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zyzah's reviews
177 reviews
For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings by Troy Onyango
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
A collection of 12 short stories. They are so beautiful, so so beautiful. Some of my favourites were Little Daju, Black is the Color of Absence, and the titular story.
The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.0
This is a beautiful collection. It challenged some biases I didn’t know my mind harboured and affirmed to me that there is space for everyone in this world. There is.
The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a very beautiful book. I really like that I read it at this stage of my life where nuances and grey areas and seeing things from a different perspective matter to me.
Makumbi is a master of storytelling. Her use of language is so soothing and warm and feels like arriving at the big tree where grandma is telling a story to other kids.
And my favorite thing about this book is how different all the women are and how they all made different decisions and have different thinking so that when I was done reading, I couldn’t say “oh, this one is a bad woman. Or this one is a good woman.”
They were just women who made choices.
Makumbi is a master of storytelling. Her use of language is so soothing and warm and feels like arriving at the big tree where grandma is telling a story to other kids.
And my favorite thing about this book is how different all the women are and how they all made different decisions and have different thinking so that when I was done reading, I couldn’t say “oh, this one is a bad woman. Or this one is a good woman.”
They were just women who made choices.
Welcome to Lagos by Chibundu Onuzo
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Maggie is going through it. She’s heartbroken and we know how messy it can be when it doesn’t work out with the one person you think gets you.
I was expecting something to happen in this book: maybe a reference to some childhood trauma that turned Maggie into this person who is needy, and highly critical (of herself and others) and suffers body dysmorphia and doesn’t know when to stop. Or maybe some big healing that helps her get through the pain and in her case, shame, of being divorced.
However, nothing big happened and I think that’s what I love about the book. The reminder that healing isn’t hunger, you don’t just eat a large meal and have your heartbreak disappear. In Maggie’s case, she went through episodes of meeting new people, being annoying to her friends, and the most cringey, kept sending her husband text messages.
Maggie doesn’t heal at the end of the book but there are signs that she’s close. Signs that her friends will always be there for her, signs that she has an idea what she wants, and signs that she can manage to do life alone.
Reading this book, I kept wondering, can my reaction to divorce or heartbreak be as bad as this? I wasn’t sure of the answer but I’m very scared of going through a process where the person you’re doing life with doesn’t want to do life with you anymore.
I was expecting something to happen in this book: maybe a reference to some childhood trauma that turned Maggie into this person who is needy, and highly critical (of herself and others) and suffers body dysmorphia and doesn’t know when to stop. Or maybe some big healing that helps her get through the pain and in her case, shame, of being divorced.
However, nothing big happened and I think that’s what I love about the book. The reminder that healing isn’t hunger, you don’t just eat a large meal and have your heartbreak disappear. In Maggie’s case, she went through episodes of meeting new people, being annoying to her friends, and the most cringey, kept sending her husband text messages.
Maggie doesn’t heal at the end of the book but there are signs that she’s close. Signs that her friends will always be there for her, signs that she has an idea what she wants, and signs that she can manage to do life alone.
Reading this book, I kept wondering, can my reaction to divorce or heartbreak be as bad as this? I wasn’t sure of the answer but I’m very scared of going through a process where the person you’re doing life with doesn’t want to do life with you anymore.
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5
I honestly didn’t care much for the characters but I loved the theme of the book.
This book explores memory and its unreliability.
Usually, when we speak of memory being unreliable or inaccurate, we think of it in the sense that time has passed so you can’t remember the full details of an event clearly.
The book brings in a twist by making the memory unreliable in the present and only clearer after the passage of time. Maybe this is because no one ever has the full picture of an event. We see everything from our perspective and with time, it’s easier to see a past event more objectively.
I also really love stories about ordinary people living ordinary lives. Not sad, not happy either. Just living.
I honestly didn’t care much for the characters but I loved the theme of the book.
This book explores memory and its unreliability.
Usually, when we speak of memory being unreliable or inaccurate, we think of it in the sense that time has passed so you can’t remember the full details of an event clearly.
The book brings in a twist by making the memory unreliable in the present and only clearer after the passage of time. Maybe this is because no one ever has the full picture of an event. We see everything from our perspective and with time, it’s easier to see a past event more objectively.
I also really love stories about ordinary people living ordinary lives. Not sad, not happy either. Just living.
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed reading this a lot. It’s the type of book you could read in one sitting. It’s also the type of book you refer to as a light read even though it touched serious topics especially money.
The book was focused on the Stocktons, a family who lived on Pineapple Street and didn’t have to worry about money because their great grandparents had left them enough money to last generations.
The story was told from the perspective of Darley Stockton who is married with 2 kids to Malcolm, Georgina Stockton who worked in a nonprofit organization as a communication officer and Sasha, who is married to Darley and Georgina’s brother, Cord Stockton.
My favorite character is Sasha. She grew up in a middle class family and didn’t quite fit into the old money family she found herself. She couldn’t really get along with her sister-in-laws even when she made efforts and hated that she had to live in Stockton’s childhood home filled with items from their past.
The book was focused on the Stocktons, a family who lived on Pineapple Street and didn’t have to worry about money because their great grandparents had left them enough money to last generations.
The story was told from the perspective of Darley Stockton who is married with 2 kids to Malcolm, Georgina Stockton who worked in a nonprofit organization as a communication officer and Sasha, who is married to Darley and Georgina’s brother, Cord Stockton.
My favorite character is Sasha. She grew up in a middle class family and didn’t quite fit into the old money family she found herself. She couldn’t really get along with her sister-in-laws even when she made efforts and hated that she had to live in Stockton’s childhood home filled with items from their past.
Bad Fruit by Ella King
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
How do you judge someone who’s had a really traumatic experience and as a result has turned to a terrible person? Do you blame the people who caused her trauma or do you blame her for not learning to be a better person considering what she herself went through?
These were my questions as I read this book. And one thing I took from this book is that trauma doesn’t always end with one person. Sometimes, it’s a cycle that passes from one person to another until it’s difficult to trace where it came from.
I enjoyed this book. It explored the life of a toxic mother and her damaged children but especially her last child and favorite, Lily.
These were my questions as I read this book. And one thing I took from this book is that trauma doesn’t always end with one person. Sometimes, it’s a cycle that passes from one person to another until it’s difficult to trace where it came from.
I enjoyed this book. It explored the life of a toxic mother and her damaged children but especially her last child and favorite, Lily.