sahanac's reviews
204 reviews

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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 love graphic novels. I think they can be incredible mediums for message and sometimes the art + story combo just hits on a level that just words or just image could never. This is one such graphic novel. The art style is what hooked me first - a dreamy, vibrant, expansive world that is so close to ours but so much more colorful. I loved the way deities were drawn vs mortals, I adore the illustration of the in-universe “magic” and I think there was perhaps no better option to pair alongside the story. And the story is so exquisitely done too - there is a hint of Hinduism in there, and the titular “many deaths” are sorts of reincarnations, but for those unfamiliar with Hindu gods, they’re just cool looking forces of nature in a now-familiar corporate setting (I feel like people love putting gods in cubicles in art nowadays - what does that *say* about us, if not that man made god in his own image or is that too existential for bookstagram lmk). The whole story too, following Death as she becomes human, with teachable moments making her more human UGH it was gorgeous. Please read this graphic novel if you see it, it’s not long but it will force you to sit down and breathe for a moment longer than you may be used to. 

Love Marriage by Monica Ali

challenging emotional sad tense 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 book was actually a revelation. I think I’m just past the age where I realized my parents to be people with fully realized lives and dreams and aspirations beyond my lifetime and my comprehending, and Yasmin, who is really our central character…has not quite gotten there yet. She’s so self-absorbed, and to be fair, she is quite In The Thick Of It with her own life, but she has such a hard time seeing her parents as people. It’s quite frustrating, but also so understandable, that I can’t help empathize with her. She shuts people down, doesn’t want to listen, and doesn’t want her worldview interrupted, but the status quo that she grew up with is changing. She’s resistant, but it changes nonetheless. The beginning of this book was a little slow, but it was all really worthwhile set-up for the nature of the relationship turmoil and drama that laced the back half of the book. Each revelation made my heart hurt for each character in turn, and all of the minor characters in this novel were so memorable and well-created and lovely, that it was perfectly plausible for me to imagine them with full lives, loves, and worlds of their own. Monica Ali managed to put to paper what it is like to have come of age, but still not feel quite grown up, still be muddling it out, and we follow both Yasmin and Joe as they make mistake after mistake. The most frustrating and satisfying part of this book was that I could hardly blame them. 

Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century by Charles King

adventurous challenging informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

Okay look – I was an anthro major in college, and so in part, the fact that I liked this book so much has to do with that fact, alright? I own that. This is probably not everyone’s cup of tea. And I’ve got two book-related resolutions for 2024, and that’s more non-fiction and audiobooks. This title was a twofer. All in all, it felt like a winning situation for me personally, so I will indeed admit to some bias here. 
But a sneak peek into the founding polycule of anthropology, the inception of the field, and the actual ground-breaking, society-forming theories that were created by one dude and his ducklings of a department? It was pretty wild reading overall.  
Of course, the book is not perfect. There’s a bit of hero worship and a bit of frou frou, “these were the coolest, wokest, most progressive people to live!” vibe in there that King does little to combat. But truthfully, most of the impressive and progressive thinking did actually belong to the people listed above. They did shape the way that we think about race now. So it was easy for me to forgive any embellishment on King’s part – these people may have actually just been that crazy cool.  

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

adventurous challenging lighthearted fast-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

4.0

I love that Percy Jackson started an era of mythology inspired YA fiction. It's my favorite thing, because there is something so formative about growing up and still believing in magic just a little bit. And Percy Jackson did the other magical thing of taking ADHD and dyslexia and turning it into demigod superpowers. I'm sure authors are tired of the PJO references in relation to their YA demigod fiction, but I'm sorry, Rick Riordan just did it first. 

Books like this are such incredible vehicles to teach about underrepresented mythological worlds (Mexican, in this case), and to have a trans main character, who is not limited in power, but amplified by his trans identity is so powerful. 

All of the Goodreads reviews say something to the effect of "PERCY JACKSON MEETS THE HUNGER GAMES??? ASDFLJKAHD!!!!!" and yeah, that about sums it up! It's novel for the diversity it includes, and it's a fun, quick adventure. Highly recommend, especially for those looking for a fun quick fantasy to get them out of a reading slump. 

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

medium-paced

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

3.5

i liked where it was going, but by the end i was like What Is Happening Here Anymore. 

*spoilers* there's also a sudden jumpscare of SA that there literally was zero time to unpack or feel out that really bothered me towards the end, so i finished the book feeling weird despite loving it at the jump. also did olga call the fbi on her mom after deciding that she's proud to see PR the way it is??? confused man

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

i fucking loved this actually. it was a brick but a fun brick. 

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

adventurous challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

this one lost me and then found me and then lost me again. much to contemplate about femininity and it's place in society. 

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

slow-paced

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

2.5

this was fine. it felt like there was just too much going on, and it was so convenient, every turn. it was great history and research but didn't always read like a novel, and i don't know that i feel any sort of sympathy for the characters beyond a bried "oh. that's sad" because after reading all that and getting that family history, i'm not sure i even know them.

Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

4.5

when Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola was recommended to me, a romance set at a British university with characters who had the same South London charm as some of my favorite personalities on this season of Love Island, I was hooked instantly. This book was a romance. I’m not a romance reader, but this one caught me, friendships and femininity at the center of the story, as Kiki finds her place.  Every “Kiki, you’re moving mad” made me grin with it’s unabashed Love-Island-esque British-ism, but not in the way of stuffy classic literature. This is a young, vibrant book that doesn’t shy away from issues about sexual harassment on campus, being Black and facing discrimination at university, and the very real personal tragedies everyone carries with them to school. Babalola warns us, at the heart of this book, to look away from the surface and towards loving one another with grace. But she does it with an attitude, with well-seasoned flair, and with a no-holds-barred main character that made me love her with every bold comment and revealed insecurity.  

Shuna's Journey by Hayao Miyazaki

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective fast-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

5.0