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thespicelessreader's Reviews (827)
A perfect analogy for kids about the ridiculous notion of book banning. The pictures are bright, engaging and it was fun to follow our cast of kids through the story. The words have an easy to read rhyming rhythm that made it fun to read out loud. Definitely one I will be picking up upon release for our home library.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
A moving memoir from George Takei chronicling his experience growing up as a closeted Japanese-American gay man in America in the 1950s through to modern day. He sheds much needed light on what it meant to navigate family, career and politics as someone who wasn't allowed to fully embrace who they really were publicly in a time where society was vocally and physically violent to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. I appreciated him not shying away from the consequences that the intersectionality of his race and his orientation had on him.
The art style was wonderful and did a perfect job of capturing Takei's iconic facial expressions and mannerisms without making him a caricature of himself. It was also easy to identify other famous faces even before they were specifically named.
I do feel that the story itself suffered in the last 50-75 page as we moved further away from George's story in particular and more generally into the American political climate of the past couple of decades. This is obviously super important context and history to gay rights and equality, but divorced of Takei's experience the whole section felt very text heavy and contained a lot of info dumping rather than story telling like we had in the rest of the graphic novel.
I think this would be a great graphic novel for any library to keep on hand for early teen readers and older. If read with a parent to help give context around some of the authors self professed riskier activities(re: the bath house and the language used in that scene) I feel it could also be appropriate for some pre-teen audiences.
The art style was wonderful and did a perfect job of capturing Takei's iconic facial expressions and mannerisms without making him a caricature of himself. It was also easy to identify other famous faces even before they were specifically named.
I do feel that the story itself suffered in the last 50-75 page as we moved further away from George's story in particular and more generally into the American political climate of the past couple of decades. This is obviously super important context and history to gay rights and equality, but divorced of Takei's experience the whole section felt very text heavy and contained a lot of info dumping rather than story telling like we had in the rest of the graphic novel.
I think this would be a great graphic novel for any library to keep on hand for early teen readers and older. If read with a parent to help give context around some of the authors self professed riskier activities
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Police brutality
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual content
Just not my cup of tea at the moment, and reading through the trigger warnings I don't think I'll be able to finish anyway. Totally my bad for not checking them sooner.
Was only able to make it to 18% of this audiobook. The premise was super interesting and the author did a phenomenal job narrating her book, but unfortunately the dialogue was very clunky and unnatural and made it hard to stay engaged with the story. Also while I can appreciate the world that is being built I found that the station and all its technologies are over described and came all at once in a mass info dump rather than being slowly revealed as we moved through and experienced it through the characters.
There felt like a huge difference between the beautiful lyrical writing we got when the author was describing the world before, and the very clinical tone of the world after. This was likely deliberate but made for a whiplash reading experience moving between the two time frames. This is the authors debut work and bumps along the way are to be expected, I look forward to any future works by this author, or even a better edited/refined copy of this story.
There felt like a huge difference between the beautiful lyrical writing we got when the author was describing the world before, and the very clinical tone of the world after. This was likely deliberate but made for a whiplash reading experience moving between the two time frames. This is the authors debut work and bumps along the way are to be expected, I look forward to any future works by this author, or even a better edited/refined copy of this story.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not at all what I was expecting, but Nnedi Okorafor writes in such a powerful way that it draws me in every single time. Gorgeous prose, a main character that is so deeply and beautifully human, and a story within a story.
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Sarah Beth Durst's The Spellshop is a masterclass in cozy fantasy and I am happy to report that she somehow found a way to improve on perfection with The Enchanted Greenhouse. I love that she's built a world that feels expansive and fleshed out, mixing classic fantasy elements with modern sensibilities in a way that feels natural.
I appreciate that for a cozy tale Durst doesn't ignore the fact that some of the events of the book are highly traumatic for the characters and addresses that there will be some fall out/consequences from that. Could it be further fleshed out and more realistic? Of course, but she's writing in the coxy fantasy genre, its not the place for a full deep dive into the psychology of trauma.
While I personally could have taken or left the romance plot, I can appreciate that that is a me thing. Its not clunky or overly spicy, romance in general just isn't my jam. I think those that do like it will find the progress of the relationship to be believable and sweet.
I also appreciate that this is a standalone story so I can recommend this book to anyone who wants to dip their toes into the genre, and then share the happy surprise that there is another book in world if they enjoy it.
Hoping to see more from this world in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and McMillan Audio for this review copy.
I appreciate that for a cozy tale Durst doesn't ignore the fact that some of the events of the book are highly traumatic for the characters and addresses that there will be some fall out/consequences from that. Could it be further fleshed out and more realistic? Of course, but she's writing in the coxy fantasy genre, its not the place for a full deep dive into the psychology of trauma.
While I personally could have taken or left the romance plot, I can appreciate that that is a me thing. Its not clunky or overly spicy, romance in general just isn't my jam. I think those that do like it will find the progress of the relationship to be believable and sweet.
I also appreciate that this is a standalone story so I can recommend this book to anyone who wants to dip their toes into the genre, and then share the happy surprise that there is another book in world if they enjoy it.
Hoping to see more from this world in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and McMillan Audio for this review copy.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a tricky one, and at the end of the day I think it trickles down to just not being for me. I think the harder part is that I cant quite nail down who it is written for. The tags list it as children's/middle grade fiction but the story tackles topics that are decidedly more grown up in nature ex. loss of a spouse, checking out of human interactions, mental decline (no condition given but alludes to dementia or Alzheimer's) .
The art is beautifully illustrated but also in a very cartoony childish style that's bright and inviting, this matches the tone and story beats we see early on. As the story moves on and we see Ned struggle more and more it seems almost discordant or at odds with the story. Maybe this was an intentional story element but i found it very distracting.
My other critique is the dialogue which I found to be very clunky and awkward especially again, as it was billed as a children's/middle grade read. Again this may have been intentional to make the world feel "old timey" but it was so unnatural and unintuitive in flow that it also pulled me out of the story frequently. This could also possibly be due to poor translation, or the Italian author writing his own English dialogue. I couldn't find any translator credits so I am leaning more to the latter.
Again this book is gorgeously illustrated, and the story beats near the end are moving, but it was a struggle for me to finish.
The art is beautifully illustrated but also in a very cartoony childish style that's bright and inviting, this matches the tone and story beats we see early on. As the story moves on and we see Ned struggle more and more it seems almost discordant or at odds with the story. Maybe this was an intentional story element but i found it very distracting.
My other critique is the dialogue which I found to be very clunky and awkward especially again, as it was billed as a children's/middle grade read. Again this may have been intentional to make the world feel "old timey" but it was so unnatural and unintuitive in flow that it also pulled me out of the story frequently. This could also possibly be due to poor translation, or the Italian author writing his own English dialogue. I couldn't find any translator credits so I am leaning more to the latter.
Again this book is gorgeously illustrated, and the story beats near the end are moving, but it was a struggle for me to finish.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My absolute favorite kind of speculative fiction. A half lucid main character who has been through it, a cult, an oasis in a fallen world, and bugs.
Check all the trigger warning friends this is a dark one, but absolutely worth the read if post apocalyptic spec fic with some religious trauma is your jam.
Check all the trigger warning friends this is a dark one, but absolutely worth the read if post apocalyptic spec fic with some religious trauma is your jam.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Books like this are always hard to rate and review, particularly if you are a reader that weights a lot towards their enjoyment of a read. The subject matter was heavy, and deals with a lot of damning and heartbreaking statistics around how we as a western culture view and treat fat bodies.
As a plus sized mom to a baby girl it really hammered home just how important it is how I talk about my body and how I fuel and dress it. Genetics being what they are, she will likely continue from being an adorably chunky toddler into a chubby kid, tween and teen, and its so important to me that she gets to view her body in a way I never did. As a joy and pleasure to live in and explore the world in.
It sparked great conversation with my husband about how we view things, and the inherent racism of fatphobia, and even limiting family access to our daughter based on how they speak about others and their bodies.
As a plus sized mom to a baby girl it really hammered home just how important it is how I talk about my body and how I fuel and dress it. Genetics being what they are, she will likely continue from being an adorably chunky toddler into a chubby kid, tween and teen, and its so important to me that she gets to view her body in a way I never did. As a joy and pleasure to live in and explore the world in.
It sparked great conversation with my husband about how we view things, and the inherent racism of fatphobia, and even limiting family access to our daughter based on how they speak about others and their bodies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexism, Classism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Stalking, Sexual harassment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide