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safsaf118's reviews
227 reviews
Happy Place by Emily Henry
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was my third Emily Henry book and I have to say that it was definitely my favourite. I just felt like the characters were really flushed out and I loved the focus on their college friendship and how they got where they are today. Fake dating with a twist, which I loved. I liked how we got to see their whole relationship from when they first met to how it started to fall apart in the end. Now don't get me wrong, I'm ALL for people chasing their dreams but I just don't buy that she's happy to drop out of med school to do pottery like what? Like she couldn't find a single other job in the medical field that she would like?
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-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? No
4.0
Why did I find Tella so very annoying? Maybe I'm just a hater. But other than that I really loved the mystery and the actual setting of where the story took place!! The detail, the game and the riddles were all super intriguing and kept me hooked. Some parts were a bit confusing, and I'm not sure if it was like that on purpose or will be built upon more in the second book...so I'll let it slide for now.
Diary by Chuck Palahniuk
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.0
ZERO STARS. Horrible, awful, one of the worst I’ve ever read. A waste of paper, I’m genuinely shocked - not only did someone write this thinking it was worthy of being told but they also felt the need to share it with the rest of the world. Just a terrible, terrible story that’s weird beyond words and gross. Hated every second.
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I really liked Little Fires Everywhere but I lowkey liked this one more. I always love a good family drama, and this essentially just captures how a family deals with grief and with the unknown. It's not a murder mystery or detective story where they're trying to figure out how she died, but more of a tracing of how each person feels like they didn't know Lydia well enough and their regrets throughout their life. I really loved how it also focused on the parent's story which just added that extra layer to really pull us into the fabric of their family and what it was like to deal with racism/xenophobia, however subtle. I feel like this captured grief and loss between siblings really well, and I think about this so often. Like Little Fires Everywhere, the last few lines just completed gutted me:
“When a long, long time later, he stares down at the silent blue marble of the earth and thinks of his sister, as he will at every important moment of his life. He doesn't know this yet, but he senses it deep down in his core. So much will happen, he thinks, that I would want to tell you.”
“When a long, long time later, he stares down at the silent blue marble of the earth and thinks of his sister, as he will at every important moment of his life. He doesn't know this yet, but he senses it deep down in his core. So much will happen, he thinks, that I would want to tell you.”
Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
3.75
Ahhh the last one. There was a lot going on here, let's just say that. I'm mostly happy with how everything ended and how all of the plot points were tied up. Um first of all there were way too many people and storylines going on it was very difficult to keep track. Half of the names sound alike, I had to keep flipping back and forth to try and remember who everyone was. Now don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed this series but did it need to be this long? Like let’s be honest with ourselves, a little bit more editing would be better. There is no need for this to be more than 500 pages like I’m sorry. THAT BEING SAID I did read all three books so she's clearly doing something right. I know this makes it sound like I hated it and I didn't but it's just so funny to me.
Stellarlune by Shannon Messenger
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
How was this book 700 pages I literally breezed through it so easily??? Look, I am obsessed with this series and it gets better every new book. Keefe, you are the moment. Sophie, you need a lot of psychological help. I've been reading this since 2012 you best believe I am awaiting eagerly for the next. one.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was enthralled every second of the story. This was like a slow burn, I really took my time reading it because I never wanted it to end. Tracing the life of Frances growing older, but also taking a step back and telling the story of her parents only made it more painful. This captures the growing pains of when your dreams are too big for the life you have, and the cost of always wanting more.
"The night was heady and frosty. There was no wind and the air was cold and still. The stars
were brilliant and hung low in the sky. There were so many stars that their light made the sky a
deep cobalt blue. There wasn't a moon but the starlight served better than moonlight. Francie stood on tiptoe and stretched her arms wide. 'Oh, I want to hold it all!' she cried. 'I want
to hold the way the night is-cold without wind. And the way the stars are so near and shiny. I
want to hold all of it tight until it hollers out, 'Let me go! Let me go!''"
"'Dear God,' she prayed, 'let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be
gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry ... have too much to eat.
Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere-be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be
a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And
when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost.'"
"The night was heady and frosty. There was no wind and the air was cold and still. The stars
were brilliant and hung low in the sky. There were so many stars that their light made the sky a
deep cobalt blue. There wasn't a moon but the starlight served better than moonlight. Francie stood on tiptoe and stretched her arms wide. 'Oh, I want to hold it all!' she cried. 'I want
to hold the way the night is-cold without wind. And the way the stars are so near and shiny. I
want to hold all of it tight until it hollers out, 'Let me go! Let me go!''"
"'Dear God,' she prayed, 'let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be
gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry ... have too much to eat.
Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere-be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be
a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And
when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost.'"
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
5.0
I was not prepared for this. Genuinely hung on to every word. A perfect reflection on grief, regret, family and motherhood. Such a touching story, I was crying on the plane as I read this. A beautiful capture of the sacrifices parents make and the subtle ways immigrant parents show their love. It was also so interesting to trace the author's life as she grew up and the ebbing and flowing of her relationship with her family, especially her mother. I also really appreciated her reflections on being half-white and half-Korean and the struggle of fitting in and wanting to be more in touch with her Korean culture as a way to know her mother more.
"I remember the snacks Mom told me she ate when she was a kid and how I tried to imagine her at my age. I wanted to like all the things she did, to embody her completely."
"Sometimes my grief feels as though I’ve been left alone in a room with no doors. Every time I remember that my mother is dead, it feels like I’m colliding into a wall that won’t give. There’s no escape, just a hard wall that I keep ramming into over and over, a reminder of the immutable reality that I will never see her again."
"I imagined myself years from that moment, confronted by the same emotions. For the rest of my life there would be a splinter in my being, stinging from the moment my mother died until it was buried with me."
"That night, lying beside her, I remembered how when I was a child I would slip my cold feet between my mother’s thighs to warm them. How she’d shiver and whisper that she would always suffer to bring me comfort, that that was how you knew someone really loved you."
AND THIS PART KILLED ME:
"The cowboy boots arrived in one of these packages after my parents had vacationed in Mexico. When I slipped them on I discovered they’d already been broken in. My mother had worn them around the house for a week, smoothing the hard edges in two pairs of socks for an hour every day, molding the flat sole with the bottom of her feet, wearing in the stiffness, breaking the tough leather to spare me all discomfort."
"I remember the snacks Mom told me she ate when she was a kid and how I tried to imagine her at my age. I wanted to like all the things she did, to embody her completely."
"Sometimes my grief feels as though I’ve been left alone in a room with no doors. Every time I remember that my mother is dead, it feels like I’m colliding into a wall that won’t give. There’s no escape, just a hard wall that I keep ramming into over and over, a reminder of the immutable reality that I will never see her again."
"I imagined myself years from that moment, confronted by the same emotions. For the rest of my life there would be a splinter in my being, stinging from the moment my mother died until it was buried with me."
"That night, lying beside her, I remembered how when I was a child I would slip my cold feet between my mother’s thighs to warm them. How she’d shiver and whisper that she would always suffer to bring me comfort, that that was how you knew someone really loved you."
AND THIS PART KILLED ME:
"The cowboy boots arrived in one of these packages after my parents had vacationed in Mexico. When I slipped them on I discovered they’d already been broken in. My mother had worn them around the house for a week, smoothing the hard edges in two pairs of socks for an hour every day, molding the flat sole with the bottom of her feet, wearing in the stiffness, breaking the tough leather to spare me all discomfort."
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I read this years ago on a high-school-issued Chrome book, but I felt the urge to reread it and honestly, it still holds up. Definitely heartbreaking, and so interesting to see the different ways in which our choices affect the people around us, even if we don't know it. The chapter on what happening in Vietnam is haunting.
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This one hurt. I never enjoy reading a story that you know is going to end badly, but this one was different. It was just so tough to read about her childhood knowing where she would end up, and the tragic love story when you can already see it'll end in loss. I also really loved how the second half of the book was more focused on her rag-tag group of friends and how they wanted to honour her even in death. I still think about this.