supermanabi's reviews
959 reviews

Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-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

5.0

 There are some books that make me desperately wish I was in love with someone, and the first three volumes of Heartstopper were just such books. In honor of volume 4 coming out, I decided I needed to read the first three, so that when I finally get my hands on volume 4, I’m ready for it. I am so glad I finally did. Charlie and Nick are so sweet, and I am such a sucker for friends-to-lovers storylines. It’s the mutual pining, babes. Alice Oseman killed it with these two sweet boys in love in high school, and the art is just *chef’s kiss.*... Read the full review here 

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott

challenging reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

Why You Should Read It: Don’t.
I picked up this book because one of 800 reading challenges I’m doing is to read all of the books on this “1000 Books to Read Before You Die” list, and this was one of them. I regret reading this so much. It caused me physical pain. Instead of writing a new review, I will transcribe for you a text conversation I had with my friend... Read the full review here 

Let It Be a Dark Roux: New and Selected Poems by Sheryl St. Germain

emotional reflective

4.0

I don’t remember how I discovered this book. I’d never read a Sheryl St. Germain poem before I found this. In fact, I’d never heard of her. However it happened, I’m glad it did because her poetry is incredible. There are some lines that are still nestled inside my chest as I’m writing this review. And it’s not often I’ll dog-ear a book or annotate it, but I did this one because I had to mark off which poems I read and then had to sit a minute and digest and then read again and again... Read the full review here 

The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I by Arthur Conan Doyle

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

 I know plenty of people who love Sherlock Holmes. In fact, the day after I finished reading this volume, one of my coworkers returned a copy of Hounds of Baskervilles to the library and sighed dreamily as she said, “this was such a good book.” I am not one of those people who loves Sherlock Holmes. I don’t think I can even really put my finger on what it is exactly about these stories I dislike so much... Read the full review here 

How to Train Your Dad by Gary Paulsen

lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

 I like Gary Paulsen, so when I saw this book was released, I scooped up a copy for my library’s collection. When I saw it wasn’t quite 200-pages, I also thought to myself, “hey this might be a good book for Battle of the Books. I should read it.” It took a while, but I did finally check it out, sit down, and zoom my way through another great book for Gary Paulsen. I absolutely love the characters he built in this book, especially Carl’s quirky best friend. (There’s always a quirky best friend, and this one is the kind of quirky I can get behind.) ... Read the full review here 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

 I am struggling to put into words the magic this book carries. I think what it is is that it makes the world seem like it could be a little more magical than it is. When I finished this book, I found myself giving ordinary doors second glances, thinking about where this door might lead in January Scaller’s world. “If this door lead to another world,” I found myself thinking, “what might that world look like?” Of course, nothing ever laid behind any of those doors but the room, hallway, or exterior that they were intended to lead to, but a book that leaves that little echo of magic in your heart is a book with reading... Read the full review here 

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0

 I am…ambivalent about this book. In part, I enjoyed it. Abbey has a lot to say about Arches National Park, the area surrounding it, and the National Park Service (NPS) that was worthwhile to read. He writes gorgeous descriptions of a harsh, unforgiving land in such a way that I’m willing to forgive the land for being the way that it is. Despite never having been in a desert, I can say with certainty that I am not a desert person – I don’t like the heat, and I don’t like the sand. What does a desert have for me? But Abbey’s language makes me think that I could love the desert, and that is a piece of masterful work. On the other hand... Read the full review here 

Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix by Aminah Mae Safi

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

 Super quick shout-out to to NetGalley and Fiewel Friends for letting me read this book early. Y’all are my heroes. Now onto the stuff you’re actually here for–why this book is as amazing as it sounds.

First let me hit you with the description I gave my coworker the day after I finished reading this book. “Okay, so imagine Robin Hood, but instead of it being set in England while Richard the Lionheart is off committing war crimes, it’s instead set in the part of the world where Richard the Lionheart is committing war crimes. And also, instead of being a white, Christian man, the Robin Hood character is Muslim girl who followed her sister into war and then accidentally became a thief..." Read the full review here 

Rites of Passage by William Golding

slow-paced

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

2.0

 This book was painful. Edmund Talbot has his head so far up his ass this entire book that I’m surprised he actually managed to see a single thing on his trip. He is obviously aware that the other people are on the ship because he interacts with them, but he doesn’t always interact with them as if they were people. To us as readers, these people are secondary characters, and Edmund Talbot treats them as secondary characters as well. He is the main character of his story, and he is aware of it... Read the full review here 

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Once again my obligatory shout-out: Thanks NetGalley and Feiwel Friends for letting me read this book not only early but for free because I would have paid you for this honor.
Yes, this book is that good. I am 100% buying a copy of it for my shelves once it is released because I am going to reread it definitely more than once in my life. This book had all the things that I love, like the characters. Bastián and Lore are just so wonderfully vibrant. I don’t know either of them, but I feel like I could. They are also both so incredibly sure of who they are as nonbinary people... Read the full review here