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emily_britton's reviews
833 reviews

Somewheres in the Middle by Frank Gordon

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad 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

5.0

Heartwrenching but beautifully written.  I especially liked the chapter about Christmas sledding.
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The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

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

3.5

 Sweet story, though my kids might be a tad beyond it at this point. 
Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington

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challenging emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

3.0

The first few chapters, detailing Washington's earlier years, were absolutely fascinating, but the rest of his life was more mundane in terms of its events. Teaching, fundraising and giving speeches don't make for very interesting reading. It was also evident that Washington was very wrong in his assumption that race relations would naturally improve as the years went on -- very sad. 
Oreo by Fran Ross

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 Weird. I admit that I would not appreciate it sufficiently without having read the afterword, and even then, I did not retroactively find the novel very enjoyable. 
Penhally by Caroline Gordon

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dark reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

 Fascinating to read about the history of Kentucky, with vivid scenes of the Civil War and a real zinger of an ending, but overall, it didn't quite sing. Some allusions were just a little too vague for my taste, and sometimes the layers of family names were a tad confusing to keep track of. 
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A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House

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challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? No

5.0

 Such a poetic novel, with a great story (though not always easy to read!). Highly recommend. 
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The Wilder Shores of Love by Lesley Blanch

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adventurous informative inspiring medium-paced

4.75

 Fascinating stories and substantial writing! I was less of a fan of the first and fourth biographies, but the second and third were amazing. For having been written in 1954, it is only slightly dated in its use of stereotypes as descriptions. 
The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

 Way too YA for me. I like complete sentences, unlike the previous one, and the main character was just too immature for my taste. I liked the premise, but I think Rossner tried to do too much in some ways -- that was a lot of folklore to combine into one story! That being said, I really did want to know what was going on, so I kept reading. 
Redwall by Brian Jacques

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

5.0

 My kids loved this! It was especially gratifying to see Zavier respond so enthusiastically to certain plot points. He's twelve, after all! 
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

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

4.75

 Fantastic story, very satisfying. The science stuff did get a little dry in the middle, but I think it was actually necessary to the story, so keep going if you get bogged down there. There were several occasions on which I could not put this down, so beware! 
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