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youreadtoomuch's reviews
330 reviews
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A straightforward book that tells you everything that will happen in the first few pages. Winnie wants to run away when she meets two strangers. One - comes and goes. The other is Jesse Tuck. The Tucks take Winnie and explain they gained immortality from a spring in her family wood. Our mysterious, unnamed stranger overhears and gets to scheming his way to finding this spring.
This book resolves itself within 3 days and we don’t waste any time. Beginning, middle, and end pass by so quickly that it's no wonder this book relies on not being taken so seriously. We don’t learn much about the spring but we learn enough about the person Winnie is and will be. She’s loyal and naive but so full of love that she takes the Tucks warnings against immortality to heart. Which is incredible when you find yourself finishing this silly book, continuing into the epilogue and getting hit with this overwhelming grief grounded in the reality of what it means to be immortal. That was great.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
Bellies by Nicola Dinan
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
I do not like the way they talk to each other. These are not real conversations. Dnf'd at 8%.
Pet by Catherine Chidgey
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
3.0
A manipulative teacher in a position of power over 12 year olds. What could go wrong? I'd read a few chapters and go summarize what I read to my sister and I'd tell her over and over again: I am getting some bad vibes.
I appreciated the build up and conclusion to what the reader already knew. It wasn't painfully obvious but more exciting like when you pick up on something you're supposed to. However, it did start getting a little difficult to keep reading when actions weren't taken to prevent tragedy. Because this book gets dark quickly.
Also, I don't think the split timelines made sense too much. We could have easily left the future day take place in the future at the end of the book. I wish we'd explored Justine's seizures more. The abortion protest came at an incredibly weird moment and felt like it was added to explain the previous timeline split where she had an abortion and didn't tell her husband. Again, why did we need to know that? It was not relevant to the story.
I appreciated the build up and conclusion to what the reader already knew. It wasn't painfully obvious but more exciting like when you pick up on something you're supposed to. However, it did start getting a little difficult to keep reading when actions weren't taken to prevent tragedy. Because this book gets dark quickly.
Also, I don't think the split timelines made sense too much. We could have easily left the future day take place in the future at the end of the book. I wish we'd explored Justine's seizures more. The abortion protest came at an incredibly weird moment and felt like it was added to explain the previous timeline split where she had an abortion and didn't tell her husband. Again, why did we need to know that? It was not relevant to the story.
Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense by Laurence Perrine
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
Outdated. And white. And male first.
Things I Don't Want to Know: On Writing by Deborah Levy
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Some writers, I'd say all but there are some just so fully self-absorbed to properly reflect on why they should not be writing more about their life. Anyway, some writers have life figured out. Not to it's purpose but to the joy of living and the rest. Deborah Levy was a pleasure to read. I've come to understand that some writers see life in a way I never will and I get to still experience it through these autobiographical pieces. Like yeah, sometimes you are just a girl. Crying on an escalator.