sierranorgan's reviews
159 reviews

The Collector by K.R. Alexander

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

For the age group it’s made for, this was a good scary book! It has its moments that make you go 🤔 but for the most part it’s enjoyable! This was another VRC book for me! 
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Okay so… we’re not talking about the weird incest relationship? I’ve read a couple of reviews talking about how it’s a cultural difference and that may be so and that’s not my place to judge. I think if the relationship between the characters was just described as “cousins” and “friends” I wouldn’t be as uncomfortable with it, but the fact that they often refer to each other with “brother” made this rocky for me. 
The audio book for this was beautifully done though and I absolutely loved listening to it and the prose shined with those voice actors! I think I’m definitely going to look into reading more by this author!
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These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

It took me longer to get into this book than I thought it would, but once I finally connected with it I ended up loving it! I can’t wait to read the next one! 
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Get Sh*t Done by Caro Handley

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
The moment the author said not having money stems from having low self esteem I was done. 
A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Claire Hartfield

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challenging informative
Another VRC! 
I agree with the many others who have said this, but the book was not titled correctly. The book more so focused on the causes and lead up to the riot rather than the riot itself. It almost rushes through the riot itself in comparison to all the build up it gave. While this build up was important, I wish it had more focus on the riot itself and it’s outcomes. 
Also, I don’t know if this is marketed towards middle grade or not, but the school I work at (a middle school) has this on a list of books to read for a competition this year and I’m not sure that this is grade level appropriate. I’m 26 years old and some of this was a little wordy to me or information heavy. I would think for the middle level it should be broken down a bit more? Maybe that’s just me though. 
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Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Whoever came up with the phrase “saving the best for last” meant it about me reading this as my last book of 2021. DEAR LORD. I don’t think words can express how much I loved this book. The characters. The love. The culture. There were so many layers to this book that made it as amazing as it is. I cried, I laughed, and I was on the edge of my seat. I cannot wait to force everyone I love to read this, and for future me to reread this. 
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The Roommate by Rosie Danan

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funny lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

I absolutely loved this book, and watching Clara and Josh gradually fall together. I appreciated the normalization of women’s pleasure and the sex industry as well! I think this book had a lot of topics it tried to cover and it did a great job overall! I can’t wait to read the next one! 
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Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

VRC read! I think this is a SUPER important book for middle grade students to read. I think this age group has a hard find understanding boundaries sometimes, and this is a good way for them to understand how that can go wrong. 
The only thing that I didn’t totally enjoy with this one was some of the language. It sounded like someone from back in the 50’s or 60’s with phrases like “being fresh” used to mean being rude, which sounded completely outdated. I think if some of that could’ve been updated it would have felt more authentic.
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Space Case by Stuart Gibbs

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Another VRC book for work! I really enjoyed this one. It had great humor but the murder mystery was also quite entertaining! The twist at the end I didn’t see coming either! I may have to check out the other books in this series! 
Rick by Alex Gino

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lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

This was like a 3.75 for me! I enjoyed a lot of the representation in this book, and loved seeing Rick evolve as a character! But the pacing was off for me. The build up through the book seemed slow, and then the end was just there and I didn’t actually even fully realize the book had ended (since I was listening to it and not reading it) 😂