typically don't read horror, there is something magnetizing in Rivers Solomon's Model Home that demanded to be followed. So much so that I read the entire book in one sitting, hiding in my closet because it was petrifying - a never ending volley of terrors. I appreciated the ending that slowed things down and helped me catch my breath, to imagine a soft landing for the siblings after all they have been through.

Splinters: A Memoir by Leslie Jamison

challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

4.75

Thank you Little Brown and Co. & NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available.

As a Scorpio moon myself, I deeply deeply felt Jamison's memoir Splinters. We're an obsessive group, rehashing old wounds over and over again until fresh blood emerges and we are startled again by the pain. When Jamison separates from her husband and carries on as a single mother, she experiences a wounding of sorts. The memoir is a way for her to heal, to find comfort & romance again, to fall in love with the idea of love, to fall in love with being a mother. It is a vulnerable and beautiful love story.

Good Dress by Brittany Rogers

emotional reflective fast-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

4.25

Thank you to Tin House and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Good Dress by Brittany Rogers is first, and foremost, a love letter to Detroit, to Black women, to Black love, and to Black girlhood. The poems sear and fall apart like good, tender barbecue, leaving a trail of salty spicy sauces on your palate. The collection titillates, never shying away from uncomfortable topics and vulnerabilities. A pleasure to read and hold.

A Little Daylight Left: Poems by Sarah Kay

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

4.5

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available April 2025

When I think of Sarah Kay, I am inevitably brought back to my high school days where I sat mesmerized by her and Phil Kay's spoken word duets which started to crystallize my own love of poetry and journey deep into other artists who would make my world - Angel Nafis & Jamila Wood & Safia Ehlillo & Fatimah Ashgar & more & more. I say this to say that Kay's poetry is invitational and warm, looking tenderly to the bright side. It is highly energizing and bursting with puns, hidden alleys, and warm cozy days. This is a poetry collection to read on the days that didn't quite turn out right, when the blunt edges of life leave a blister on your thumb, when you just want a warm cup of tea & a gentle scarf. It is soothing and healing in all the measures, vulnerable with the audience yet measured and precise in its cartographies.

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thanks Ecco and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available May 2025.

As a long time Kevin Wilson fan, Run for the Hills was a beautiful read. Funny and profound, the book follows the four Hills siblings as they try to trace their errant father. What really sold this book was the balance between tense emotions of children who have had to grow up without a father and the wry observational humor Wilson has. It just tickles my brain in the right way. This book also had some of the best descriptions of women's basketball I've ever read - Run for the Hills has it all!