wisteriariaa's reviews
108 reviews

The Meadows by Stephanie Oakes

challenging emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Thank you to BookishFirst for the ARC!

I'm not going to beat around the bush- I really enjoyed this book. I find it difficult to put into words how much the story resonated with me. As someone who is a member of the queer community, this was a bit of a difficult read at certain points because of how much I related to Eleanor and the other girls and their thought processes. I have been fortunate enough to not have experienced conversion therapy, but the internal fears and struggles these girls have from feeling like there is something wrong with them, feeling alone, struggling to conform, and just the pain of not ever feeling like you'll be accepted by society for who you are is so real. Emotion in this book in general is just so well written, and it's helped by the phenomenal writing. The prose is wonderful, there are so many lines I re-read over and over because of how beautiful they were. 

The author also does a good job creating characters that feel very distinct from each other. Aside from a few background characters, each felt like they had a unique personality. The characters I felt stood out the most were Sheila and Rose, they both had such strong personalities. The book's dialogue also helped with characterization, as it was very realistic and flowed well. 

Minor spoilers here:

I was also not expecting such a happy ending in this book. Well, not exactly happy, but I was expecting the ending to be extremely dark and depressing. I did not expect the direction the book was going to go, but it ended up being very hopeful and uplifting. I think the ending is very fitting for this sort of book. Instead of presenting a homophobic society as something that is suffocating and cannot be changed, it shows that resistance is possible and necessary. I also like that the very technology that is used to oppress queer people is also used to help them come together and fight back. Overall, it's just a very unexpectedly nice ending for a book with extremely dark subject matter.

However, this is not a book I'd recommend lightly. The anti-queer rhetoric presented in this book is very realistic, and while I definitely think this is one of the book's strengths, I also think it may be upsetting for some people. The themes and ideas the author wants the audience to take from the book is for people to love and accept themselves and each other as they are, but the entire book is literally about conversion therapy and its repercussions. Definitely make sure you're in the right headspace to read about that.

This is a book that clearly had a lot of passion and care put into writing it. Considering the current political climate in the US along with the unjustified hatred and destruction of any book that dares to vaguely imply a kid could have two moms, books like these are more important than ever. We have come far in the fight for equality, but we clearly still have so far to go. I highly recommend this book and I'm excited to read more from this author in the future. 

The Avant-Guards, Vol. 1 by Carly Usdin

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

The Walking Dead, Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire by Robert Kirkman

fast-paced

3.0

The Backstagers, Vol. 2: The Show Must Go On by James Tynion IV, Rian Sygh

4.25

The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai

emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Rtc

The Walking Dead, Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars by Robert Kirkman

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The Backstagers, Vol. 1: Rebels Without Applause by Walter Baiamonte, James Tynion IV, Rian Sygh

4.25

Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater

4.5

Rtc

The Walking Dead, Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us by Robert Kirkman

medium-paced

4.0

The Immeasurable Depth of You by Maria Ingrande Mora
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.

This is another one that's really failing to capture my attention. It's a bit boring and the main character is irritating, if I'm being honest. Idk, maybe I'll come back to it at some point but all I could think of while reading it is all the other stuff I could be reading instead.