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apairofducks's reviews
383 reviews
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
4.25
Sharp and incisive and prescient. This book is a classic for a reason.
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
4.25
I adore Dell, and I’m glad we got to see more of her in the second half of the book.
Cara was such a uniquely fascinating POV character, and I enjoyed every second I spent in her head. She was simultaneously always herself and wonderfully unpredictable, and I found every scene compelling.
And Nik Nik… I am Fascinated by him. The different versions of him. Earth 175 him and Earth Zero him… what a complicated character.
Cara was such a uniquely fascinating POV character, and I enjoyed every second I spent in her head. She was simultaneously always herself and wonderfully unpredictable, and I found every scene compelling.
And Nik Nik… I am Fascinated by him. The different versions of him. Earth 175 him and Earth Zero him… what a complicated character.
Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution by Kacen Callender
4.0
I’m stuck between a 3.75 and a 4.
This book had all the subtlety of a brass band. I often found myself wishing Callender could convey the prescient topics they discussed— intersectionality and trauma and the like— without having characters directly state “I feel this way because I have abandonment issues from my parents.” I know they mocked the idea of telling teenagers they aren’t that deep, but seriously— I think teenagers don’t often have that kind of clarity, and also few people are going to spell out their trauma so neatly.
I enjoyed the discussions of Lark’s Twitter and their conflicts with Micah and Patch, even though I found the discourse so painfully accurate that I considered DNFing to escape the full-body cringe (which, I suppose, is a roundabout compliment to Callender’s writing). I loved Sable— she’s probably my favorite character, although I also adored Lark. There were multiple gem moments, and I highlighted a lot.
Basically, this book is direct to a point where it feels inaccurate, but it also has enough charming heart that I dealt with its less charming aspects.
This book had all the subtlety of a brass band. I often found myself wishing Callender could convey the prescient topics they discussed— intersectionality and trauma and the like— without having characters directly state “I feel this way because I have abandonment issues from my parents.” I know they mocked the idea of telling teenagers they aren’t that deep, but seriously— I think teenagers don’t often have that kind of clarity, and also few people are going to spell out their trauma so neatly.
I enjoyed the discussions of Lark’s Twitter and their conflicts with Micah and Patch, even though I found the discourse so painfully accurate that I considered DNFing to escape the full-body cringe (which, I suppose, is a roundabout compliment to Callender’s writing). I loved Sable— she’s probably my favorite character, although I also adored Lark. There were multiple gem moments, and I highlighted a lot.
Basically, this book is direct to a point where it feels inaccurate, but it also has enough charming heart that I dealt with its less charming aspects.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
4.0
The first half of this book was great— the second half felt like a tangent.