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apollinares's reviews
223 reviews
Fair Play by Tove Jansson
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I grew up on Jansson's books, so maybe it's the nostalgia making me rate this book so high, but the way she writes is just so... Human.
Realistic dialogue is a huge thing for me in books (I hate it when those that are supposed to be ordinary people sound like movie characters), and Fair Play manages to capture daily interactions, daily mundanity, perfectly.
Nothing really happens in this book. But at the same time, it is a love story (a series of love stories?) and everything about it feels so real.
Realistic dialogue is a huge thing for me in books (I hate it when those that are supposed to be ordinary people sound like movie characters), and Fair Play manages to capture daily interactions, daily mundanity, perfectly.
Nothing really happens in this book. But at the same time, it is a love story (a series of love stories?) and everything about it feels so real.
Chlorine by Jade Song
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
No wonder this book is a debut - it reads like one. Character motivations are flimsy and there's a lot of "tell, not show". What promised to be a horrifying (and in its horror, relatable) depiction of girlhood turned out to be a repetitive, bleak look at the life of an extremely unpleasant main character and her one-dimensional "friends".
Ren's character kept me from engaging with the plot: I really hoped for more from this book, but she read so stereotypically "insane" (you know, the way Jinx from Arcane is "insane", the way Harley Quinn is "insane") that I had trouble buying into the themes the story was pushing. Strong beginnings there, sure, the exploration of what puberty and high school and being in competitive sports could do to a girl, but her narrative voice felt weak and underdeveloped.
It's a weird book. I don't know if even the author understood what she was trying to say with it.
Ren's character kept me from engaging with the plot: I really hoped for more from this book, but she read so stereotypically "insane" (you know, the way Jinx from Arcane is "insane", the way Harley Quinn is "insane") that I had trouble buying into the themes the story was pushing. Strong beginnings there, sure, the exploration of what puberty and high school and being in competitive sports could do to a girl, but her narrative voice felt weak and underdeveloped.
It's a weird book. I don't know if even the author understood what she was trying to say with it.
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I liked this one about as much as I liked The Chosen And The Beautiful, which is to say, not a lot. They feel similar - they both meander, talk vaguely about never-elaborated-on magic, and conclude in a rush that introduces a whole new element to the story that had previously lay dormant and unexplored.
The writing is beautiful, but it's a shame it doesn't go much of anywhere.
The writing is beautiful, but it's a shame it doesn't go much of anywhere.
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I think I need to sit and think this one over; a lot of it surely went over my head on the first read.
It's a frame narrative, an exploration of what it means to be a reader and an author, but it's also more than that. It's dense, and strange, and some of it did not age so well, but still it made me think - and ultimately, what else is art for, if not to make its audience think?
It's a frame narrative, an exploration of what it means to be a reader and an author, but it's also more than that. It's dense, and strange, and some of it did not age so well, but still it made me think - and ultimately, what else is art for, if not to make its audience think?
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Generic YA; nothing special, though I wish it had been. The premise is gripping enough, but the actual book doesn't deliver. The character development is surface at best, which - fair, considering it happens in only a day. Still; tropey and a little glib.
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I wanted to like this book a lot more. I liked the premise - it just felt like the author didn't have the imagination to write a good, compelling narrative to go with that premise.
The exploration of fate/destiny as a theme could have been more pronounced and explored; the pacing was, frankly, wack.
I don't know, for a classic, this is lukewarm at best.
The exploration of fate/destiny as a theme could have been more pronounced and explored; the pacing was, frankly, wack.
I don't know, for a classic, this is lukewarm at best.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I'm new to Patchett; I don't know why I held out on her for so long. This book was everything - the prolonged spiral of grief for a life you had sure is a powerful, drawn-out feeling, and it permeates every page.
Also, Tom Hanks' narration is impeccable. I really recommend picking up the audiobook if you can.
Also, Tom Hanks' narration is impeccable. I really recommend picking up the audiobook if you can.
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
This book grew on me - I read it for a book club I do with my friends, and the more I got to sit with it and discuss it, the more I found myself enjoying it and appreciating the symbolism within.
Jess is an incredibly relatable protagonist, which helped. I found myself rooting for her not because I thought she was right for doing many of the things she did, but because, in the situation that she's in, I feel like many of us would have made a lot of the same mistakes. She was very easy to experience such a narrative with, both as the immigrated fish-out-of-water in a sea of cultural unfamiliarity (for herself as for the reader), and with her own repression fuelling the unsettling horror Cho infuses this story with.
Combine that with the flowing, fluid prose, as well as the stunning visuals, and you have yourself a gut punch of an urban fantasy read.
Jess is an incredibly relatable protagonist, which helped. I found myself rooting for her not because I thought she was right for doing many of the things she did, but because, in the situation that she's in, I feel like many of us would have made a lot of the same mistakes. She was very easy to experience such a narrative with, both as the immigrated fish-out-of-water in a sea of cultural unfamiliarity (for herself as for the reader), and with her own repression fuelling the unsettling horror Cho infuses this story with.
Combine that with the flowing, fluid prose, as well as the stunning visuals, and you have yourself a gut punch of an urban fantasy read.
When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? No
4.25
A fascinating narrative that lost me at times; with lyrical prose suited to the point of view of a modern woman, a 17th century witch, and a mushroom alike.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
In a tone both humorous and profound, Caitlin Doughty explores the idea of death in western culture though a memoir of her time working in a crematory.
I laughed; I shed a tear or two. There's something universally relatable about Doughty's experience with death and our society's denial of it.
I laughed; I shed a tear or two. There's something universally relatable about Doughty's experience with death and our society's denial of it.