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shivani_n's reviews
333 reviews
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
i think this is really well-written and carries great tone with lots of rich language and imagery to really get his point across. it's a really powerful and important novel about the black experience in america, and i liked it. i just kind of got bored at certain parts, especially during the last 40 or so pages because i feel like it dragged on a bit, hence the 3 stars.
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
WOW. i'm actually speechless, jaw is on the floor, this book is AMAZING. i'm so glad i finally, finally read it, i've been meaning to ever since it came out because of it's raving reviews and let me say i definitely understand the hype.
i listened to the audiobook, which jennette mccurdy narrates herself, and i love the way she talks. she's a fantastic narrator so i would definitely recommend listening to this on audible if you're going to read it. her writing style is very concrete and clever, and i like how even though her story is quite heartbreaking, she still adds in sardonic humour and sarcasm that shows her personality and allows the reader to digest what she's talking about.
i also love how clearly she speaks about her emotions and really allows you to get into her head during every moment she describes. from everything about her substance abuse, bulimia, anorexia, experience with icarly and the entertainment industry in general, her relationship with her mother and the physical and emotional abuse she faced and how it impacted her life and future relationships, this is a deeply personal and well articulated story of mccurdy's life and journey of recovery. overall, 'i'm glad my mom died' is truly a remarkable book, i thoroughly enjoyed it.
i listened to the audiobook, which jennette mccurdy narrates herself, and i love the way she talks. she's a fantastic narrator so i would definitely recommend listening to this on audible if you're going to read it. her writing style is very concrete and clever, and i like how even though her story is quite heartbreaking, she still adds in sardonic humour and sarcasm that shows her personality and allows the reader to digest what she's talking about.
i also love how clearly she speaks about her emotions and really allows you to get into her head during every moment she describes. from everything about her substance abuse, bulimia, anorexia, experience with icarly and the entertainment industry in general, her relationship with her mother and the physical and emotional abuse she faced and how it impacted her life and future relationships, this is a deeply personal and well articulated story of mccurdy's life and journey of recovery. overall, 'i'm glad my mom died' is truly a remarkable book, i thoroughly enjoyed it.
Never Have I Ever: Submitted to my Enemy by Willow Dixon
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.0
all i have to say is that i wanted to read something completely mindless and stupid, and that was definitely achieved by this book.
Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver
fast-paced
3.0
“i stood willingly and gladly in the characters of everything—other people, trees, clouds. and this is what i learned: that the world’s otherness is an antidote to confusion, that standing within this otherness—the beauty and the mystery of the world, out in the fields or deep inside books—can re-dignify the worst-stung heart.”
this wasn’t bad but it wasn’t particularly great either. there are beautiful descriptions of nature, as well as interesting commentary on several famous poets of oliver’s time such as walt whitman and robert frost. however, eventually it just got kind of boring.
this wasn’t bad but it wasn’t particularly great either. there are beautiful descriptions of nature, as well as interesting commentary on several famous poets of oliver’s time such as walt whitman and robert frost. however, eventually it just got kind of boring.
Savage Ax by D.N. Hoxa
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
the plot of this book is so stupid, i only read it for the smut (which wasn't even very good).
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
i REALLY disliked this book. it’s not something i would usually pick up but i thought i would try something different, especially because i love leigh bardugo’s six of crows and i’d heard good things about this one. it seemed quite compelling; however, i was sadly disappointed 💀 in my opinion, this book is filled with a bunch of hocus pocus bullshit and i’m not even gonna lie i had absolutely NO clue what was going on 90% of the time.
the writing style and the entire plot was SO goddamn confusing to me, it literally made my head ache to read a few chapters. none of the characters were even slightly interesting except for darlington, and still we hardly know anything about him!! there was too little character development and dialogue and wayyyy too much useless description of irrelevant details. it took so long only to make such minimal progress in the plot that i just got bored so fast.
i saw a review that said “this book is like one giant pretentious information dump with a flavorless cast”, and tbh that perfectly sums up my thoughts on ninth house.
anyway, kinda sad that the first book i read in 2024 was such a flop but eh you win some you lose some. hopefully it only gets better from here!!
the writing style and the entire plot was SO goddamn confusing to me, it literally made my head ache to read a few chapters. none of the characters were even slightly interesting except for darlington, and still we hardly know anything about him!! there was too little character development and dialogue and wayyyy too much useless description of irrelevant details. it took so long only to make such minimal progress in the plot that i just got bored so fast.
i saw a review that said “this book is like one giant pretentious information dump with a flavorless cast”, and tbh that perfectly sums up my thoughts on ninth house.
anyway, kinda sad that the first book i read in 2024 was such a flop but eh you win some you lose some. hopefully it only gets better from here!!
The Dating Plan by Sara Desai
funny
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? No
4.0
"from the first day we first met, i knew i needed you in my life. you took the chaos and made it calm. you lifted my heart with your smile and awed me with your brilliant mind. i kept every secret valentine, every scribbled note, your stuffed rabbit, and the answer to every math question i gave you. i hoped one day to be the kind of man who you could love, a man who would hold and cherish you, a man worthy of you..."
this book was very cheesy and cute i had a great time reading it. i've always wanted to read a romcom with a desi main character and the first time i did (dating dr. dil by nisha sharma) it was terrible and it made me sad, but this book definitely made up for it!! all the food references made me happy and the way that daisy and liam call each other "humraaz" was so sweet. it's an urdu term of endearment that means "the one with whom we share our secrets".
however, i wish that the book was written in both past and present timelines. there was all this talk of daisy having a huge crush on liam as a teenager, so when he left it really hit her hard, but since we don't really get to see any of their interactions/the development of their relationship all those years ago, it lessens the impact. i think having flashback chapters could have deepened the reader's understanding of the different relationship dynamics in the book, not only between daisy and liam but daisy and sanjay, liam and sanjay, and also liam and his own family. nevertheless, i do understand that this would make the book a lot heavier in terms of content, because liam had a really traumatic childhood so the author may not have wanted write about that in depth. i respect her decision to just keep this as a light romcom; i'm just being biased because childhood friends to lovers/second chance romance is my favourite trope lmao. i just genuinely think it would have made the story so much better if we had gotten at least a few flashbacks to their childhood. it would have made all the yearning and longing they felt a lot stronger but HEY that's just my opinion. i still liked the book.
to conclude, the dating plan is not really anything super special, but it was still a really fun read, hence the four stars :)
this book was very cheesy and cute i had a great time reading it. i've always wanted to read a romcom with a desi main character and the first time i did (dating dr. dil by nisha sharma) it was terrible and it made me sad, but this book definitely made up for it!! all the food references made me happy and the way that daisy and liam call each other "humraaz" was so sweet. it's an urdu term of endearment that means "the one with whom we share our secrets".
however, i wish that the book was written in both past and present timelines. there was all this talk of daisy having a huge crush on liam as a teenager, so when he left it really hit her hard, but since we don't really get to see any of their interactions/the development of their relationship all those years ago, it lessens the impact. i think having flashback chapters could have deepened the reader's understanding of the different relationship dynamics in the book, not only between daisy and liam but daisy and sanjay, liam and sanjay, and also liam and his own family. nevertheless, i do understand that this would make the book a lot heavier in terms of content, because liam had a really traumatic childhood so the author may not have wanted write about that in depth. i respect her decision to just keep this as a light romcom; i'm just being biased because childhood friends to lovers/second chance romance is my favourite trope lmao. i just genuinely think it would have made the story so much better if we had gotten at least a few flashbacks to their childhood. it would have made all the yearning and longing they felt a lot stronger but HEY that's just my opinion. i still liked the book.
to conclude, the dating plan is not really anything super special, but it was still a really fun read, hence the four stars :)
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
“‘Elizabeth Zott, you’re going to change the world,’ he heard himself say. And the moment he said it, he knew it was true.”
i love this book and i’m so glad i finally read it! i feel like the story in itself and the characters are so unique. i loved how it was written from so many different perspectives because it makes you get really attached to all of them and their individual backstories and journeys (literally even the dog had his own chapters and it was so cute). also the way almost EVERYTHING was connected was insane, i feel like everything garmus wrote was so purposeful and it enhanced the story so much.
i am an elizabeth zott STAN. she is such a badass i’m obsessed tbh. the messages in this book about science and equality/women’s rights are so important and elizabeth was such a powerful main character to portray them. this book is truly a special one <3
also rip calvin i love him so much😭
i love this book and i’m so glad i finally read it! i feel like the story in itself and the characters are so unique. i loved how it was written from so many different perspectives because it makes you get really attached to all of them and their individual backstories and journeys (literally even the dog had his own chapters and it was so cute). also the way almost EVERYTHING was connected was insane, i feel like everything garmus wrote was so purposeful and it enhanced the story so much.
i am an elizabeth zott STAN. she is such a badass i’m obsessed tbh. the messages in this book about science and equality/women’s rights are so important and elizabeth was such a powerful main character to portray them. this book is truly a special one <3
also rip calvin i love him so much😭
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
"She felt like the sun. Like she was the reason for everything. like I'd always been waiting for her to get closer and bring me to life.”
this book was SO cute!! i loved all the characters and their journey not only together as a couple but individually too. i loved alexis she's such a badass and the way she stood up to her family and actually advocated for herself rather than just following their expectations was so satisfying. i also liked how daniel learned not to sell himself short. their romance was so adorable, daniel is honestly the most perfect man EVER. like hello he cooks and builds things AND he reads; honestly what more could you want??? something else i loved about this book was that it felt realistic while still being a bit cliché and enjoyable to read like your classic romance novel. the characters were always honest with each other and they were good at communicating, and the reason they were hesitant to actually be together is valid and an actual problem a lot of people probably face (parental disapproval, difference of lifestyle, money, etc). it was all handled very well! literally the only complaint i have is that there was no smut LMAO, but it's okay.
aside from the romance, i love the underlying message of the book which is to say that no matter how different two people are, if they love each other enough, they can make it work. yes it's all very "love conquers all" and yes it may be cheesy but then again i'm a rat. i loved it <3
this book was SO cute!! i loved all the characters and their journey not only together as a couple but individually too. i loved alexis she's such a badass and the way she stood up to her family and actually advocated for herself rather than just following their expectations was so satisfying. i also liked how daniel learned not to sell himself short. their romance was so adorable, daniel is honestly the most perfect man EVER. like hello he cooks and builds things AND he reads; honestly what more could you want??? something else i loved about this book was that it felt realistic while still being a bit cliché and enjoyable to read like your classic romance novel. the characters were always honest with each other and they were good at communicating, and the reason they were hesitant to actually be together is valid and an actual problem a lot of people probably face (parental disapproval, difference of lifestyle, money, etc). it was all handled very well! literally the only complaint i have is that there was no smut LMAO, but it's okay.
aside from the romance, i love the underlying message of the book which is to say that no matter how different two people are, if they love each other enough, they can make it work. yes it's all very "love conquers all" and yes it may be cheesy but then again i'm a rat. i loved it <3
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
“You once told me that the human eye is god's loneliest creation. How so much of the world passes through the pupil and still it holds nothing. The eye, alone in its socket, doesn't even know there's another one, just like it, an inch away, just as hungry, as empty.”
“Is that what art is? To be touched thinking what we feel is ours when, in the end, it was someone else, in longing, who finds us?”
for the first 50 pages of the novel i wasn't really feeling it, but then it really picked up. ocean vuong's writing style is so elegant; it's digestible but profound and meaningful at the same time. my favourite aspect of it is his descriptions because they are so vivid like i can literally see and hear all of the sensory things he describes throughout the book. i really enjoyed reading about all his experiences of self discovery and how they shaped him as a person. i like the way it felt like a very intimate and personal story of his life while also touching on bigger issues such as race, class, masculinity, the american dream, abuse, and addiction; he handled all of it with such grace and compassion. overall, this is a beautiful coming of age story and i would recommend if you want something emotional yet easy to read.
“Is that what art is? To be touched thinking what we feel is ours when, in the end, it was someone else, in longing, who finds us?”
for the first 50 pages of the novel i wasn't really feeling it, but then it really picked up. ocean vuong's writing style is so elegant; it's digestible but profound and meaningful at the same time. my favourite aspect of it is his descriptions because they are so vivid like i can literally see and hear all of the sensory things he describes throughout the book. i really enjoyed reading about all his experiences of self discovery and how they shaped him as a person. i like the way it felt like a very intimate and personal story of his life while also touching on bigger issues such as race, class, masculinity, the american dream, abuse, and addiction; he handled all of it with such grace and compassion. overall, this is a beautiful coming of age story and i would recommend if you want something emotional yet easy to read.