renreads2much's reviews
56 reviews

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.5

Read all in one night on a whim, I'm probably not the most reliable source for an opinion

• I relate to the main character's feelings about school and intelligence
• The main character and his best friend Aaron remind me of a friendship I used to have
• The book moves really slow at times and I think the formatting and organization of information could've been better. Or put in a different order that was more interesting to read. 
• The main character is really bland to me. Feels kind of like a self insert or a blank slate for the reader to project themselves on to. I'm not his biggest fan. The side characters are really interesting though, I wish we got to see them more. 
• Finding community within a time of pain and reaching out to loved ones
• I dont like the way they talk about trans people or women
• Shows stigma and fetishization about mental health, especially within other teenagers
• I really disliked the ending, it left me feeling gross. I think it was really bad and not good for other people to be looking up to. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia

Minor: Suicide attempt

Normal Girl by Molly Jong-Fast

emotional funny sad fast-paced

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

3.75

• Main character is super refreshing - honest and bitchy 
• Pretty similar to my year of rest and relaxation but with a more active main character and cast and harder drug use
• The descriptions of drug use and seeing how it affects people is really disturbing 
• Its interesting to see how addiction affects the main characters relationships 
• Good internal dialouge
• I enjoy the pacing of the book and seeing the character development

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse

Meme by Aaron Starmer

mysterious fast-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

2.0

MID BOOOO normally I have an index card that I keep with whatever book I read to see what I thought of it in the moment as I wrote on it while reading, but it seems that I didnt even bother writing down what I thought about it as I just thought it was lame. 

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

God its such a beautiful book. This is the kind of book I believe everyone should read at least once. Everyone can get SOMETHING out of it, whether big or small. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol

These are all very brief depending on the submission. But It does not go into super deep detail, really just mentions these briefly or for the sake of context (if I'm remembering correctly.)

Light Filters In: Poems by Caroline Kaufman

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

2.5

There's not really a "cast of characters" as this is a poetry collection, and there is only the narrator. But we get to see how the narrator/author grow over time and overcome depression, so if you count that as a character then I guess you could technically say the book is "character driven"? I read this book a few other times when I was younger when I was struggling with mental illness and all that jazz. But now that I read it when Im older and dont struggle to nearly as much as I did back then, I find this book shallow and mediocre. It was good when I was 10-13 though due to me being in a different headspace. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence

It's meant to be a book about depression and mental illness if you couldnt tell from the content warnings. But either way, I still found it shallow and mediocre.

Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class by Scott Timberg

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

• Talks about a diverse range of artists which is nice, I enjoyed seeing how different industries work and how they function
• The writing style sometimes makes things harder to understand (so not as accessible, its more of an advanced read that needs more focus than usual.)
• Feels tedious and long at times 
• A lot of historical context and information. Which is interesting, but can also be a bit of a drag. But its important information to know if you want to understand why things are the way they are currently.
• Confusing grammar, starts sentences with the word 'and' which kinda bugs me.
• Talks about culture and connection and its impacts on a area or community. 
• Similar themes and discussions that I had in the "American Dream" class. 
• Kind of discouraging and depressing to read if you are looking to have a creative/art based career.