svjak's reviews
90 reviews

She Gets the Girl by Alyson Derrick, Rachael Lippincott

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

4.25

🛑 STOP!! ✋

Pause whatever you're doing and add this book to your TBR.
 
She Gets the Girl is a dual-pov lesbian romcom featuring a subtle grumpy/sunshine, "you're not like everyone else" trope where the "I don't like her like that" wingwoman catches feelings. Tune in for rugby, ping-pong battles, cookie dough, and watching one mc make a fool of herself while the other falls in love with her for it. 

If you like enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers with an 'unlikely couple' then you'll probably love this. 

I stayed up all night to finish it and that's one all-nighter I don't regret. Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick have created magic with this book and I could sing it's praises eternally.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

adventurous informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Neil deGrasse Tyson is a fantastic scientific mind. Reading Astrophysics for People in a Hurry barely scratched the surface and I'm already eager to learn more about what he has to say. 

But perhaps even more important than his scientific literacy is his ability to communicate and explain complicated, scientific concepts in an accessible and intriguing way. Not a single page (or minute) of this book was boring. And coming from someone who can easily get lost in information-dense texts, this is high praise. Tyson managed to still convey a lot of information about the universe and astrophysics without making it feel overbearing. 

Time to get cosmic. There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on any beach, more stars than seconds have passed since Earth formed, more stars than words and sounds ever uttered by all the humans who ever lived.

In fact, I would argue that Tyson is the sole reason that I now have an interest in the topic of astrophysics. 

Every cup that passes through a single person and eventually rejoins the world’s water supply holds enough molecules to mix 1,500 of them into every other cup of water in the world. No way around it: some of the water you just drank passed through the kidneys of Socrates, Genghis Khan, and Joan of Arc.

How about air? Also vital. A single breathful draws in more air molecules than there are breathfuls of air in Earth’s entire atmosphere. That means some of the air you just breathed passed through the lungs of Napoleon, Beethoven, Lincoln, and Billy the Kid.

He uses real-world examples and real-life concepts to convey how massive the universe is, how tiny molecules are, and what this means in the context of our lives. He drives home why these concepts should be important to us. Educators like David Attenborough and now Neil deGrasse Tyson are precisely the reason that I loved science as a child. 

This book as brought back so many fond memories of studying science and being in awe of our universe. It's reminded me of what it was like to be a child with a mind that just wanted to learn about new things because I enjoyed learning and I enjoyed making connections between different aspects of life. 

What we do know, and what we can assert without further hesitation, is that the universe had a beginning. The universe continues to evolve. And yes, every one of our body’s atoms is traceable to the big bang and to the thermonuclear furnaces within high-mass stars that exploded more than five billion years ago. We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out—and we have only just begun.

This is one of those books that you can read over and over and it will never lose its value because each time you listen you have another opportunity to reflect and discover new ways to digest the information. This book is almost like therapy in a way because it makes you contemplate your own existence, where we come from, where we're going, what we know, and what we don't know. 

And it's also incredibly humbling. 

Rarely do I read a book that I immediately need to go out and recommend to everyone I know, but this was a fantastic book that I think everyone should read at least once.

2022 Research Articles by

informative slow-paced

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The Winter War: Ukraine's commanders assess their options by The Economist

informative medium-paced

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It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Did not finish book. Stopped at 80%.

DNF @ 80%

This was just not the book for me. There was a toxic relationship in this book, which isn't a problem in itself, but it was normalized as something that's fine instead of seeing it for what it was. This has the effect of romanticizing abusive and controlling behavior instead of exposing it for what it is and I think that has the potential to be extremely harmful given the primary audience reading this book.

The characters also sucked and there was nothing to balance it out and make it worth my time. No smut, no fantastical world-building, no hilarious best friend... nada. I was dragging my feet through each page.

I started reading this in May, really gave it a shot for a few weeks, and it's been sitting on a shelf in my room for over six months now (collecting dust.) I have zero intentions of picking it back up, and in fact I dread the thought of picking it back up. 

So nearly 8 months later, it's time to officially DNF [book:It Ends with Us|27362503].

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

What a ride!

Wow! This book shocked me. I never saw the twist coming. Alex Michaelides has a real talent for writing well-developed characters and complex stories that make you want to like them. If you're looking for a mind twister that's going to take everything you think you know and twist it on it's head, this is the book for you. 

I can't wait to read more of this author's work.

Please Like Me (But Keep Away) by Mindy Kaling

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

4.0

Please Like Me was a hilarious essay by Mindy Kaling about what it's like to be an introvert and live with social anxiety. Mindy has a way of writing that's just so blunt and frank about her experiences. She isn't trying to sugarcoat or write around it or make it sound nice and flowery. 

The problem was I didn’t want just anyone’s company. I wanted the company of funny, smart, like-minded people. That’s when I realized something about myself: I would rather be lonely than bored.

This essay was insightful and honest. It's the perfect length for a lunch-break read and so so worth the time to read.

Matches & Mistletoe: An Anthology of Four Celtic & Germanic Tales by Rebecca F. Kenney

inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Matches & Mistletoe was a lovely anthology! This is exactly what I needed to be reading right now. Each one of the stories Rebecca told was unique and emotional. Some were stronger than others, but as a whole I would give the anthology a 4/5 stars. It was amazing to see characters like Far Darrig in an anthology like this, and Kenney's twist on the fae was absolutely magical! I can't wait to read more of her stories.

Reviews for each story:

The Felwitch of Embry Hollow - ★★★★★

This was such a short and cute story, but it was also bittersweet. I'm so sad it's only a short story and not a full length novel I can devour. I loved everything about it. We followed the main character, Thistle, during the holidays after her mentor has passed away. She lives in a town where the magical Felwitch blesses each villager with a gift for the holidays and in return takes all of the items around town that are unwanted.

There were so many cute moments in this story,

like when Thistle and Elatha were cleaning and throwing suds at each other.

Little moments like that are woven into the story so well and it just makes me want to stay in that world and never come out.

Every moment with Elatha's family was also so so bittersweet. Rebecca crafted characters that are so easy to love. Elatha was misunderstood and all alone, but

valued his family so much that he gave up every day of the year only to have part of a night with them.

"I will miss all of you," whispered Elatha.

"We will always be here," said his brother. "As all our people remain in this world, in some form. We are part of the stones and the moors, part of the mists and the mountains. Our voices travel in the wind, and our spirits sail through the water. You will feel us again, every time you walk this wood."

I've never been so close to tears from a short story before. 

And I really wish that this were a longer story because this was such an amazing story and I wanted to keep reading about Thistle and Elatha well past the ending. 

The Christmas Faerie of Strasburg - ★★☆☆☆

This one was a cute little story about the origin of the Christmas tree. Unlike the first tale in the series, this one did feel a bit rushed. I felt little connection to the characters, which in a way placed the highlight on the purpose of the tale rather than the finer details of it. 

A Monstrous Angel - ★★★★☆

This one was another bittersweet tale. It wasn't quite as good as the first, but it was still a lot of fun to read (and also nearly made me cry.) 

A Monstrous Angel tells the story of Far Darrig and his leprechauns, and a small little family who got wrapped up in it all. Gloria was a stay at home mother to her two children. Her husband had recently died in the war and she was home all alone, trying to raise her children the best she could. A chance-encounter with a leprechaun would chill her to the bones and bring a handsome man in red to her door.

I was so sad for Far Darrig. Gloria wanted nothing more than to see and be seen, and when she got what she wanted she decided it wasn't good enough.

I was hoping so much that Gloria would have a chance to apologize after what she said and the regret she felt.

Why did the story have to end there? I hope Far Darrig reappears in some future tales. 

The Match Girl - ★★★☆☆

This story, along with the first, really had me begging for more. I wanted so bad to learn more. It felt more like a glimpse at the beginning of a story rather than a complete short tale for an anthology and it left off at a cliffhanger that was incredibly frustrating. 

We follow a girl after her 'mother/keeper' of sorts has passed, though it's clear that there's no real love between them. She is exploring the world for the first time on her own and learns of a terrible secret her keeper kept from her about who she is and where she came from. 

This story leaves off right as she gets a little morsel of truth, but before she finds out the whole truth, which is where it was so frustrating. I wanted to follow her as we learned more about who she is and how she came to be with her mother/keeper. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Grief, Abandonment

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.

There were so many magical and mystical elements to Daughter of the Moon Goddess and I loved the way Sue Lynn Tan reflected that in her writing. It was incredibly cool to read about Chinese Mythology in a book, especially a YA book! I'm very familiar with the story of the Moon Goddess and I thought that the concept Sue Lynn Tan has with this novel is an amazing and unique spin on a classic Chinese tale.

At the same time, I was struggling to get into the story. It felt like a lot of the characters were kinda shallow and I thought that the most interesting points of the book were rushed through and exchanged for long internal monologues or descriptions of things that weren't as interesting. That and this book was exceptionally slow-paced, which I usually don't jive with at all. But I will say, although slow-paced novels aren't really for me, I truly truly appreciated how much work Sue Lynn Tan put into this book. It's written very much in a similar style to a lot of Chinese classics or traditional tales. I got so excited when I started recognizing familiar themes and elements, but I just couldn't get past the slow-paced storytelling. That's what ultimately made me lose interest in this book. 

After spending a week trying to come back to this story, I decided it was time to just DNF it. I might have to revisit this later and try reading it again. 

Centrifugal by Brandon Sanderson

dark fast-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

2.75

Centrifugal is a short story written by Brandon Sanderson in 1994 for a High School writing competition. The most valuable part of reading this short story for me wasn't even in the story, but rather in Sanderson's choice to publish this online to inspire other young writers. 

This is far from Sanderson's best work. It's choppy and disjointed, lacks character development and personality, and it's over very quickly. But even in this piece you can see Sanderson's passion for storytelling. He has something unique about the way he approaches a story. 

This was so cool to read and see how far he's come as a writer. And it definitely puts into perspective how much of writing is skill development through experience rather than natural "talent." The biggest takeaway from this book is Sanderson's encouragement to keep going, keep writing, keep practicing, and you'll get there. Great writing takes time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death