ariel937's reviews
477 reviews

this is good!! but not spectacular! i might have liked it more if i was younger but there were a few things that were “meh”

settling on a star rating is honestly really hard because i liked this book, like, a lot! georgie being a clown put me off at first but it totally worked. i ended up finding her really endearing and funny. i wish she wore overalls and messy buns throughout, tho - ive never been a fan of changing your appearance for a guy in books/movies. i also liked travis as the love interest! the steamy scenes were also

the more i think about it...the more angry i am at the ending lol. honestly, and i don’t mean this in a mean way, this book was a waste of time

ahhh this book was just SO FREAKING GOOD. This is my first Zapata novel and it definitely didn’t disappoint. The characters were all so delightful, the writing was rich and detailed, and even though i never though i’d get into a sports romance, this book changed my mind!

I listened to this on audio and the narrator was just perfect. She nailed the voices and each time I turned it on, she was able to suck me right back into the story. During a particularly awful day, I went on a 3 hr drive and finished this with TEARS IN MY EYES!! TEARS!

It’s not perfect ofc but if you’re a fan of slow burn romance like I am PLEASE pick this up!! its 1000% worth it!

3.5*
this is a very interesting collection of short stories, all with bits of magical realism/fabulism mixed in. the writing is extremely beautiful and it’s very easy to get sucked into each of the stories. i found each of the characters to be very interesting, especially “the writer,” “mrs. randall,” and “rodney.” and, while reading, i was surprised by how much emotion i felt, and oftentimes i felt really anxious or sad while reading certain parts. the way Disney perfectly articulated loneliness and isolation really hit me hard, haha. however, this is an experimental debut, and while the stories are all connected, it wasn’t explained why they were connected. i did like the ideas being explored and feel like this is a really strong debut novel, but unfortunately i found that it lost steam after about half way.

thank you to netgalley for the ARC!!

ah, this was a really beautiful, very full read. full of magic and words. i liked all of the characters, and honestly really liked the magic - even tho there was no rhyme or reason behind it. if you’re like me and don’t really care about magic with “rules” this is for you, because the main character literally does her magic by breaking them, and i LOVE that.

there were parts that was hard to read. like, you know when you’re reading and there’s multiple paragraphs to indicate a change in thought or scene? yeah, there wasn’t a lot of that, lol. you kind of just had to roll with it and let the words flow over you. if you listen to it on audiobook, you probably wouldn’t notice, but reading it physically made it hard to follow at times. but the words were very beautiful, and it was easy to get sucked in. i did take a long break from reading bc 2020 is just one thing after another, and it was difficult to understand where i left off bc the writing is very forward-moving, with little internal musings or recaps (if that...makes sense? does that make sense? this entire review may be making me look crazy

this book is good at confronting white people about race, about our relationships with race itself, and how we interact with people of other races in the form of microagressions. this book challenges assumptions, prejudices, and racism that we've held onto for centuries and is ingrained in our society, and ways in which our complicity not only literally kills BIPOC, but also holds up white supremacy.

however, there are a few glaring problems with this book. the biggest one being that a white woman is writing about race, and is at this moment, #1 on the NYT bestsellers for nonfiction about race.... a white woman.

admittedly, this book is intended for a white audience, and is intended to be a stepping stone for white people to first get comfortable with being uncomfortable, and then to challenge your internalized racism. some progressives were upset when DiAngelo called out progressives for perpetuating, but I have to ask, why? being anti-racist and acknowledged your prejudices is a daily thing. there's no one person out there without bias, and no white person without racism. sorry, not sorry, lol. but while white progressives may actively call out their racist parents or grandparents, they're less likely to call out their own harmful prejudices, which leads to things like this happening. and the woman was a "liberal," so. everyone has room to grow and no one is perfect.

as i've said before, this will be the only book about race by a white person that i will read. the fact of the matter is, much of what DiAngelo says is what BIPOC have been saying for YEARS, and it is extremely frustrating that it took a white woman to talk about this that white people are finally listening. and to be completely honest, most of what she said were 100% things that i've heard of before or thought of. DiAnglo didn't claim to invent these ideas, but I think she could have done a better job of citing where she did (aside from the quotes from Ibram X. Kendi and WEB DuBois here and there). tbh, as long as you're actively listening to BIPOC, you'll likely (hopefully) already have heard of most, if not all, of the things she talks about in this book. if you're not super active on the internet, then yeah, i would recommend checking this book out.

i was hesitant to pick up this book, but hearing so many say it's important to read this, i went ahead. i don't regret it, but it wasn't the most groundbreaking thing i've ever read. i am definitely inspired to read more, which if nothing else, is the biggest takeaway any white person can get from this book.

but please, please, please don't let this be the only book you read about race. it certainly won't be mine. continue to stay informed. racism isn't something that can be "fixed" overnight. also, if any of my white friends read this book and want to talk to me about their thoughts/feelings, you can come to me.

this book is, simply put, incredible. i’ve never heard of Carruthers before or the BYP100, but the title as well as the synopsis was what piqued my interest.

if you’re looking out in the world and wondering what is going on and how we got here, please pick this book up. this took me over a week to read because i had so much to chew on and consider, so many things that i learned about and had never heard of before, like Black womens’ forgotten roles in the Civil Rights era, MLK’s friend and fellow activist Bayard Rustin (who was a gay Black man), Rosa Parks’s investigation and support of Recy Taylor, and the revolt of Haiti.

i would recommend this book for people already familiar with leftists ideas, are open to criticizing liberals and white progressives, and are hungry for more change than what our current patriarchal, white supremacist country can offer. there are a lot of terms that can go over people’s heads, so i would scale this as a “medium” in terms of informative, radical texts.

this short manifesto is powerful, thought-provoking, and of course unapologetic.

FMAB is one of my favorite tv shows ever, so im using this manga to fulfill the prompt “read a book that you watched the movie/tv show of”! this beginning of this manga series compared to the anime is wildly different, partially bc i feel like action is better executed on screen than in art, and it begins as a more fun/funny adventure romp. while i do prefer the show, it was really cool to see all the little adventures the Elric brothers went on that the show didn’t cover.


✔️first book for the reading rush is now done! yay! lol.

4.5*

wow wtffff i really really loved this?!?! even though this was a novella, each character was so well developed and i was at the edge of my seat as the story twisted and turned. i’m seriously so impressed and i’m kicking myself for not reading this sooner!!

✔️ second prompt: read a book entirely outside completed!! i’m on a roll! woo!