coolfoolmoon's reviews
303 reviews

We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film by Tre'vell Anderson

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

Wasn't a banger of a read. Like it's good but it doesn't have a full spark. It's missing something, but I liked it! It's at the perfect crossroads for me (film major, black, queer trans / nonbinary) so I gave it extra points for all that.

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Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

GET OUT OF MY HEAD! Had another spiritual experience reading this. DIdn't black out this time though. I almost couldn't finish it but I also couldn't dnf it. Like this book could be my Bible. EMEZI twin GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!!!

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The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

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emotional inspiring 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

4.75

Trung Le Nguyen you have a fan in me for life for the art style alone. It felt like I was watching a film. It's so vibrant! For life!!!!!

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The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag

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funny lighthearted mysterious sad 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

3.5

Extra points because of the family tree in the front!!! I love Ostertag's art style. I can't rate this one too high, not because the story wasn't good or anything, but I think there's room for more with this world.
Now grandma why did you wait so long to speak up? you were just gonna let your grandson suffer forever when you saw this happen before? No parent is without flaw and with age unfortunately it seems they get worse!
Anyway it's very cute and delightful otherwise! Also extra points because this comic has page numbers!

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Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

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emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

WHICH WAY DO I TURN WHEN THE ROAD'S BECOME SO TWISTED?

I read the Mahabharata for a college class and I'm amazed how much I remembered. Even though I read a translation, and I didn't read the Ramayana (yet?), Patel perfectly captures that voice of an epic in her storytelling. It's an equally exciting read and an epic in its own right. It's such an interesting concept / premise: religion + history + men (ancient and modern) and their belief that war and power and conquest is their divine right / destiny, but what about the women in their lives? What about the every day issues that need to be solved? And the idea that a woman's destiny is to suffer to make any significant change... The woman has no free will yet tries to carve her own destiny yet the gods are against her yet it's all apart of their plan yet yet yet! There's just so many layers! I gasped so many times! What a tale!

Rama fell down the cosmic Pewdiepipeline.
Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you. 

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Bitter Root, Vol. 2: Rage & Redemption by Chuck Brown, David F. Walker

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dark 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

3.5

This one got repetitive. Like they were just saying the same thing when maybe the art alone could've just told the story. I liked the expansion of the world / inclusion of other people groups fighting the same fight. Solidarity Forever!

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Courting Samira by Amal Awad

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funny 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

4.75

Honestly not enough courting of Samira to me. Much more cousin's wedding talk. Other minor issues: I thought Samira would be sassy / mean based on the cover photo, she wasn't! She was an absolute sweetheart and problem solver! Boo!!! Also! The book says she's blonde hair blue eyes, but the cover shows her with brown eyes. So I gotta take points away since this is a pro brown eye black or brown hair household!!!

Jokes aside, she just like me fr. I'll be on the lookout for Awad's next book, this was great. It was funny and sweet and very informative about Australian culture. Which was surprising. I know more about diaspora Palestinians & Arabs than I did about Australians before reading this! I love the parallels to classic English romance novels, even if I haven't read them I GET it. Awad is a true talent!

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Zulu Dog by Anton Ferreira

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3.25

This book has a MAP. And a GLOSSARY. 5 stars for that.

Good lesson for kids but not good enough. Like it's a big deal to talk about racism but in the end
the Black family moves on to the property of the white family, the dad and son both shown to be racist.
That's just unrealistic and an unpolished ending. I'm sure the issues of South Africa, which during this time seemed a lot like America in the 70s, or even America now honestly, couldn't be solved
if white people who lived on stolen land were just like "Sure come hang out on MY property and work for me! Forget about ALL of our history and I won't try to atone for any of it!"
BFFR.

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One Hundred and One Poems of Romance by John Keats, Various

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adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

3.75

I always have a good time reading poems that rhyme. A lot of poems don't do this anymore so I find them quite the bore. No complaints for this collection, now off to find another selection!

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P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

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emotional lighthearted tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Amazing wonderful perfect just like the first one except this one gets less points for attempting to make a love triangle. You'll never make me turn again my baby boy Peter! Nice try! It was cute tho! 

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