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probablyjenna's reviews
360 reviews
Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
fast-paced
4.5
It’s so hard for a collection of short stories to feel cohesive & well balanced, but this delivers immensely. This is an author to watch. His ability to critique society while also creating thoughtful, fully dimensional characters is absolute magic.
Each of these stories brought something unique to the table, but all maintained a common theme of justice. While some were stronger than others, I was absolutely captivated from start to finish.
The Circus Train by Amita Parikh
medium-paced
3.5
This book falls victim to trying to do too much. Had the author focused on just 1-2 of the threads running through this, I think it would have been an impressive novel. Instead, some storylines felt rushed or underbaked.
This does have a lot of lesser known WWII history, which is always great to see. There is also great disability rep!
If you like a lil romance with your historical fiction, I think you’d like this.
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
If you go into this intent on finding horror, you’ll be disappointed. This is much more of a sister story & family story. The writing is really beautiful and ethereal.
It’s a quick read and one that certainly left me thinking about grief, family, and the idea of home. There are spooky moments, but this felt far more lit fic than horror.
I thought the exploration of identity was also really well done. Overall, a book I enjoyed a lot and an author I’ll definitely keep an eye on.
I thought the exploration of identity was also really well done. Overall, a book I enjoyed a lot and an author I’ll definitely keep an eye on.
We Are a Haunting by Tyriek White
5.0
You know when you pick up a book and immediately can tell from page one that it is going to be a remarkable experience?
That is exactly how I felt when I started We Are A Haunting.
I picked this one up on a whim, knowing nothing about it - I just loved the cover and found the title intriguing.
We Are A Haunting captures so many elements that I love in a book: a beautifully fraught story of family, a meandering plot that makes you feel as if you’re living life right beside the characters, lyrical prose that had me pausing to tab nearly every page. It has some soft supernatural elements that play with the idea of generational trauma in ways I found poignant and unique. I found myself sometimes having to put the book down when I was feeling less focused - this is not a book to read unless you can give your entire attention to every single intentionally chosen word.
Tyriek White is an author to watch. The style feels loosely reminiscent of Caleb Azumah Nelson, although the story itself is uniquely its own. I will say, if you need a book to be direct and straightforward in its plot…this might not be for you. White assumes readers are with him, and doesn’t try to check in on our understanding. It’s a novel that was clearly crafted with thoughtfulness, and therefore demands a high level of thoughtfulness from its reader.
That is exactly how I felt when I started We Are A Haunting.
I picked this one up on a whim, knowing nothing about it - I just loved the cover and found the title intriguing.
We Are A Haunting captures so many elements that I love in a book: a beautifully fraught story of family, a meandering plot that makes you feel as if you’re living life right beside the characters, lyrical prose that had me pausing to tab nearly every page. It has some soft supernatural elements that play with the idea of generational trauma in ways I found poignant and unique. I found myself sometimes having to put the book down when I was feeling less focused - this is not a book to read unless you can give your entire attention to every single intentionally chosen word.
Tyriek White is an author to watch. The style feels loosely reminiscent of Caleb Azumah Nelson, although the story itself is uniquely its own. I will say, if you need a book to be direct and straightforward in its plot…this might not be for you. White assumes readers are with him, and doesn’t try to check in on our understanding. It’s a novel that was clearly crafted with thoughtfulness, and therefore demands a high level of thoughtfulness from its reader.
Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck
5.0
Sometimes when I sit down to write a review about a book, the words just flow out effortlessly.
And then, sometimes, I stare at a blank screen at a complete loss of words because there is just no simple way to express my feelings about this particular book.
How do I convey to you, friend, that you need to read Shark Heart? What collection of words & phrases can truly capture the immense beauty - and shattering pain - of the world Emily Habeck created, or the immensity of love contained in these pages? How do I explain why I literally sobbed through multiple chapters despite not being an easy crier? How can I possibly capture the relationship between Wren and Lewis, and the many other examples of love throughout this story?
This book is honestly pure poetry, and the tagline on the front - “A Love Story” - has so much more meaning than what comes to mind when you think about a typical love story. This is a strange, beautiful tale that asks you to fall in love with the bizarre nature of the human experience - in all of its messiness, in all of its bittersweet moments.
I think all I can really say is this: read this book. Savor it. Feel it.
And then, sometimes, I stare at a blank screen at a complete loss of words because there is just no simple way to express my feelings about this particular book.
How do I convey to you, friend, that you need to read Shark Heart? What collection of words & phrases can truly capture the immense beauty - and shattering pain - of the world Emily Habeck created, or the immensity of love contained in these pages? How do I explain why I literally sobbed through multiple chapters despite not being an easy crier? How can I possibly capture the relationship between Wren and Lewis, and the many other examples of love throughout this story?
This book is honestly pure poetry, and the tagline on the front - “A Love Story” - has so much more meaning than what comes to mind when you think about a typical love story. This is a strange, beautiful tale that asks you to fall in love with the bizarre nature of the human experience - in all of its messiness, in all of its bittersweet moments.
I think all I can really say is this: read this book. Savor it. Feel it.
Out There Screaming by Jordan Peele, John Joseph Adams
3.5
It is definitely hard to write a review of an anthology because inevitably, some stories are going to work more for you than others.
For me, this collection had more misses for me than hits - I think I expected a bit more on the horror side of things, and was left wanting more scares from most of the stories. I also feel like the length was a little intense; I had a really hard time finishing this because there were so many stories, and as I said, a lot of them didn’t work for what I was in the mood for.
With that said, I did find quite a few new authors through this collection - I look forward to reading their novels!
For me, this collection had more misses for me than hits - I think I expected a bit more on the horror side of things, and was left wanting more scares from most of the stories. I also feel like the length was a little intense; I had a really hard time finishing this because there were so many stories, and as I said, a lot of them didn’t work for what I was in the mood for.
With that said, I did find quite a few new authors through this collection - I look forward to reading their novels!
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
3.0
A fine enough book, but not really for me. I also fell down a rabbit hole of researching the trustworthiness of this book as an actual memoir after finishing and it left me with a lot of questions.