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taylorthebookwitch's reviews
229 reviews
My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
4.0
I shouldn’t be surprised that I liked this book- it has all the makings of a fantastic piece of literature. Friendship, high school, 80s songs, and exorcisms.
Read this for my book club’s “campy horror” theme and am very glad that I did!! Would definitely recommend!
Read this for my book club’s “campy horror” theme and am very glad that I did!! Would definitely recommend!
Bruised by Tanya Boteju
2.0
***DNF about 60% in***
t.w.: self-harm, parental death, misogyny, emotional abuse.
This was a book that I really wanted to like. Whip It has been one of my favorite movies since it came out and I've always wished that it had an outwardly sapphic romance, so this book seemed to have it all. Overall, though, it really felt flat for me. The story was fast moving and there was a lot of representation, which was nice to see, but Daya's attitude towards others was absolutely terrible. She always thought of other women as weak if they weren't willing to take a hit, which is honestly kind of messed up. Her misogynistic attitude throughout the book was off-putting, especially since we're supposed to be reading the story through her perspective. The author also makes sure to let you know that this has been her attitude since before her parents died, so it's not a reflection of that trauma, but just her regular character. The self-harm was also surprising as the overview gave no real indication of that sort of content.
Aside from the aforementioned misogyny and self-harm, I also really hated how much the word "s*vage" was used by Daya throughout the book. Time and time again, we've been asked by indigenous people to not use that word, and yet this author has a non-indigenous character use it almost every chapter, which put me off. The author states that she is "living on unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations (Vancouver, Canada)" but I can't seem to find any indication that Boteju is indigenous herself and, regardless, the main character isn't indigenous so she shouldn't be using that term.
During my reading, unfortunately the bad outweighed the good. I probably wouldn't recommend this one out to others, but I do wish we had more books about roller derby out there, because it's a really interesting, generally female-led sport and it deserves recognition.
pros: LGBTQIA+ representation, disability representation, Sri Lankan representation, women in sports, alternative family styles
cons: reinforcement of stereotypes, use of anti-indigenous slurs, misogyny, self-harm
t.w.: self-harm, parental death, misogyny, emotional abuse.
This was a book that I really wanted to like. Whip It has been one of my favorite movies since it came out and I've always wished that it had an outwardly sapphic romance, so this book seemed to have it all. Overall, though, it really felt flat for me. The story was fast moving and there was a lot of representation, which was nice to see, but Daya's attitude towards others was absolutely terrible. She always thought of other women as weak if they weren't willing to take a hit, which is honestly kind of messed up. Her misogynistic attitude throughout the book was off-putting, especially since we're supposed to be reading the story through her perspective. The author also makes sure to let you know that this has been her attitude since before her parents died, so it's not a reflection of that trauma, but just her regular character. The self-harm was also surprising as the overview gave no real indication of that sort of content.
Spoiler
Daya is using roller derby as a means of self harm, to let other people hurt her so she doesn't have to experience emotional pain.Aside from the aforementioned misogyny and self-harm, I also really hated how much the word "s*vage" was used by Daya throughout the book. Time and time again, we've been asked by indigenous people to not use that word, and yet this author has a non-indigenous character use it almost every chapter, which put me off. The author states that she is "living on unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations (Vancouver, Canada)" but I can't seem to find any indication that Boteju is indigenous herself and, regardless, the main character isn't indigenous so she shouldn't be using that term.
During my reading, unfortunately the bad outweighed the good. I probably wouldn't recommend this one out to others, but I do wish we had more books about roller derby out there, because it's a really interesting, generally female-led sport and it deserves recognition.
pros: LGBTQIA+ representation, disability representation, Sri Lankan representation, women in sports, alternative family styles
cons: reinforcement of stereotypes, use of anti-indigenous slurs, misogyny, self-harm
In Nightfall by Suzanne Young
4.0
There’s just something about a summertime horror book that really gets me, and In Nightfall by Suzanne Young was no different. I had a blast learning all about Theo, her brother Marco, and the weird town of Nightfall, Oregon. I, for one, would LOVE to see this turn into a movie!
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
4.0
This book made me feel emotions. It made me feel sad and scared and contemplative. It made me wonder how I would react in the same situation. I loved this book, but it's one that I probably couldn't read again because it made me feel so much. She did a fantastic job, and I'm excited to see what they do with the movie version.
Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward
3.0
This book was well written for sure. Maybe it was just me, but the constant twists were not satisfying, just confusing. It became hard to keep track of what was going on, especially towards the ending, but I loved all of the characters and their interactions.
The one thing that kept really pulling me out were the British turns of phrase and spellings in a book that takes place exclusively in the eastern United States. I expected the author to be British and while she isn’t, it seems like her higher education (at least) took place in the uk.
The one thing that kept really pulling me out were the British turns of phrase and spellings in a book that takes place exclusively in the eastern United States. I expected the author to be British and while she isn’t, it seems like her higher education (at least) took place in the uk.