armontheroad's reviews
627 reviews

The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

MESSY!! .....and I loved every second of it!!

Such a clever book. For a novella, this has a lot of nuance and great conversations!! 

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What We Fed to the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri

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emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

Emotional and clever!! Loved some stories more than others, but that is to be expected in a short story collection. Overall, I loved the messages behind the stories and the writing!!

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Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas

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adventurous hopeful reflective 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? Yes

3.0

Most of my issues with this book could be summed up in one word: pacing. Leaving the last 30% to have the big climax and a conclusion that ties up all loose ends was for sure a poor decision. Not even to mention
killing Suerte!! I'M PISSED!!!!! FOR WHAT REASON?! It was so pointless.
Honestly, for most of this book I was just bored.


Match to Love by Johana Gavez

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

Really cute tennis romance!! 

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Bluff by Danez Smith

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challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

Unbelievable poetry!!

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When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I'm looking forward to reading the other installations in this trilogy of memoirs!!

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Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul: How to Change the World in Quiet Ways by Dorcas Cheng-Tozun

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medium-paced

1.5

The fact this was published in 2023 is absolutely appalling!!

First, there were a lot of really weird references to Israel.

Secondly, I think the issue with this book is that it's such privileged takes that water down facts to suit the author's narrative of absolving her of her own guilt. The whole section on non-violence proves this!! Telling oppressed people that befriending their oppressors will make the world a better place is advice that will get so many people killed.

The use of really ableist categorizing is the introduction of this novel which in itself is horrific!! 

On top of that, the author's harmful Christian beliefs bleed into every section of this work. Just so much was wrong with this book and I just don't have the time to go into all of it in this review.

This is without a doubt the most disappointing book I've read this year. I really hope that since this was published the author has done some work, learning, and growth.

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Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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

4.0

Jumpnauts was such a breath of fresh air in the sci-fi genre!!

This was such a fun and sweet book!! I loved the characters, the humor, and the translation notes throughout. Overall, I just had a great time reading this!! I am excited to read more from this author in the future. 
We Were Seeds: an anthology benefitting Palestine by Saige England, Chloe Maria Winstanley, Emily Perkovich, Eman Alhaj Ali

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

From the river to the sea.

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The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This is one of those books where a star rating feels weird. However, if the star rating average encourages more people to read it, so be it!!

The Undocumented Americans is a heavy, yet important read. This was a difficult read for me as a Latine person but I'm grateful to have finally got around to this one.

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