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snowbenton's reviews
3312 reviews
The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake
0.25
I didn't think it was possible but this was actually worse than I expected.
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
2.0
I love a western themed book with a tough female protagonist (True Grit, Vengeance Road) and I generally put up with apocalyptic ones even though if I read one more water-rationing book my eye might twitch right out of my head. So I had high hopes for this one: librarians! lesbians! l'adventure! But it was just dull and predictable and the characters bored me.
The Hike by Drew Magary
4.0
Kind of like a coming of age story for adults. Full of horror and confusion and physical and emotional gut punches, this was a wild ride that never managed to stray too far from what feels possible (at least, possible to those familiar with fairy tales and video games and folklore). Highly recommend to anyone looking for a strange new read with a satisfying conclusion.
I love that he gets home to realize that his wife went through the hike herself years earlier. It added such a thrill because now, they more deeply understand each other, but it also makes the reader feel like their turn on the hike is just a matter of time.
Landon Calling by Amanda M. Lee
5.0
This was cute. It was fun getting Landon's cheerful perspective on everyone.
Dial W For Witch by Amanda M. Lee
4.0
Not sure I like how spicy Bay is becoming -- she's definitely turning into a young Aunt Tillie. But these remain addictive.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
3.0
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HAGRID. He is actually a menace. Bringing hippogriffs to a bunch of thirteen year olds and trusting them not to do something stupid is one of the dumbest things an adult does in this series, and that's really saying something considering the quality (poor) of the teachers at this school and the adults in Harry's life. Hagrid is number two on my list of Adults Who Harry Would Be Better Off Without, with Dumbledore being the first (Snape is three and the Dursleys are four and five imho).
WE ALSO NEED TO TALK ABOUT SNAPE. Snape is 33 in this book (give or take a year but I think he was James and Lily's age). He's a gross incel who is taking his lack of social ability out on children. (Part of me is like, of course he followed Voldemort; he was a young impressionable unhappy teen.) It makes it even ickier to think of him that way instead of as the menacing and much older Alan Rickman from the movies.
Despite this I actually liked this better than the first two. There was a great sense of tension hanging over the entire story, between Black, the dementors, the Quidditch Cup (but Wood for real needs a life), Buckbeak.
HOWEVER. I AM NEVER GOING TO FORGIVE LUPIN FOR CHAINING HIMSELF AND RON TO PETTIGREW WHEN HE WAS GOING TO TURN INTO A WEREWOLF. HE IS THE REASON HE ESCAPED AND THE REASON BLACK WASN'T FREE AND WHY HARRY HAD TO GO BACK TO THE DURSLEYS. FUCK YOU LUPIN.
Though I do love Ron and Hermione in this one. In one day Hermione slaps Malfoy and storms out of Trelawney's class and that is the moment Ron falls in love with her. Also when Sirius says he can have the owl he used to send the letter to Harry, he holds it out for Crookshanks to approve before keeping it, which made my heart happy. Honestly, I now support their love.
Dumbledore again gets the best line. "You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us?"
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
2.0
I KNOW that children's books are very often cringe, but this one is too much for my adult millennial heart. From the Dursleys, to Dobby, to the Whomping Willow, even before we get to Hogwarts I was reading through my fingers because the secondhand embarrassment was making me want to end my own life via a mandrake's cry.
I did like that no one died from the basilisk, and it was very clever how each one of them got petrified. Hermione is a lot better in this one too, though Harry and Ron have overcompensated for her by becoming even more stupid.
Once again the adults are the worst. Molly Weasley publicly humiliates Ron via Howler, which I could almost forgive, but I think it bears mention that not only did the Weasley parents leave 12 year old Harry and Ron at the platform alone, but Ron was so terrified of getting in trouble by being late to school that he stole the flying car rather than wait for his parents to return. The Dursleys are foul brutes. Snape's behavior remains wildly inappropriate for an education setting with children. At one point Harry is in Dumbledore's office after once again stumbling across the petrified body of a classmate and Dumbledore asks if Harry wants to tell him anything and then sends him on his way without even asking if his regrown arm feels better. Also, McGonagall is mad at Ron for not being able to transfigure a button when his wand is broken? WHY CAN'T YOU HELP HIM YOU ARE A TEACHER AND CAN DO MAGIC.
Other things I also hate: Harry never offering to share his money with the Weasleys. At least buy your BEST FRIEND A NEW WAND, YOU SELFISH ASSHOLE. Magic food? The Weasleys conjured a huge feast via magic. If they can repair things and create food of out of nowhere with magic, why are they poor. And if food can be conjured, why are there house elves at all. And seriously these people need an actual education because if they had learned even a little bit about WWII they might not have let Voldemort get so strong in the first place. The discrimination between the houses: Crabbe and Goyle don't even have lines, they are just lackeys; every Slytherin is described as ugly or sneaky or both; the Hufflepuffs are all scared babies.
The best part of this book is the line "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
Once again the adults are the worst. Molly Weasley publicly humiliates Ron via Howler, which I could almost forgive, but I think it bears mention that not only did the Weasley parents leave 12 year old Harry and Ron at the platform alone, but Ron was so terrified of getting in trouble by being late to school that he stole the flying car rather than wait for his parents to return. The Dursleys are foul brutes. Snape's behavior remains wildly inappropriate for an education setting with children. At one point Harry is in Dumbledore's office after once again stumbling across the petrified body of a classmate and Dumbledore asks if Harry wants to tell him anything and then sends him on his way without even asking if his regrown arm feels better. Also, McGonagall is mad at Ron for not being able to transfigure a button when his wand is broken? WHY CAN'T YOU HELP HIM YOU ARE A TEACHER AND CAN DO MAGIC.
Other things I also hate: Harry never offering to share his money with the Weasleys. At least buy your BEST FRIEND A NEW WAND, YOU SELFISH ASSHOLE. Magic food? The Weasleys conjured a huge feast via magic. If they can repair things and create food of out of nowhere with magic, why are they poor. And if food can be conjured, why are there house elves at all. And seriously these people need an actual education because if they had learned even a little bit about WWII they might not have let Voldemort get so strong in the first place. The discrimination between the houses: Crabbe and Goyle don't even have lines, they are just lackeys; every Slytherin is described as ugly or sneaky or both; the Hufflepuffs are all scared babies.
The best part of this book is the line "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
Robin Hood: A Mythic Biography by Stephen Knight
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Another old college book for the read-and-yeet journey. The writing was dry but the material was surprisingly interesting. Knight did such a deep dive into all the different aspects of Robin Hood lore.
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
4.0
A fun story that holds up surprisingly well considering it was published in 1956.