rmorabia's reviews
361 reviews

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

half of this book was decently good and the other half was so bad. propaganda, propaganda, propaganda. 

Cashing in on the American Dream: How to Retire at 35 by Paul Terhorst

informative fast-paced

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. Don't read it except as a historical artifact. It has absolutely no useful information except that it's written from the POV of a pretty high earning individual from the 80s, and the priorities he tries to present and the financial realities of the time are fascinating. He's also a really good, easy breezy writer.

The principles stand, although the numbers are all off for today's ideas. It's just so fascinating -- the countless anecdotes about how his peers spend their time and money seem straight out of a movie to me. 

Maybe I should get out more. 

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

4.0

It's a classic for a reason. Imminently enjoyable with very flowy writing. 

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

hopeful slow-paced

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

1.0

This is one of the most meritless books I've ever read. It's preachy, boring, and the world is not imaginative at all. It reeks of white saviorism, the queer romance is so forced it almost feels homophobic, and it's so clearly written by a white man (a "large black boy" is how Sal is described). It's irredeemable, I am disturbed that ANYONE except for people who work with children enjoyed this. 

This made me hate books.

Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

will update the rest of this book later, but this suffers from an extreme pet peeve of mine -- pointing out the races of non-white characters and only non-white characters, as shorthand for appearances. white people really be out in the world seeing white as normal and everyone else as other, even in LA, which isn't a majority white city!!!!! 

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

not to be dramatic but rereading this book was so good it made me grateful to be alive to experience this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

emotional medium-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

4.0

I enjoyed this book. It's kind of the peak of this genre -- a reflective, slice-of-life family drama.

I think that the way the book was structured was a spark of simple genius -- a rotating series of real time point of view vignettes from a ton of characters. This is really about how all those characters interact and change.

It made me think about myself and my own life, and hey, isn't that the point of fiction in general?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcoholism, and Abandonment

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Sexual content

Persuasion by Jane Austen

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

This book is timeless. Jane Austen is such a good writer, it's exhilarating to read her write about these emotions in such exacting detail. She writes in a way that's so permeating despite the fact that this book is so old. I love how relatable this book feels, despite the absolutely foreign setting.

You Have to Stop This by Pseudonymous Bosch

adventurous funny lighthearted 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

5.0

Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A