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solaria's reviews
43 reviews
The Overthinkers by Lisa Portolan, Ben Cheong
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
this was a book
The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Had I realised this was YA fantasy when I bought it, I probably wouldn't have bought it but alas. Here we are.
For what it is, it's a fine YA fantasy book. I probably would've loved it a lot had I read it when I was 14-15. It does it's job well enough and was enjoyable. Aside from the contents of the book itself, the cover is gorgeous.
It was paced super fast which kinda threw me a bit as it never felt like the plot had time to settle and I felt like I was never introduced to the world properly. Like the author would introduce so many concepts but never really explain what they meant? And these concepts didn't really seem to have any effect on the plot? To me, this book felt like a combination of all these cool ideas the author had, but they had no idea how to tie them together or flesh them out.
The characters were alright, but again, needed more time to breathe because they came across as pretty flat and one-dimensional because of the lack of time given to them. Especially the villains. But they weren't annoying so I'll give the author credit for that haha.
For what it is, it's a fine YA fantasy book. I probably would've loved it a lot had I read it when I was 14-15. It does it's job well enough and was enjoyable. Aside from the contents of the book itself, the cover is gorgeous.
It was paced super fast which kinda threw me a bit as it never felt like the plot had time to settle and I felt like I was never introduced to the world properly. Like the author would introduce so many concepts but never really explain what they meant? And these concepts didn't really seem to have any effect on the plot? To me, this book felt like a combination of all these cool ideas the author had, but they had no idea how to tie them together or flesh them out.
The characters were alright, but again, needed more time to breathe because they came across as pretty flat and one-dimensional because of the lack of time given to them. Especially the villains. But they weren't annoying so I'll give the author credit for that haha.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery and Sexism
Minor: Racism and Vomit
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A lovely little short story that will warm your heart.
Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Child abuse, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Bullying
Mullumbimby by Melissa Lucashenko
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I can't decide on a rating 😵💫
Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
I think the way the book handled the relationship between Joan and Derek at the end was clumsy but overall a solid read. The writing towards the end overall was very disappointing and left a lot to be desired. Despite this, it had some really engaging moments throughout, I couldn't put it down. I thought the constant switching of perspectives was interesting.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, Domestic abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Racial slurs, Murder, Abandonment, Police brutality, and Gun violence
Minor: Medical content and Sexual content
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
The conflict is so confusing and I had no idea what was happening most of the time in any fight scene. How the society functions or the details of the conflict were either not explained or explained so poorly that I was still lost.
Zetian is an annoying main character because she has no flaws and everyone else does. There is absolutely no nuance to the feminist ideas the book tries to discuss. In the end, despite the books attempts to present Zetian as a feminist warrior who cares for the women around her, she ends up projecting her own internalised misogyny onto other women. Instead of looking at the issue with a bit of introspection, she writes off any other woman as "dumb" or "complicit" in the system instead of realising that they're *all* victims of the patriarchy. Idk, I just didn't care to read another 200+ pages of Zetian blaming everything but herself or failing to consider other perspectives alongside a poorly developed scifi world that I couldn't wrap my head around.
Zetian is an annoying main character because she has no flaws and everyone else does. There is absolutely no nuance to the feminist ideas the book tries to discuss. In the end, despite the books attempts to present Zetian as a feminist warrior who cares for the women around her, she ends up projecting her own internalised misogyny onto other women. Instead of looking at the issue with a bit of introspection, she writes off any other woman as "dumb" or "complicit" in the system instead of realising that they're *all* victims of the patriarchy. Idk, I just didn't care to read another 200+ pages of Zetian blaming everything but herself or failing to consider other perspectives alongside a poorly developed scifi world that I couldn't wrap my head around.
Afterlove by Tanya Byrne
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
It's a case of liked the concept, didn't like the execution.
The first act was good although I wish it built up a little more tension as it somewhat felt like the first act and second act were apart of two different books.
The second act was very messy. It was paced poorly and very rushed. It felt like the author realised she didn't have enough pages to tell the story she wanted to so a lot got cut or blended together. The new characters that were introduced felt really basic as a result, they didn't get enough room to develop properly. I wanted to know so much more about them. I also hated how short the chapters were in the second act and how many breaks there were in most of these chapters. It just broke up the story for no reason when I felt it didn't need to.
Spoilers ahead
Look, I know Ash fell in love with Poppy but I wish the author talked about how much she missed her family and friends more. I mean, she had been living with her family for her whole life and been friends with Adara for her entire school experience - and yet we only really get one liners about how she misses them. We get paragraphs about how much she misses Poppy which was nice but she only met Poppy a few months ago. I liked Poppy but still, a little more depth to Ashana would've been nice.
The first act was good although I wish it built up a little more tension as it somewhat felt like the first act and second act were apart of two different books.
The second act was very messy. It was paced poorly and very rushed. It felt like the author realised she didn't have enough pages to tell the story she wanted to so a lot got cut or blended together. The new characters that were introduced felt really basic as a result, they didn't get enough room to develop properly. I wanted to know so much more about them. I also hated how short the chapters were in the second act and how many breaks there were in most of these chapters. It just broke up the story for no reason when I felt it didn't need to.
Spoilers ahead
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Death, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content
Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
WTF ?!?!?!?!?!??!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Domestic abuse
Minor: Body horror
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.5
One of the most horrific books I ever read. Jennette is such a brilliant writer though. It's a weird mixed feeling I have about this book because the content was so horrendous but I couldn't put the book down. I read it in just over one day.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment