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troystory's reviews
199 reviews
Animal Farm by George Orwell
5.0
Animal Farm was an exceptional book, and a very important read. It was like Lord of the Flies, but the opposite - instead of humans becoming more "savage", the animals became more "civilized", to the point where most of the animals on the farm couldn't tell the difference between the humans and the pigs. I was so enthralled in this book. Absolutely amazing! The simple prose and straightforwardness of the writing really added to it.
I highly recommend this one. You can't go wrong with Animal Farm.
I highly recommend this one. You can't go wrong with Animal Farm.
Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-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
4.0
I remember reading this book years ago, when I was having an identity crisis of my own, and I remember how powerful it felt to me. But it's been a long time, and I decided I should re-read it and see if I feel the same way about it now.
And I think, actually, it's even better than it was the first time I read it.
Firstly, let me say that I ADORE the three main characters (Riley especially just owns my whole heart), and they were probably the first teens I've read in YA books that actually felt like teens to me, which was surprising, in a very good way. And Kanada! She stole every scene she was in, seriously.
This was such a refreshing book, and it has such an important story and message. There are lots more LGBTQ+ books out now (pun not intended), but I think it's still rare to find some that focus on people who aren't cisgender, and those stories are just as significant and have as much a right to be told.
There are definitely trigger warnings for this book, so read it with caution. I think that's the only part that I didn't really like, but apart from it, I loved it.
I think everyone should read this. Highly recommended! It might make you cry!
And I think, actually, it's even better than it was the first time I read it.
Firstly, let me say that I ADORE the three main characters (Riley especially just owns my whole heart), and they were probably the first teens I've read in YA books that actually felt like teens to me, which was surprising, in a very good way. And Kanada! She stole every scene she was in, seriously.
This was such a refreshing book, and it has such an important story and message. There are lots more LGBTQ+ books out now (pun not intended), but I think it's still rare to find some that focus on people who aren't cisgender, and those stories are just as significant and have as much a right to be told.
There are definitely trigger warnings for this book, so read it with caution. I think that's the only part that I didn't really like, but apart from it, I loved it.
I think everyone should read this. Highly recommended! It might make you cry!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, and Transphobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide
Claudius the God by Robert Graves
3.0
I will say, that while I did enjoy this book overall, it suffered from the same problem as the prequel: namely, it felt like a history textbook, and it would go on long tangents that felt unnecessary to the larger plot. However, that being said, it was a good read. I loved the new cast of characters and the way their true intentions were slowly revealed to the reader -- Messalina especially was so charismatic and interesting to follow, like Caligula in the first book. Do I have a fondness for extravagant bad guys? Yes, obviously.
Much like I, Claudius, this book brought up the important issue of truth in the history that's been passed down to us. We don't really have a way of knowing how true the accounts of emperors that we have are, considering they were written with biases and only select versions have survived over the centuries, and this book does a good job of bringing that to light without making it the focus. It is still historical fiction, after all, and I'm sure it takes many liberties.
My least favourite things:
- the feel of the book. The point of it being an autobiography sometimes got lost.
- the long descriptions. It gets very tedious to read descriptions of battles or ships that last entire chapters.
- same goes for the really long decrees and letters that take up a good portion of the book.
My favourite things:
- the characters. Messalina, Herod, among others, were such a joy.
- Claudius himself! I really adore the way the book portrays how he's perceived as an idiot, but attempts to show you his intentions-gone-wrong and how he thinks things through.
This was a very good sequel, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. Highly recommended!
Much like I, Claudius, this book brought up the important issue of truth in the history that's been passed down to us. We don't really have a way of knowing how true the accounts of emperors that we have are, considering they were written with biases and only select versions have survived over the centuries, and this book does a good job of bringing that to light without making it the focus. It is still historical fiction, after all, and I'm sure it takes many liberties.
My least favourite things:
- the feel of the book. The point of it being an autobiography sometimes got lost.
- the long descriptions. It gets very tedious to read descriptions of battles or ships that last entire chapters.
- same goes for the really long decrees and letters that take up a good portion of the book.
My favourite things:
- the characters. Messalina, Herod, among others, were such a joy.
- Claudius himself! I really adore the way the book portrays how he's perceived as an idiot, but attempts to show you his intentions-gone-wrong and how he thinks things through.
This was a very good sequel, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. Highly recommended!
I, Claudius by Robert Graves
3.0
So, I remember having read this book years ago -- five, actually, because apparently I saved some notes about it -- but I couldn't remember much about it, and I wanted to re-read it so I wouldn't be confused while reading the sequel, which I am finally getting around to.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, though I don't know if I liked it more or less than I did the first time. It was written well, and I felt like Robert Graves did an excellent job of bringing these people to life. My biggest problem was that, for a book that was supposed to be a fictional autobiography of Claudius, felt like a modernized version of Suetonius's histories and lacked... well, much about Claudius, really. He was a background character for the most part, and often I found myself forgetting this was written from his point of view.
That being said, I really appreciated the bit with Livy and Pollio (no spoilers!) where they talk about the truth of history. I recognized a lot of the anecdotes and stories that Claudius told about his family from other history books, and it raises the question of their accuracy -- even more so when this is a clearly fictional account. As a history nerd, I really loved those bits particularly.
My favourite things:
- Caligula. I adore the way he was written; he's such a vivacious character and he really has a charismatic presence, which I think is hard to do in books! He's by far my favourite person in this book.
- the conversations Claudius has with the historians. I already wrote about why I love these.
- the time taken to describe and explain things. I'm fairly well-versed in Roman history, so most of what the book discussed I already knew or was vaguely familiar with, but I think it still did a very good job of getting things across in an accessable way.
My least favourite things:
- it read like a history book. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it is basically Claudius giving a very thorough account of the imperial family to tell you how he got to where he is at the end, but it got very tedious at some parts and did take away from it being entirely fiction.
- Claudius wasn't a very active part of the story. I totally understand why, but personally I'm not the biggest fan of this.
I do recommend this book, though. For the most part it's a delight, and it's so rich and vivid and it brings you right into the story. I'm excited to read the sequel!
Overall, I enjoyed this book, though I don't know if I liked it more or less than I did the first time. It was written well, and I felt like Robert Graves did an excellent job of bringing these people to life. My biggest problem was that, for a book that was supposed to be a fictional autobiography of Claudius, felt like a modernized version of Suetonius's histories and lacked... well, much about Claudius, really. He was a background character for the most part, and often I found myself forgetting this was written from his point of view.
That being said, I really appreciated the bit with Livy and Pollio (no spoilers!) where they talk about the truth of history. I recognized a lot of the anecdotes and stories that Claudius told about his family from other history books, and it raises the question of their accuracy -- even more so when this is a clearly fictional account. As a history nerd, I really loved those bits particularly.
My favourite things:
- Caligula. I adore the way he was written; he's such a vivacious character and he really has a charismatic presence, which I think is hard to do in books! He's by far my favourite person in this book.
- the conversations Claudius has with the historians. I already wrote about why I love these.
- the time taken to describe and explain things. I'm fairly well-versed in Roman history, so most of what the book discussed I already knew or was vaguely familiar with, but I think it still did a very good job of getting things across in an accessable way.
My least favourite things:
- it read like a history book. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it is basically Claudius giving a very thorough account of the imperial family to tell you how he got to where he is at the end, but it got very tedious at some parts and did take away from it being entirely fiction.
- Claudius wasn't a very active part of the story. I totally understand why, but personally I'm not the biggest fan of this.
I do recommend this book, though. For the most part it's a delight, and it's so rich and vivid and it brings you right into the story. I'm excited to read the sequel!
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
4.0
So, fair warning, this is a very disturbing book. Like, not for the faint of heart. However, I didn't find it too disturbing to the point of being unreadable. It was written very well, it flowed nicely and was very easy to follow, and it was so good at getting the imagery across. I wouldn't say I highly recommend this, just because it is a very heavy book and it isn't for everyone, but I do think it's worthwhile to read.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
2.0
Wow, I have... So many issues with this book. Spoilers ahead.
It is just an endless cycle of tired tropes. None of the characters felt fleshed out to me; they were more like two-dimensional, flat cutouts of pre-existing stock characters you'd find in, like, any YA fantasy book. Mare herself... Ridiculously annoying. More than that, I felt like the entire world had nothing original in it. Okay, so people are repressed and the nobles have powers, but why should I care? I felt like we were just thrust into this cliché narrative, but there was no build up, and nothing felt earned. Also, it was so predictable, I wasn't really surprised by anything.
The only good thing I can say about it is that I liked the reveal that Mare isn't the only Red with powers. However, I did feel like it was undermined by the fact that every other Red like her got executed, but she got to marry the prince? How does that work?
My biggest problems with this book:
- Evangeline as a whole. She was so... Stereotypical for literally no reason. And her feud with Marr felt shallow, because I couldn't see why she'd hate Mare so much.
- The massive plot holes with Mare becoming a princess. Firstly, it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't just kill her. A Red with powers beyond your abilities would surely threaten the existing social structure. If I were the king, I would've killed her on the spot. It feels silly to let this random Red who could easily overthrow you marry your son. Like, why?
- The fact that it'd be so, so easy to reveal Kate isn't actually a Silver. Just give her a paper cut. Why didn't Evangeline think of that?
- The love triangle with Maven and Cal. I really hate when a character is caught between siblings. Like, please. No.
- The entire premise, like how Mare's story really started. Her three brothers all go to war and she does absolutely nothing about it - doesn't even try to do anything - but then her best friend gets conscripted and suddenly she's like, oh, gotta get you out of this. Let's just get involved with an actual rebellion leader and owe her a ton of money. Uhh... Strange priorities, but okay.
- The way Maven was going to execute Mare and Cal. It seems really dumb to give them a fighting chance? Like, of you actually want them dead, maybe just... Decapitated them, or something?
Overall, this book just really isn't my taste.
It is just an endless cycle of tired tropes. None of the characters felt fleshed out to me; they were more like two-dimensional, flat cutouts of pre-existing stock characters you'd find in, like, any YA fantasy book. Mare herself... Ridiculously annoying. More than that, I felt like the entire world had nothing original in it. Okay, so people are repressed and the nobles have powers, but why should I care? I felt like we were just thrust into this cliché narrative, but there was no build up, and nothing felt earned. Also, it was so predictable, I wasn't really surprised by anything.
The only good thing I can say about it is that I liked the reveal that Mare isn't the only Red with powers. However, I did feel like it was undermined by the fact that every other Red like her got executed, but she got to marry the prince? How does that work?
My biggest problems with this book:
- Evangeline as a whole. She was so... Stereotypical for literally no reason. And her feud with Marr felt shallow, because I couldn't see why she'd hate Mare so much.
- The massive plot holes with Mare becoming a princess. Firstly, it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't just kill her. A Red with powers beyond your abilities would surely threaten the existing social structure. If I were the king, I would've killed her on the spot. It feels silly to let this random Red who could easily overthrow you marry your son. Like, why?
- The fact that it'd be so, so easy to reveal Kate isn't actually a Silver. Just give her a paper cut. Why didn't Evangeline think of that?
- The love triangle with Maven and Cal. I really hate when a character is caught between siblings. Like, please. No.
- The entire premise, like how Mare's story really started. Her three brothers all go to war and she does absolutely nothing about it - doesn't even try to do anything - but then her best friend gets conscripted and suddenly she's like, oh, gotta get you out of this. Let's just get involved with an actual rebellion leader and owe her a ton of money. Uhh... Strange priorities, but okay.
- The way Maven was going to execute Mare and Cal. It seems really dumb to give them a fighting chance? Like, of you actually want them dead, maybe just... Decapitated them, or something?
Overall, this book just really isn't my taste.
The Sight by David Clement-Davies
5.0
Okay, so, I remember adoring this book the first time I read it, which was years ago. I finally found a copy a couple years ago, long after I'd read it, and only now have I gotten around to reading it. Generally, I'm hesitant to reread books I used to love when I was younger, because I'm sure I won't like them as much and I don't want to ruin the memories I have of them. However, The Sight exceeded my expectations, and I feel like I enjoyed it more than I could have when I was younger and didn't catch all the allusions. What an incredible book this is! Firstly, I adore the writing. It's poetic and beautiful without ever feeling like too much, and the descriptions are so good at getting me to feel like I'm really there. Another thing I loved with the richness of the world and the characters. They all felt fleshed out and believable, and the complex mythology of the wolves was just fascinating to read. No spoilers, but the end caught me off guard and I was way sadder than I thought I'd be when I finished it. Just, overall an amazing read. I can't recommend it enough.
Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
3.0
So, I still have a few problems with this book, but overall it was enjoyable and it had such a satisfying ending. I think it's rare to find a trilogy or series that concludes in a way that feels right, and that doesn't drag out or feel like a bunch of things were made up for the sake of drama. This was definitely the best book in the trilogy. It had great new characters, good fight scenes, and some incredible development on Jacob's end. However, I wasn't a big fan of the cliché Devil's Acre thing, though that was pretty tolerable so I don't really mind it, and I still get irritated by the way they tend to view normals stuck in loops as "background scenery". However, putting those two things aside, I did genuinely like this book. I think it's worth it to read the first two books just to get to this one, honestly.
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
3.0
Definitely an improvement from the first one, though not by much. At least there was a plot, and it didn't drag as much - - plus, the plot twist at the end was actually pretty good, and I didn't see it coming at all. My main problem with this book concerns Jacob's powers. He sees a hollow one time and suddenly knows how to pinpoint exactly where the next one is going to be, even though he just recently discovered his peculiarity? With the other kids, it seemed like their abilities developed over time, but his just manifested really strong in like two days. Slightly unrealistic, but it's not the worst thing in the world so I could overlook it. Also, I loved Hugh in this book. He's the real star of the show.
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel
5.0
What a delight this book is! Seriously, I highly recommend it - not a single moment of your time will be wasted. It is written in such an engaging, flowing way, and it pulls you right into the story. It's hard not to feel like you're in the room, looking at the same books, being told everything you're reading as you flip the pages. It is just absolutely amazing. It is actually making me consider pursuing a career in paleography. I fell in love with the manuscripts presented in each chapter, became invested in their histories and in the mysteries de Hamel was trying to unravel. I don't think I even have the right words to say how much this book touched me, how it has completely altered my perception of medieval literature and manuscripts and everything that comes with it. I urge everyone to read this book. You won't be disappointed!