pinkmalady's reviews
126 reviews

Lost Stars by Claudia Gray

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-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

4.0

Content Warnings

The Late Great Creature: A Novel by Brock Brower

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dark funny informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

i really wish this book was good. the classic horror nerdery on display here is insane; this guy knows his stuff!! the commentary of the changing horror scene (classic horror is one of my primary special interests) is very well-informed and accurate to what was actually going on irl in the late 60s/early 70s. it just refused to focus on its coolest aspects.

i mostly wish warner and simon were actually interesting and not weird and creepy, especially simon moro. he is a racist, homophobic pedophile. if this book was about how shitty even the most talented people can be, it would've been ten times better. instead, it expects the reader to sympathize and idolize him. i cannot. like i physically cannot. when he started talking about how he felt the need to 'straighten-up' the film he's working on because one of his co-stars is gay, that was the final straw. it spat in the face of the queer history of the horror genre. then he did blackface, and i had to put the book down. i did finish it, and i did like most of the rest of the book.

the way simon stages his own death is truly epic, i have to say,

but basically everything else about him besides the description of some of the movies he did was just bad.

it handles its singular gay character homophobically. like this author is either straight as a pencil or so deep in the closet he's in narnia. #quincyadamsdeservedbetter

if hazel or quincy would've been the main character, this would've been ten times better. it could've dug into their trauma from being harassed

(and in hazel's case, sexually preyed upon)

by simon moro!! because he is an asshole and they are actually interesting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sidenote: i wish the raven movie described in this book were real so so so SOOO FUCKING BAD. it sounds so cool.

Content Warnings