samantita's reviews
219 reviews

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

I'm Thinking of Ending Things is exactly how Iaian Reid's novel begins. We know our main character is a young woman embarking on a road trip with her new boyfriend, Jake, to meet his parents for the first time. What follows is a roller coaster of a story that will leave every reader thinking, what did I just read?

I enjoyed the simplicity of the writing in this very short novel. Our narrator's stream of consciousness pushed the story forward, making it easy to keep reading. What I didn't enjoy was the amount of dialogue, especially in the car ride. It reminds me of the 90s' movie Before Sunrise where the entire movie is the two main characters talking. I'm not a fan of this type of novel or movie.

I'm one of the readers of this novel that did not get the twist at the end and had to "cheat" and look it up. Everything seemed to move so fast in the last few chapters and the perspective switch really threw me off. Looking back on the book now, I can say that the twist was brilliant. I just wish I had more to guide me to getting the twist on my own.

I'd recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers who are either really good at figuring out the wrench the author throws in a plot or doesn't mind having to go back and reread the last few chapters in order to figure it out on their own.

The Art of Quiet Influence: Timeless Wisdom for Leading without Authority by Jocelyn Davis

informative inspiring reflective

4.0

Though I'm not in a corporate position, there were helpful tidbits of information about how to use influence without authority in this book. I believe it'll prepare me for if I land a corporate position and don't know how to leverage my introversion. I got lost in a lot of the stories about the Eastern sages, but I understood where they fit and why Davis used them as symbols for each chapter. This was an interesting read and one I'd like to add to my library.

Advice for Future Corpses (and Those Who Love Them): A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying by Sallie Tisdale

hopeful informative

3.25

I listened to this, which means I didn't catch everything. I'm still not a very good audiobook reader but it was the only format this was available in through my library. I appreciate the lens that Sallie Tisdale looks at death through. The death of a loved one is very hard to come to terms with and Tisdale talks about how we try to delay, postpone, and even dictate how it should go when we really need to let it runs its course, no matter how gruesome or "cruel" that may seem. 

Tisdale writes about how death can be messy and only a certain kind of death is a good death. This book has challenged that view for me. There is no one currently in my life who is on their death bed (and hopefully not for a long time), but when that time comes, this is a book I may consider revisiting.

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

hopeful reflective sad 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

2.75

I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the plot line and found myself rooting for Yara, but every time she'd take one step forward toward acknowledging that she wasn't a bad person, she seemed to take two steps back (maybe that was the point since she realized that healing isn't linear?).

It felt like her character development didn't happen until the very end of the book and when it did happen, it was explained very directly instead of shown to the reader. I was excited to read this after reading A Woman Is No Man. I was quickly drawn into the character's stories in that book, but this one sort of felt like it wasn't going anywhere. 

I SO wanted Yara to find a way to go on that trip to Europe. Reading a book where the MC's deepest desires aren't fulfilled is very unfulfilling.

Someone in the Attic by Andrea Mara

mysterious 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? No

5.0

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

3.75

This story absolutely broke my heart. This author has a way of making her reader feel for each character involved, even though they all have flaws.

It says so much about belief systems and how those can either stay with a person as they grow older, or change into something else. 
It shows how children are often treated differently by their parents when behaving the same way. 
It shows how the idea of a respectable life is often rooted in culture, traditions, and religion. If those traditions aren't followed, you can no longer be considered respectable. 
It shows that when your children become parents, you recognize in them the things you could have done differently. 
It shows how sometimes we reserve our kindness for certain people and our harsh criticisms for others. That sometimes we need to meet people where they are instead of trying to force them to where you stand.

What I wanted more of was Huda. I felt she got the true middle child treatment--we barely saw any of her throughout the book. We never got her perspective. It almost would have been better if she weren't a character at all.

I also wanted to see a bit more of Amar after he ran away. I wanted to at least know that he was okay and read his perspective on his departure.

 

Overall, I loved the writing in this novel, the story, and the characterization.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

It strikes me that this book was written 17 years ago (in '07) and school shootings have now become a norm in American society, just another event we offer up "thoughts and prayers" for and then go on about our days. I was also the same age as Peter and his peers at the time of this story, which felt strange. It was a long time ago but I'm having a hard time remembering if I had a fear of school shootings at the time. It's incredibly sad that this is what kids nowadays have to live with.

There's nothing special about Picoult's writing for me so I read more for the plot line, and this one felt like it had a lot of holes. It was hard to suspend my disbelief about Jordan letting Peter take the stand. No defense attorney worth their salt would ever let that happen. Especially when said attorney used a psychiatrist to prove that Peter was disassociating and didn't know what he was doing, and then Peter says that he wants to take the stand and explain why he did it? 

I don't know how Alex could've even taken the case from the start. Even though her daughter wasn't injured by Peter, she was still very clearly involved in the day's events and had a close connection with Peter in the past. She had a relationship with Peter's mom in the past. All of that should've excused Alex from the case from the get-go. 

Speaking of Alex and Lacy, did they really stop talking after the incident with Peter showing Josie the gun? It wasn't really talked about. I guess I could accept that, but I didn't like that it wasn't even mentioned. 

I know that this was from a different time, but the bullying seemed so over done. I'm not saying that that doesn't actually happen, but it's hard to look at the shootings that happen nowadays and contribute those to bullies when these shooters are adults who are killing kindergarteners. Maybe I just don't know enough about the subject.

Trust your reader, Jodi. You wrote a good metaphor comparing cooking to Josie and Alex picking up the pieces of their relationship and then said "neither one of them was talking about cooking." We knew that! It was obvious! 

She used another good metaphor when Lacy was referring to the deer: "Once you started taking care of them, you had to follow through, or they just wouldn't make it." This one worked and I appreciated the connection between her and Peter.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings

Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? No

3.75

Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A

4.0

This was told in the form of quotes from people who experienced the events with facts about gun violence to end each chapter. It made for an easy read structurally. The bullying theme got to be a bit repetitive but for the time that this book came out, it seemed to fit what was going on. 

Five Strangers by E.V. Adamson

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0