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crybabybea's reviews
239 reviews
A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
Saur boring, it's like reading a Wikipedia article. The time period is interesting, and while I appreciate the historical facts, there's very little characterization, and the writing is lackluster.
Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 17 by Shuzo Oshimi
What I didn’t like:
Honestly, I can’t pinpoint if there were things I didn’t like, exactly, but overall the series just felt average to me, and the underwhelming ending didn't help. The things that worked for me worked well but weren’t so incredible that it made this a top read or anything. I’m excited to try more manga, and maybe it will put this one into better perspective.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
Well, I’m not exactly sure what to say about this. It’s the first manga I’ve ever read, so I’m not sure how to rate it, I have nothing to compare it to and I’m not very familiar with the tropes that are common in manga. So, I guess I’ll just list some pros and cons that I thought about while reading.
What I liked:
- The art was gorgeous, even the depictions of the horror moments were so beautiful and detailed, I stopped to admire them plenty of times. It was really impressive to me how the artist was able to capture so many different emotions in the panels. It was also super impressive how the tension moved between different scenes. It allowed for there to be a sort of claustrophobic feeling of tension throughout the story, even when nothing “bad” was happening, it felt unsettling and something felt off the entire time. There was probably a lot of intentional symbolism that went over my head, the artist was very careful to include recurring details and imagery.
- I couldn’t put it down. I kept wanting to read more and lost sleep over it. The story was super intriguing. Volumes 10-14 were especially good, the way the artist depicted Seiichi’s mind shattering was so spooky. The different scenes with Seiichi, Seiko, and Shigeru switching places were so mind-bendy and fun to experience.
- I appreciated the themes explored, such as generational trauma, how you reconcile when your abuser is somebody you adored, and how you move forward in a life that never felt like your own.
- The full circle ending was well-done. I especially liked the mirror effect of Seiichi seeing Fukiishi.
- I liked how the story felt unreliable, many scenes were distorted so the understanding of whose perspective the story is coming from gets blurred. It made the psychological aspect more thrilling.
What I didn’t like:
- Sometimes the pacing could have been tighter, especially near the later volumes. I think the author’s intention was to leave space for reflection as Seiichi processes his life and we approach the end, but it was such an abrupt change of pace from the horror-thriller ride of the previous volumes that it was a bit jarring. I think it was a realistic ending but it wasn’t what I expected after the previous volumes’ extremeness.
- I could’ve done without sexual scenes involving minors, but I know that Japan and manga has a different culture around stuff like that so idk really
Honestly, I can’t pinpoint if there were things I didn’t like, exactly, but overall the series just felt average to me, and the underwhelming ending didn't help. The things that worked for me worked well but weren’t so incredible that it made this a top read or anything. I’m excited to try more manga, and maybe it will put this one into better perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Blood On The Tracks, Vol. 16 by Shuzo Oshimi
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 15 by Shuzo Oshimi
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 14 by Shuzo Oshimi
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 13 by Shuzo Oshimi
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
Blood on the Tracks vol. 12 by Shuzo Oshimi
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 11 by Shuzo Oshimi
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
4.25
I loved the perspective author Clint Smith chose to take in this book. By combining historical research, journalistic-style interviews, and personal reflections, he exemplifies the theme of How the Word is Passed; that we need to get the facts of our history from those who lived it.
In doing so, he also explores the damage done by systemic repression of the true history of the United States. He skillfully critiques the education system, America's legal and political system, the medicine industry, and everything in between. It's truly astounding just how much history has been altered in the United States to preserve the sparkling image of freedom and justice our country claims to represent. It's equally harrowing to realize that the sheer amount of information here barely touches the surface of what the United States has swept under the rug, how many more places the author could have visited, how many more interviews could have been had (and how many possible interviewees have been lost), how many more organizations and people could have been implicated. Staggering.
Clint Smith is also very clearly a skilled writer, and is able to weave in beautiful prose and breath-taking moments of self-reflection.
It's probably trite at this point to call books like this a "must read", but this is absolutely a must read.
In doing so, he also explores the damage done by systemic repression of the true history of the United States. He skillfully critiques the education system, America's legal and political system, the medicine industry, and everything in between. It's truly astounding just how much history has been altered in the United States to preserve the sparkling image of freedom and justice our country claims to represent. It's equally harrowing to realize that the sheer amount of information here barely touches the surface of what the United States has swept under the rug, how many more places the author could have visited, how many more interviews could have been had (and how many possible interviewees have been lost), how many more organizations and people could have been implicated. Staggering.
Clint Smith is also very clearly a skilled writer, and is able to weave in beautiful prose and breath-taking moments of self-reflection.
It's probably trite at this point to call books like this a "must read", but this is absolutely a must read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, and Murder
Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 10 by Shuzo Oshimi
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0