feliciaclark's reviews
720 reviews

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

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

5.0

“Women with nothing to lose are dangerous.”

This book this book this book! 😭💖🙏

An eerie, fiction novel about how generational trauma travels through our bloodlines and latches onto whomever it chooses—a collision of energy and matter, weakness and control, loneliness and anger. 

The story follows the life of a Mexican woman who goes to therapy to break the cycle of trauma dating back to the 1500s. The ancestors’ stories weave in and out of the present family members in a captivating flow I couldn’t stop listening to.

This is a one-of-a-kind and absolutely brilliant and hauntingly beautiful novel. 

“Darling, you can be whatever you want in my eyes. I want what you want for yourself. You have to know, there are many who will not let you. The disappointment will wear you down and you might give into those pressures. You might even tell yourself everyone is right except for you. Please do not fall for it.”

“We must listen to the women who came before us. We change the future by unloading the sorrow of the past. We severe the cord of generational curses. Some cords are meant to shrivel away to blackened dead flesh. They are our blood but we are not them. We do not have to accept it. None of it.”

Rebecca, Not Becky by Catherine Wigginton Greene, Christine Platt

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Two women (one white, one black), both upper-class mothers and wives trying to care for their mothers-in-law who have dementia, struggle to balance it all in the Caucasian-heavy suburbs. 

Rebecca is trying to promote anti-racism in the conservative town but has problematic views of her own. De’Andrea is new to the neighborhood and quickly learns they are the only Black family in town. 

The two women must learn to work together and team up to take down a confederate statue that no one seems to have noticed until now. So many cringey moments in this one. 
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

This is a dark and mysterious novel written for adults through the mind of a 7-year-old boy recalling his childhood. Which parts are real and which are myth?

In his memory, one man’s suicide unlocks a gate of monsters in the village that seem to dwell in the pond his best friend, Letti, insists is an ocean. It is up to him to right the world again as he goes on a heroic and magical journey of survival.
Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

After a failed engagement and loss of a job, Natalie Vos must find a marriage of convenience to receive her estranged father’s trust fund to start a new business.

Insert former Navy Seal and vineyard owner, August Cates, who agrees to marry her for his own reasons.

Neither of which will admit there’s more behind the agreement until they’re faced with the L word. 

I will say, I enjoyed reading scenes of a Navy Seal in action. 😏😜
River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

With the Emancipation Act of 1834 going into effect, so does Rachel’s heart. With the taste of freedom so close, she escapes from her enslaver and journeys through the Caribbean to find her stolen children. Even if their endings aren’t what a mother can bear, she must know what’s become of them.
Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

5.0

From the KKK riding around town on horses to tornadoes devastating the town, Rita Williams-Garcia takes the young Gaither sisters I fell in love with in “One Crazy Summer” on another wild journey to visit their grandmothers in Alabama in 1969. The sisters unravel family secrets between their African-American and Native American heritage while trying to find their place in the family. 

While I loved the Black Panthers storyline with their activist mother in the first book, I 
enjoyed even more the deep dive into the family history and the rallying around a near-tragedy in this second novel. 
Slay by Brittney Morris

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lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This is a young adult novel that centers around racism and cancel culture. Seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is working toward graduation and building her secret reputation as a game developer of the popular, online, role-playing card game, SLAY, which she designed for Black community members only. When a young Slay gamer is murdered, it makes national news and the commentary about her game quickly turns negative. Kiera is suddenly frightened for her future and uncertain if labels like “racist” and “exclusionist” are truly fair to describe the game she created.
Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

“You seem sort of pensive.”
“Pensive, huh?” he says. “That sounds kind sexy and brooding.”
“It’s can also be annoying so spit it out, Heathcliff.”

If you’re looking for a quick read with a friends to lovers storyline, this is the book for you. Lauren Layne makes the most out of each steamy scene between Parker and Ben. I love how she tied their friendship up with a nice little bow at the end. A lovely happy ever after. 
On Palestine by Ilan Pappé, Noam Chomsky

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challenging informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.25

Political analyst Noam Chomsky and Middle East historian Ilan Pappe share their views on the crisis between Israel and Palestine. Through the more recent history of the conflict, they both express strong views that point toward liberating Palestine and freeing Palestinians. They also share what the international community needs to accomplish in order for change to finally happen in the region and for the abuse of Palestinians to finally cease. 

If you are not familiar with some of the history behind this conflict or others similar to it, this book may be hard to digest, but if you’d like to learn more of what you already know and are seeking a call to action, this book may be a good starting point. It is a fairly short read.
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Marin is a girl bound for college, leaving everything she ever knew behind due to an unraveling of her grandpa’s secret after he passes away. Her best friend and first love, Mabel, flies thousands of miles to see her, begging for some answers as to why she cut her out and disappeared. 

This is a story about deceit, grief and loss. It is heavy and haunting, but I live for books like this and hope to read more from Nina LaCour!