angelicardale's reviews
196 reviews

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

i am very emotional .. that was really really good!! very upsetting but very good. i was anxious the entire time lol
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

this was such a rollercoaster. i haven't read many classics (especially victorian era classics) but this book was wild! i loved the gothic vibes and annotated it to hell and back. i read it for my victorian literature class so there were several themes i kept track of throughout the reading, and i think it really added to my enjoyment of the book. i love jane and i see a lot of myself in her. also i still think she's a lesbian sorry you can't change my mind
The Sunshine Court by Nora Sakavic

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

I AM SO UNWELL. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MOVE ON AND BE NORMAL AFTER ALL OF THAT. nora sakavic im in ur walls pls release the next book asap (": i dont know how long i can wait. time to reread the whole series all over again haha!
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bro this book is so sad what the hell. i sobbed for the last like 45-50% of this book. fantastic 10/10 stars but omfg...this was my first read of it and just. oh my god. wow. very beautiful message but also very devastating and s.e. hinton better pay for my therapy after that.
The Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

it was alright. read for a victorian literature class. not really sure why nobody in the reviews is talking about the xenophobia and racism in this when it's pretty blatant!! i know it's a product of its time period, but still, i don't think that should excuse it entirely. xenophobia and racism aside, i did appreciate that there wasn't tooooo much sexism, and the woman initially painted to be hysterical and nervous ends up being completely justified and correct, and is taken seriously throughout most of the piece. the mystery itself was just kinda strange and the conclusion didn't make a ton of sense. not the best but not the worst. solid 3/5.
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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

i literally sobbed so hard reading this book that i went through an entire box of tissues. one of the easiest 5 stars ive ever read, that was fantastic and i will for sure have to do a full re-read at some point to go back and annotate this !!!! absolutely brilliant.
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

i really liked this, the writing was very elegant and the themes and atmosphere in the text is just fantastic. i could easily visualize everything and found myself very tensed up at several different points. very chilling and creepy!! highly recommend.
Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 1 by Naoya Matsumoto

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

i really liked this! trying to read some easy reads to inspire myself to get out of my reading slump, and this did not disappoint (-: really fun, for sure continuing with the series
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

update: changed my rating to a 5 star because i dont care this book lives rent free in my brain

this book was a lot of fun. for sure kept me on my toes and was extremely gripping from page one. this was my first holly jackson book and i really liked the character dynamics and relationships at play. i didn't find the final reveals to be too shocking or surprising, but that just kinda added to my enjoyment of the book, strangely enough. i think it made it all the more fun to wait for the main characters to figure out and definitively prove what i was suspecting. there was still enough unexpected stuff to for sure keep me guessing! only reason this isn't a 5 star for me is bc this book still took me 2 days to read despite being a contemporary YA thriller under 400 pages lol (simply due to the ridiculously large cast of characters and having to cross-reference to earlier parts in the book so frequently). otherwise this was rly good and i shall be continuing the trilogy!
Piercing by Ryū Murakami

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

wow! this book was soooo much to dissect and take in. personally, i annotated this just as much as i annotated in the miso soup, but i enjoyed this far more. i feel like the character studies and the complex relationships depicted in this book are just phenomenal. i think this book accomplished what earthlings didn't quite hit for me; not that the two books are particularly comparable, but they do both explore very similar themes and the way trauma and child abuse impacts people into their adulthood, creating an intricate relationship with dissociation and the fragmented sense of self, in the context of a horror story. i really really loved that there was no black or white thinking. every character in this is morally grey. every character is complex and screwed up and really needs therapy. the writing was lyrical and flowed very well. i genuinely loved it!