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coolfoolmoon's reviews
313 reviews
Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back by Shel Silverstein
lighthearted
fast-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
2.5
bit of a hefty tome for a kids book. (i don't know what kids like 🤷🏾) and kind of a sad ending!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Murder, and Classism
I tagged Classism because the taxi cab broken English is pointed out and I just feel like that's elitist. It's New York, man. He's drivin' here.
The Farthest-away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I first read this book 13 years ago and was trying to figure out why it stuck with me.
Dakin is describe as brown skinned at least twice. Love that. But the images depict her as a white girl so 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾
It's such a fun nice sweet story I love girls going on adventures and fixing their towns but also I love that miss thing has an attitude like purr don't put up with anyone's shit queen!
I always remembered the frog and Dakin got together at the end. I always remembered Dakin was soecifucally 14, and I remember the frog was a full grown adult. I was like, "There's no way they paired a 14 year old with a MAN. There's just no way." Unfortunately there is a way. And I would say maybe it's just a product of the author's time, maybe when the book was written in- THE 60S?!?!?!?!! How often did they have child brides back then?!
And what made it worse, this grown 22 year old M A N sees baby girl Dakin again and goes "I'm such an idiot 🥺 I wish I could marry 🥺 someone like you 🥺🥺 but you wouldn't marry a foolish dum dum like me 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺" And Dakin, THE BABY THE BABY GIRL INFANT CHILD, of course she says yes! Because she's a child and he's A MAN. NOT JUST A 22 YEAR OLD MAN, A TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO YEAR OLD MAN (222)!!!!! You've been imprisoned for 200 years and your first thought is "I gotta marry that 14 year old girl?" Lock his ass up AGAIN. He's the real villain here!
Last thing, I love her name maybe that's why I latched onto this book, maybe I remembered the brown skin detail and saw her name and went "That's a black queen right there!" Her sister's name being Triska? You're helping my case.
Dakin is describe as brown skinned at least twice. Love that. But the images depict her as a white girl so 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾
It's such a fun nice sweet story I love girls going on adventures and fixing their towns but also I love that miss thing has an attitude like purr don't put up with anyone's shit queen!
And what made it worse, this grown 22 year old M A N sees baby girl Dakin again and goes "I'm such an idiot 🥺 I wish I could marry 🥺 someone like you 🥺🥺 but you wouldn't marry a foolish dum dum like me 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺" And Dakin, THE BABY THE BABY GIRL INFANT CHILD, of course she says yes! Because she's a child and he's A MAN. NOT JUST A 22 YEAR OLD MAN, A TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO YEAR OLD MAN (222)!!!!! You've been imprisoned for 200 years and your first thought is "I gotta marry that 14 year old girl?" Lock his ass up AGAIN. He's the real villain here!
Last thing, I love her name maybe that's why I latched onto this book, maybe I remembered the brown skin detail and saw her name and went "That's a black queen right there!" Her sister's name being Triska? You're helping my case.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Transphobia, and Abandonment
A Mercy by Toni Morrison
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
4.25
I read this on and off over 22 days because I went on vacation but it's Toni Morrison so of course it was amazing and I didn't lose the momentum in the gaps of days between reading chapters. Many thoughts many ideas... In my notes I marked this book is a lot more grounded in reality than magical realism. What's the difference? That's a great question... And at the end the world keeps going on. Ms Morrison, I know I said it before but you've done it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
Calligraphies: Poems by Marilyn Hacker
Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
I just couldn't get into the rhythm, or lack thereof, or voice of the poems from just about the first page. Is there a term for a SWANA (Southwest Asian / North African) weeaboo? She would be it based on what I could grasp.
Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin
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
3.0
I leave reviews as notes for myself in the future, for when I'm thinking of the book and trying to remember details about it or how I felt just after finishing it. But also I do kind of expect someone else may see these, so I try to give some context. (I only read other people's reviews after I've finished the book to see if they felt the same way.)
I've come to learn romance may not be the genre for me. This is the second book I've read where the B plot, in this case the house flipping, just isn't interesting. So that's only two out of two books, but if that's how the formula of romance works... I like all the other elements! I love character exploration! I love slice of life! I love drama! But so much focus on the part that unites the soon to be couple in question really bored me.
That said, that was all just act one. Act two and three really hooked my interest and maintained it. Even though I wasn't interested in a big chunk of the book, the characters were cute and lovable and the town feels sweet, and I liked the segue into possible sequels. I will be sat for the next book's release.
Last note, nothing really to do with the review, it's implied trans-Atlantic slavery existed in this universe. Why? How did that work? I have more questions about that that would need to be answered by my first two before I go on!
I've come to learn romance may not be the genre for me. This is the second book I've read where the B plot, in this case the house flipping, just isn't interesting. So that's only two out of two books, but if that's how the formula of romance works... I like all the other elements! I love character exploration! I love slice of life! I love drama! But so much focus on the part that unites the soon to be couple in question really bored me.
That said, that was all just act one. Act two and three really hooked my interest and maintained it. Even though I wasn't interested in a big chunk of the book, the characters were cute and lovable and the town feels sweet, and I liked the segue into possible sequels. I will be sat for the next book's release.
Last note, nothing really to do with the review, it's implied trans-Atlantic slavery existed in this universe. Why? How did that work? I have more questions about that that would need to be answered by my first two before I go on!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
dark
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.5
The best books leave me speechless when it comes to the review. God damn, that was magnificent. I love when little gay kids are so engulfed with rage they turn into biblically accurate angel monsters and burn the world with their fury. Like as a queertrans that's just so real and true and ugh I love it. The only notable flaw was that the pacing felt fast. But then the story actually was fast. It takes place in a month. But it's such a minor flaw. Like yeah. Gay people do fall in love, do anything really, that fast. So real. So true. So real.
I can't tell you how fucking G A G G E D I was when they said we're gathered here to join these families in holy matrimony! I threw the book! I screamed and paused the audio!!! The utter and absolute shock!!! The audacity!!! I love it here!!!!!
If you loved this book for the same religious reasons I did then you'd love the song Don't Worry, We'll Be Watching You by Gotye. And the music video!
If you loved this book for the same religious reasons I did then you'd love the song Don't Worry, We'll Be Watching You by Gotye. And the music video!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Deadnaming, Genocide, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and War
Minor: Ableism and Racism
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
a somber comfort like when an empty feeling is so cold its actually warm and the world makes sense in the emptiness like floating with no tether but you're not worried about falling or drowning or anything really it's just lovely in a way that there is beauty in the sad nothingness of existence. very, to borrow from everything everywhere all at once, nothing matters but i choose to love anyway. and in that choice to love, i choose to love the sadness too.this book would've ruined me when i was 12.
also at one point clover describes having moths in her stomach and not butterflies and i think that's such an excellent detail. there's creative layers to that genius writing.i had to take points off for leo dying though! i knew it was gonna happen but i didn't want it to!
also at one point clover describes having moths in her stomach and not butterflies and i think that's such an excellent detail. there's creative layers to that genius writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Stalking, and Abandonment
Corduroy by Don Freeman
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My cousin, who's at least 6 years older than me, used to bring this book up and ask if I remembered it. "You know? The bear who lost his button?" No I did not remember it but I think I know now why he did. I don't remember a lot of books I read as a little itty bitty having Black characters in it. My mom has always been very Black Power so I can understand why my cousin might've remembered it. I flipped the page and saw her and immediately got emotional!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, and Abandonment
The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.5
This first question I ask when rating a book written for kids is does it talk down to its audience. People often treat children like they're lesser, like they're not human yet, like they're miniature humans who have to grow up and then they become human. This book talks down to its audience, sure, but only in the sense that it comes down to the children's level, it kneels down to put a hand on their shoulder and look children in the eye. This book gives children the respect they deserve. This book tells children they are equal, and there will be people who will not believe that they are, and all it takes for them to be seen and heard is to spread love. Love is undeniable. And even if others don't hear them, they did their part, and there will always be someone there for them in return who listened. How lovely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Violence and Blood
A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure by Hoa Nguyen
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
I can admit when something isn't for me. Still, I like readung new things that would've never been on my radar before.
I rented this book from my library because I just need some poetry in my life, and this was on the shelf. I also try to look for poets of color. There's on poem early on in the book that really gripped me, something I relate to, something about language and not quite understanding it and still trying to translate even though you know you have pieces missing, and you kinda feel like there are pieces you know you probably will never know are missing. A lot of the book has this element to it.
A lot of the book is also formatted in a why that I either don't like or don't understand. I don't like the spacing between some of the poems. I try to read poems out loud to see what they sound like and I couldn't quite get the tone out loud or in my head. The pieces I didn't understand I know is because of half language barrier, half cultural barrier, but those aren't complete issues with me because there are some poems that I fully understood or understood what feeling was meant to be conveyed. So, I suppose, this artist and her style isn't for me. Despite that I did like a lot of the book. It's an interesting look into history and amazing to learn about the Female Flying Motorists. Nothing else has been written about them, from what I found through a Google seaech. It's so poetic that one of the women's daughters was the first to write a book about her and the life she lived.
I rented this book from my library because I just need some poetry in my life, and this was on the shelf. I also try to look for poets of color. There's on poem early on in the book that really gripped me, something I relate to, something about language and not quite understanding it and still trying to translate even though you know you have pieces missing, and you kinda feel like there are pieces you know you probably will never know are missing. A lot of the book has this element to it.
A lot of the book is also formatted in a why that I either don't like or don't understand. I don't like the spacing between some of the poems. I try to read poems out loud to see what they sound like and I couldn't quite get the tone out loud or in my head. The pieces I didn't understand I know is because of half language barrier, half cultural barrier, but those aren't complete issues with me because there are some poems that I fully understood or understood what feeling was meant to be conveyed. So, I suppose, this artist and her style isn't for me. Despite that I did like a lot of the book. It's an interesting look into history and amazing to learn about the Female Flying Motorists. Nothing else has been written about them, from what I found through a Google seaech. It's so poetic that one of the women's daughters was the first to write a book about her and the life she lived.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Grief, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury