sb_037's reviews
78 reviews

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

emotional slow-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

5.0

This book is entirely not what I expected in all the best ways. I felt very misty-eyed towards the end, which is extremely rare. It's a book about everything; grief, depression, the most enduring kind of love, friendship, community, acceptance, bureaucracy, ageism, dignity... I could go on. It's about a man called Ove and it's about a type of neighborhood I think we all yearn to be a part of. I think trying to write a short summary about what the book was about is to do an injustice to the source material; it is a book meant to be read, and hopefully cherished. 

If I could change the back cover, I would change it to this: Ove wants to die in peace, but his neighbors keep bothering him and life keeps getting in the way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

fast-paced

5.0

I was skeptical when I heard the comparisons between this book and Madeline Miller's Circe (another 5-star read for me), but the likening was absolutely deserved. This book is p h e n o m e n a l. As a woman of South Asian descent and growing up culturally Hindu, I had heard the story of the Ramayana casually and knew the general gist. Kaikeyi is a prequel to the Ramayana, as it should be; it depicts Kaikeyi's life from childhood until her middle age, when her story becomes less pivotal and her influence on the events of the Ramayana diminish. 

What is excellent about Patel's prose is how skillfully and convincingly she twists and turns the narrative to Kaikeyi's advantage, and in the process, makes one question everything one knows about the Ramayana. She depicts Ram as the true obstacle and Ram's influence on those around him as almost parasitic. Patel's disdain for the male characters in the Ramayana is not limited to the central players, her inquisition extends to the gods themselves; their goals are singular, and they are fundamentally cruel, uncaring to mortal strife and loss. Patel is able to make the fact that the Ramayana is written by men, for men painfully obvious. It makes you think: if practicing Hindus read this, if this was also part of the real story, would Ram be as exalted as he is?And even after what may be construed as a heretical fantasy, Patel remains respectful and reverent to the culture and the story she tells: that of the women. She is able to write truly fallible characters with whom you can disagree but still care for. She is consistent with the traits of all her characters and does not lose sight of Kaikeyi's true nature. Even the conclusion, and the reconciliations that Kaikeyi makes, are reasonable and in line with the book's development. 

Kaikeyi is truly a masterpiece and I'm so glad I could read it.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

mysterious medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

The strongest point in favor of this book was that it was a truly gripping mystery with twists and turns that I couldn't predict. For this, I want to rate it higher, but unfortunately, some other aspects of the book work against a higher rating. For one, the book definitely drags in a sort of unpleasant way about 2/3rds of the way through -- it was both anxiety-inducing but not in a way that made it a page-turner; rather, I wanted to avoid the book.

I like the conclusion for Caroline. I found that she found closure in a way that aligned with her character growth throughout the book. Unfortunately, the decision to have "everyone" be saved at the end (which was a twist I did see coming) seemed like a cop-out.

I definitely think that this book is worth reading and it's a bit more substantive than other books in the genre; it's got mystery, intrigue, revenge, and has the neat happy endings that many of us are looking for.

Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.75

This book had a lot of promise, but in the end, it was a book about nothing. It’s uniquely written, there are no chapters and there is no explicit dialogue (there’s no use of quotes), and while it’s around 200 pages, it took me much longer to get through it that I thought it would. The first 2/3rds of the book sets itself up for something, perhaps an interesting commentary on the Asian immigrant experience, a tale of reckoning with your aging parents as you enter adulthood, the demands of perfectionism as a child, the numerous flaws of the current medical system. But it falls so flat, with a disappointing and rushed reversal on all the growth and building that had been done. It ends with Joan attempting to convince the reader that she is, like the title suggests, okay and that suggesting otherwise would be rude and closed-minded. It was frustrating and extremely disheartening to read. 

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.25

This is definitely a fun mystery/thriller book. It’s more about the main character’s circle of family friends that she discovers rather than about her making friends along the way. Another book with a strong family theme. However, while I wanted  to actually be surprised by the twists and turns of this story,

I figured out that Wally was William Haberson/Felix’s reclusive boss about a third of the way in and suspected that Tamara was trapped rather than dead pretty soon after the discovery of Agloe being a real place.

I feel like these relatively obvious giveaways took away from the book. Additionally, I felt that the book was starting to get repetitive with the flashbacks and then the ending became super rushed. There were also some plot holes in the confession/revelation scene that weren’t addressed. 

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Wholesome is the best way to describe this book — it’s like a freshly-baked chocolate-chip cookie. There’s definitely a character in this book that will endear you to it even if you don’t click with the main character. I definitely had trouble visualizing Linus Baker and he wasn’t the type of person I’d read about or relate to, but that didn’t detract from the story and the strong family theme of the book made me care for the unit more than any one person. 

Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

The best way to describe this book is a literary tapestry of human lives. There are moments that really emphasize the cyclical nature of life and how bittersweet that can be in a skilled way. This book doesn’t elicit a higher rating from me because for all it does, I’m left with wanting something more, there’s something missing — something from the characters that would convince me of the ultimate conclusions. I bring this yearning down to the fact that Kim, despite her efforts, was unable to make truly “gray” characters; at the end, they’re still black and white, good and bad. Perhaps it’s because of wartime or the severity of atrocities that some commit. 

Athena's Child by Hannah Lynn

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No

3.25

I’d consider this to almost be a Greek mythology pamphlet because of what a quick read it is. The book is promoted as another “feminist retelling” of the story of Medusa, but I think it largely fell flat because of a rushed ending (although the pace of the ending was consistent with the pace of the rest of the book). The conclusion —

being that  Perseus is a good man but is drowned out by the failings of men at large

— is difficult to accept because it hinges on a character that is given little to no character development.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

4.5