danaaliyalevinson's reviews
97 reviews

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-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

5.0

I kept going back and forth on my rating for this one between a 4 and a 5. And to be honest, if I was rating only on the quality of the writing, both prose and structure, it probably deserves a 4. Still a very good book,  but there were parts that definitely didn't work or felt narratively clumsy, but truthfully, forest for the trees I found it deeply emotional, moving, and what did work was breathtaking and deeply deeply affecting for me. So this is sort of a “you know what, f**ck it, despite its flaws I loved it” 5 stars. A teenager and his mother both battle mental illness in the aftermath of the sudden death of their father/husband. The teenager, Benny, hears voices. And inanimate objects speak to him. And one of those is an omniscient voice called "The Book". And the narrative toggles back and forth between Benny's perspective and the perspective of the eponymous anthropomorphic book. And this device was used brilliantly to drive home the book's larger themes about the meaning that we give objects in our lives, especially when dealing with grief.
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The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I wanted to like this one. It won the National Book Award. And the first 100 pages I was like, this is genius. And then it was all downhill from there. It's about a group of people all living in the same housing project as they each play a part in a violent event. I thought it got lost in its own too clever by half structure, and then the characters wound up being so underdeveloped that I felt nothing as it hurtled toward the conclusion I saw coming from a mile away. Then there's also this thing I see with a lot of modern fiction writers where it feels like literary fiction by way of Wes Anderson. It's very en vogue. And sometimes it works. But here, I thought it was so wrapped up in its need to be quirky and idiosyncratic that I lost the heart.
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Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson

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adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I have mixed feelings about this one! Two teenagers accidentally set off a small town moral panic via a Toynbee Tile style guerrilla art thing. It was a lot of fun. The characters were specific and compelling. My two issues were that the moral panic was external, meaning the characters had little agency over the unfolding events and were always reacting. Second, there was a kinda not great depiction of being bipolar.
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My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.75

A dark and complicated tale of abuse which asks thorny questions about power, age, and consent: and in doing so, elucidates why sexual abuse is so hard to prove and prosecute. Obviously... dark, complicated, thorny, sad, so I loved it. My only thing is that at times I felt it was a little too soapy for its subject matter, but generally a great read.
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The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels

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

2.5

I think AIDS crisis narratives are tricky, because unless the character was one of the exceedingly lucky ones that managed to survive until treatments became widely available, the story is more than likely to end in one way. So then the question becomes, what is the audience meant to get out of watching a character slowly die due to governmental neglect and homophobia? Some narratives answer that question in spades; "A Normal Heart" and "It's A Sin" immediately come to mind. This book, I found to be a big 'why? 
Brian, a gay man with AIDS, returns home to Appalachia as he's dying to face rampant homophobia within his family and community until he eventually succumbs to his illness. It felt like his character had irresponsibly little agency. He simply existed as a mirror for the cis het characters around him to eventually understand their bigotry (through the martyrdom of his death. 
I wanted to like it. It's written by a queer and trans author. But I just found myself getting angrier and angrier about what I felt was the irresponsibility of the narrative as the story went on 
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Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

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challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book burns with a righteous fury and deeply affecting pathos. A searing indictment of systemic racism and classism, it centers a teenage girl who turns to survival sex work only to find herself taken advantage of by those who, in theory, are supposed to protect her. Also the prose is stunning with Mottley's experience as a poet paying off greatly. Additionally, it's written in first person, and the way the protagonist's voice shifts throughout the story from shut down and survival focused, to making room for her anger and grief, is just stunning.
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Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

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dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is some good dystopian horror. The premise is that a mysterious virus has made livestock dangerous to eat, so now humans are being raised as livestock and cannibalism is not only state sanctioned but encouraged. 
Lots of class commentary and capitalism critique is baked in. 
Only docked a half a point cause a development at the end felt a little unearned to me. But generally a great read! 
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Lie with Me by Philippe Besson

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dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

I wanted to like this one more than I did. It's lyrical and poetic. But I found its narrative structure somewhat alienating. It was so committed to the first person narrative of a person musing on the past that I lost the emotionality of the other characters involved in the story. Additionally, I found it to be a bit of a queer trauma plot hinging on one character’s self hatred due to his sexuality.
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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

5.0

I loved this book a whole lot. A beautiful ode to storytelling, family, grief, and music, via a high fantasy narrative. The world building is wonderful. And the main character, Kvothe, is so beautifully and affectingly written. He felt so incredibly real to me, so much so that each time I opened the book it felt like checking in with an old friend. If you love high fantasy, definitely recommend.
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The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? No

5.0

A brilliant allegory about the human desire to master and control nature and how it causes our own ruin. There's also commentary on racism, empire, and the military industrial complex for good measure. The world building is exquisite. The characters are beautifully drawn. Definitely recommend, especially if you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan. 
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