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parasolcrafter's reviews
240 reviews
Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada's Chinese Restaurants by Ann Hui
4.0
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
this book absolutely falls flat on its face at the end of it. nearing the end i thought this book was going to be at LEAST a solid 4, but the ending is horrible and ruins it all for me.
its a bit slow going in the beginning, but as soon as we start unveiling the mystery of the maps and find out who The Cartographers were it really picks up, only to fail - in almost glorious fashion - with one of the WORST explanations for why the story happens that ive ever heard. like...really? nell went her whole life without her mother in her life, thinking she died, not being surrounded by her parents best friends because they were scared wally would find them...? im sorry, but thats garbage writing; it feels lazy, hastily slopped together, and it makes no sense. why wouldnt daniel have just gotten tam out of agloe and then destroyed the map? there was no reason for her to stay!!! there was no reason at all!! the reason given is that she 'wanted to complete the dreamers atlas' but thats even worse. and the way that nell disappears at the end inside agloe, whereas the others who are in the town with her manage to get out? why did that even happen!!! it also makes no sense!!! ohhh this ending makes me fucking MAD because the book had promise but the execution of it sucked.
its a bit slow going in the beginning, but as soon as we start unveiling the mystery of the maps and find out who The Cartographers were it really picks up, only to fail - in almost glorious fashion - with one of the WORST explanations for why the story happens that ive ever heard. like...really? nell went her whole life without her mother in her life, thinking she died, not being surrounded by her parents best friends because they were scared wally would find them...? im sorry, but thats garbage writing; it feels lazy, hastily slopped together, and it makes no sense. why wouldnt daniel have just gotten tam out of agloe and then destroyed the map? there was no reason for her to stay!!! there was no reason at all!! the reason given is that she 'wanted to complete the dreamers atlas' but thats even worse. and the way that nell disappears at the end inside agloe, whereas the others who are in the town with her manage to get out? why did that even happen!!! it also makes no sense!!! ohhh this ending makes me fucking MAD because the book had promise but the execution of it sucked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Gun violence and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
What We All Long For by Dionne Brand
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
been too long since i stopped reading this for me to remember why i stopped...oops!
Moving Forward Sideways Like a Crab by Shani Mootoo
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
i think this is a fine book, but its just not for me.
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
knowing now that none of the people in the book aside from the author ever existed, i simply find this book to be unreadable. like it honestly feels like the author just wanted to rewrite his teenage years to make it so he had a wild sex life. bro who cares. go to therapy
The Nix by Nathan Hill
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
bored me to DEATH at only 5%. opened it ONCE to read it as this was as far as i got; when the date to return it to the library came up, i didnt look back