spootilious's reviews
138 reviews

The Best Worst Poet Ever by Lauren Stohler

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2.0

Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima

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3.5

Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Read: October 19, 2024
Title: Edgedancer
Author: Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3/5
Review:

Brandon Sanderson is famous for his long novels and epic, nail-biting endings, but Edgedancer doesn't quite fit either of those descriptions. It’s not a bad book—far from it—but in a series packed with masterpieces, this slightly above-average novella just doesn’t stand out as much. Maybe it’s because it was written earlier in Sanderson’s career, or perhaps the short format isn't where he truly shines. Either way, something about Edgedancer feels different from his other works.

That said, it still delivers Sanderson’s signature elements: amazing characters, breathtaking worldbuilding, and vivid imagery. But compared to his other books, this one doesn’t quite grab you in the same way. The ending, while fine, lacks the usual dramatic flair that leaves you on the edge of your seat. Instead, it’s a simpler story about a seemingly simple girl, which feels much smaller in scope than the grander tales Sanderson is known for.

Despite all this, I really enjoyed it. If I hadn’t read Edgedancer sandwiched between some of his larger works, I probably wouldn’t be so critical. With that bias in mind, I’ve bumped my initial rating up to a 3. It’s a solid read, just not on par with Sanderson’s best.

QUOTES: N/A

“The world ends tomorrow, but the day after that, people are going to ask what’s for breakfast.”

“What if everybody is frightened, and nobody has the answers?”

TW: Orphans, parental death, murder, skewed justice, paperwork, cursing, blood, war, physical impairments, fatphobic remarks, gluttony.

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Read: October 18, 2024
Title: We Need To Talk ABout Kevin
Author: Lionel Shriver

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Rating: 3/5
Review:
I absolutely hated reading this book. From start to finish, it was a struggle. The writing itself is decent, but the entire narrative felt like a self-righteous woman complaining about motherhood and blaming her child for everything. Sure, her son turned out to be a terrible person, but was it entirely his fault? Who knows. Either way, she certainly didn’t help.

I get that the book was meant to provoke thought, and it did. But just because it makes you think doesn’t mean you have to like it. In fact, it seems like this book was intentionally written to provoke strong reactions, and it succeeded.

I couldn’t find a single character to root for, relate to, or even like. The main character, who isn’t Kevin, is a whiny, middle-aged rich woman who spends so much time bashing America that it becomes exhausting. Her daughter seemed to be there just to humanize her, but even that didn’t work. The way Shriver tries to normalize everything just made it all feel so over-the-top and unbelievable, like watching a poorly written high school play. Eva is obviously a narcissist, and her husband is so emotionally abusive that they both come across as psychotic.

On the other hand, I do have to give Shriver credit for the audacity to drag so many taboo subjects into the light. The book forces you to examine tough topics like motherhood, violence, and the boundaries of love. And it all revolves around one central question: Why?

To clarify my feelings: I hated this book, and I still do. I never want to read anything like it again—it was torture. But because it provoked such strong emotions, I think it’s a must-read for those who enjoy disturbing, thought-provoking commentaries on tough issues.

Note: While I may not personally enjoy certain works, I can still recognize and appreciate their value as significant literature.

QUOTES: N/A

TW: School shootings, sexual content, sexual assault, alledged sexual assault, premeditation, murder, mass murder, child abuse, torture, gaslighting, anti-motherhood, child death, pregnancy, manipulation, violence, police, political content, xenophobia.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Read: September 30, 2024
Title: Practical Magic
Author: Alice Hoffman

Series : Practical Magic #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 2/5
Review:

I really really wanted to love this book but I really really hated it.

The things I did like were worldbuilding as a friend of mine said “You can definitely get the Gilmore Girl vibes from the book.” The novel was whimsical and the characters were well rounded.

However, Hoffman is obviously a technical writer which there is nothing wrong with if the author is able to use it to her advantage and make her sentences and paragraphs more visually diverse to allow the reader’s eyes to feast, as much as the mind does. Practical Magic, however, is just wall after wall of text, almost forcing the gaze to skim rather than to read.

This doesn’t help when most of the text is just lists…. So many lists.

She also goes on a lot of tangents pulling the reader this way and that leaves the story spinning and the reader struggling to reorient, or maybe that's just me?

There really aren't any characters to root for. All of them (minus a couple of the supporting male characters that don’t really add anything to the story) are terrible or problematic.

The writing felt like it was Young Adult with Adult themes.

There wasn’t really any plot to be seen.

Honestly most of the characters (and about 60% of the story) could be removed and the novel wouldn’t really suffer for it.

The sheer amount of weight put on physical appearance and insta-love….

I can definitely see why there are people that love this book and I will definitely recommend it to those that would probably like it but it wasn’t the right novel for me.

QUOTES: N/A

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

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emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Read: August 1, 2023

Title: Moloka'i

Series: Moloka'i #1

Author: Alan Brennert

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 3/5

Review:

I'm probably going to keep this review short since I am unaccustomed to writing these reviews on my mobile. So, please forgive me if I have more grammatical errors than usual and for a shorter post.

Moloka'i was probably the most refreshing and heart-rending work I've read in the last two years.

Brennet's writing feels unemotional and apathetic. In some cases it hurts the story, making it cold and unrelatable, in others it highlights the traumatic and grotesque tragedies of the story.

Regardless, this novel was compelling. It had touching moments, heartbreaking ones, moments that incited anger, disgust, and warmth. It shines that light on pieces of history (both Hawaiian and American) that we don't learn in our history books… history that much of the United States probably would prefer to stay buried.

I have learned so much from this novel. My curiosity and thirst for more of this history has been sparked, so much so that I've found myself knee deep in historical articles, memoirs, and essays, as I hope it has for others.

I highly recommend this novel for anyone who loves historical fiction, Hawaiian culture, World War II fiction, or simply a heavy, moving, and heartbreaking study of the human condition.

(I will not be reading book 2, mostly due to my already massive TBR and lack of time)

Quotes:

“There is beauty…in the least beautiful of things.”

TW: Sexual Content, Attempted Rape, Medical Content, Physical Abuse, Epidemic, Christianity, Polytheism, Loss of Child, Loss of Parent, Adoption, Attempted Suicide, Mentions of Suicide, Hate Crimes, War, Segregation, Racism, Coup, Spousal Abuse, Physical Abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Grief, Drowning, Blood, Descriptive Injury, Bombing

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

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dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Read: July 17th, 2024
Title: Lessons in Chemistry
Author: Bonnie Garmus

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 2/5
Review:

I have been contemplating how to review this for a few hours now. It’s difficult because I really enjoyed reading the book. It made me smile, cringe, and cry; though I think the ‘Laugh out Loud’ reviews are a bit farfetched. In fact, this novel wasn’t just heavy, it hit like a freight train (pun intended).

I suppose my biggest conflict is that I really really like the message of the novel and the focus on social injustices.

The issue then becomes all the things I didn’t like about the novel.

The work was written well enough but Garmus switch so drastically from one injustice to another that I felt as if I were getting whiplash. She moved back and fourth so much that I don’t think any one subject got as much attention as it deserved. The one focused on the most being Women Empowerment but it felt more like anti-men than pro-women… That being said, I am the type of woman that will ALWAYS choose the bear. Still, I think it would be nice to see a feminist store that builds its own ladder rather than using the destroyed men as stepping stones to empowerment… Cuz in the end it means we still need them… even if in a negative way.

I found the dialog to often be condescending as well. Almost as if Garmus was throwing in ever intelligent sound word she could find. It felt forced. People of high intelligence can sound as brilliant as their IQ without sounding like a robot.

The unapologetic and vulgar nature of the atrocities throughout the book is both disturbing and refreshing. I’ve mentioned it in a rare review but I have to admire an author who can simply write a horrific act without defending or explaining it, it makes it hit harder.

That being said… There was a lot… and jumping from it to a ‘funny’ quip or one liner made the whole thing feel off putting…

Overall I really enjoyed the read, just not the way it was written. I would recommend this to individuals who enjoy heavy reads/sad reads, drama, historical fiction that borders on fantasy, or a strong feminist tone.

TBH I loved the show though. Very well done.

QUOTES:
“The librarian is the most important educator in school. What she doesn’t know, she can find out. This is not an opinion; it’s a fact.”

“Imagine if all men took women seriously. Education would change. The workforce would revolutionize. Marriage counsellors would go out of business.”

“Courage is the root of change—and change is what we’re chemically designed to do.”

“Sometimes I think," she said slowly, "that if a man were to spend a day being a woman in America, he wouldn't make it past noon.”

TW: Rape, Adultery, Religious bigotry, Racism, Feminism, Sexism, Animal harm, parental death, death of a child, death of a parent, pedophilia, sexual assault, sexual harassment, bombs, death threats, car accidents, suicide, domestic abuse, vomit, abandonment, mentions of abortion, alcoholism, drug use, blood, body shaming, bullying, child abuse, toxic relationships, stalking, slurs, gaslighting, grief, fatphobia, emotional abuse, classism, alcohol, animal cruelty, pregnancy, miscarriage, infidelity, emotional abuse, medical content.

Content Warnings

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

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adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Read: July 7th, 2024
Title: The Wild Robot
Author: Peter Brown

Genre: Middle Grade Science Fiction

Rating: 2.5/5
Review:

I wanted to love this book. I really really did. But I really really didn’t.

Honestly, I wanted to give it 2 stars, but my son absolutely adores this series and if it gets him reading I have to give it an extra half a star.

Now, obviously I am not the target audience but here are the things I enjoyed about the book:

1. It feels very campfire story/folksy. The entire tone of the novel draws you in.

2. The writing style is simplistic and age appropriate. The vocabulary is diverse and possibly challenging (in a good way) for middle school readers.

Now, for the things I did not like:

While the tone of this novel is light and entertaining the themes of it are not. The book is filled with themes of death and violence. Granted there are other themes like the circle of life, friendship, found family, acceptance. But also, terms like ‘corpses’ and ‘severed limbs’ were used more than once which is a bit concerning.

Its interesting how the novel can be both lighthearted and somber but Brown manages it pretty well, I’ll give him that. Still, I found the novel to be more… disconcerting than entertaining.

That being said, I don’t believe it’s any worse than what this age group is exposed to daily from new channels, YouTube, video games… advertisements… and address valuable lessons like empathy, responsibility, caring for others, and acceptance.

Its difficult to know who I would recommend this too… I suppose I would recommend it to parents who are looking for a book to get their child into chapter books and away from graphic novels with the warning that there is quite a bit of death and some violence.

QUOTES:
N/A

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Read: July 5th, 2024
Title: Dark Matter
Author: Blake Crouch

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 3/5
Review:

The first this I will admit is that I hated reading this book but love that I have read it.

Crouch’s writing reminds me of a massed produced murder mystery, in which the author writes as if the book is going to be made into a movie. (Bear in mind I did not know there was a Television series of this novel until after I read it.)

That is not to say that it was bad, on the contrary I very much enjoyed the novel. However, there were a few things that I found unbelievably annoying.

1. The unending one lined paragraph.

2. First person (though I will admit Crouch manages pretty well).

3. The oddly specific details in places that don’t matter/make sense white glossing over the descriptives of important things.

Now that that is out of the way, Crouch’s descriptions are beautiful, and the novel is so reflective and thought provoking that I couldn’t put it down. Granted it was extremely predictable (in big ways not the small stuff), but the journey was so fun I didn’t mind it too much. The plot was interesting, the pacing was good… a solid read that will having you thinking about it for days.

I’d recommend this novel for anyone who loves psychological thrillers, Sci-fi, or just wants a quick but intense read.

QUOTES:
“I’ve always known, on a purely intellectual level, that our separateness and isolation are an illusion. We’re all made of the same thing—the blown-out pieces of matter formed in the fires of dead stars.”

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.”

“Will I keep fighting to be the man I think I am? Or will I disown him and everything he loves, and step into the skin of the person this world would like for me to be?”

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

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reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

Read: July 1st, 2024
Title: Wide Sargasso Sea
Author: Jean Rhys

Genre: Historical Fiction / Classics

Rating: 3.5/5
Review:

This book is absolutely breathtaking and very difficult to follow.

Rhys reminds me so much of Gabriel Garcia Marquez who I absolutely adore. Rhys’ use of magical realism paints such an enchanting vision that I could hardly put the book down. Rhys’ cadence and rhythm had me absolutely mesmerized.

In a way, I feel as if, because the writing was so beautiful the story was difficult to focus on. There were so many shifts and changes that at some point I had to go back and reread this or that to make sure I understood what was happening.

The exploration of many of the themes in this work also had me eager for more. The exploration of madness was fascinating, especially with the visions at the end of the book and how she had come to be known as ‘mad’. The view of the power dynamics between men and women during this time period was not unexpected but shocking in the portrayal of the abusive husband. I can imagine the scrutiny and danger writing such a realistic view of a character could be for Rhys and have the utmost respect for her bravery in doing so in the sixties.

Exploring societies notion of beauty and nonconformities, female resilience across the ages, racial inequality, the danger and nuance of the nature of colonial history are all intriguing themes throughout the novel that has made it the classic it is today.

I will admit I have not read Jane Eyre, though I have told myself for years that I planned to. Because of this, I feel as if I missed out on quite a lot of the story and plot. As a stand alone the novel falls a bit short, far too disjointed and reliant of the novel to make much sense on its own. However, it is still a book I am very glad I have had the chance to experience.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys magical realism, classics, Jane Eyre, or simply wishes for a unique perspective on colonial history.

QUOTES: N/A

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spootilious's reviews 138 reviews

spootilious's reviews
138 reviews