icedfrapp's reviews
283 reviews

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould

Go to review page

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

3.0

The three starrest YA thriller I’ve read in a while - I probably would’ve adored it when I was 15, but I’m not 15 so it was fine. Things it does well: I like Devin & Sheridan’s dynamic a lot and their development was fun to watch, the atmosphere is good and spooky, and the metaphor for trauma consuming you was pretty solid. I think the violence & fight scenes were a little all over the place and it was hard for me to follow what was happening. I also wished that Aidan, Ollie, and Hannah felt more fleshed out because even with their backstories they felt really flat to me. If you’re looking for an adequate way to spend an afternoon, this is fun but not life changing. 
Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid

Go to review page

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

3.5

Ok I can almost forgive Ava Reid for Lady Macbeth now. Almost. For what it is, it’s good - it’s a YA dystopia that draws heavily from Hunger Games & The Last of Us and I can see where the influence is. For the amount of world building that got rushed, I wish the book had been about 100-150 pages longer because the third act felt like it ended as soon as it began. Pacing issues aside, it’s fun and I liked the central romance. I think it was developed well despite being rushed. I had a lot of fun reading it, like, actively in the moment, but I really think Reid is doing too much in the space she has instead of just building more space for the things she wants. If you’re looking for something to scratch a Hunger Games itch, this will do in a pinch, but definitely not life changing. 
Woodworking by Emily St. James

Go to review page

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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

3.75

There are some really cool things happening playing with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person in this book that I could write a whole essay about. St. James really creates some messy, flawed, interesting women and it’s nice to see it end with trans joy. Both in 2016 (when the novel is set) and now, it’s nice to see that kind of love and joy depicted. Two things really caught me off guard in a good way, in a way I don’t get surprised very often. The first is
the use of Abigail’s deadname in Caleb’s essay after we’ve spent 200+ pages with every instance of a deadname physically blurred out. It knocks the wind out of you the same way it does for Abigail because St. James spends so much time building a world where we don’t get to see or know deadnames.
The other is the reveal that
Brooke is also trans. Her story surprised me and I went back to the beginning of the book to see all the lil foreshadowing moments.
There were several moments, particularly in Abigail’s chapters, where the narration felt a little too cheeky and direct address-y for my liking. But overall this was a strong debut and I really can’t wait to see what else St. James releases in the future!
The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune

Go to review page

funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I feel like I would enjoy a movie version of this better than I enjoyed the book. It’s cute, it’s charming. Didn’t change my whole life but I didn’t really need or expect it to. I had fun. I will say,
the sex scene with Nate & Alex really came out of left field for me, in the sense of this relationship being really slow burn as they learn to trust and love each other, and then suddenly intercrural sex in a barn. I think I would’ve been fine without there being a sex scene there.
We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin

Go to review page

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

4.0

The twist that
Margit had written everything we’d believed to be Sigrid’s note
along with
the actual note
knocked the wind out of me. I haven’t been caught off guard by a twist in a book in a hot minute. I do wish there’d been more to the final third of the book - it felt a little rushed. But I did devour this book in about 2.5 days and really loved Austin’s writing style and sense of humor about the morbidity of the situation. It was funny and it was poignant and I had fun. 
Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

Go to review page

funny hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

As a former certified Fairy Girl, I grew up on the Gail Carson Levine trilogy and subsequent Disney Fairies chapter books and eventual movies. And so my expectations were HIGH for this one and I fully anticipated being disappointed by the first installment in the franchise in 10 years. Thankfully, this was actually a note-for-note perfect addition to the franchise. Saft really captures the voice and charm of the world of Pixie Hollow, while bringing in some of her own unique flair. The relationship between Clarion and Milori feels perfectly balanced between the expectations of a YA romance and of a spin-off of a children’s movie. It’s fun, it’s familiar. The ending fizzled out a bit and I wish there’d been like just like 15-20 more pages to kind of solidify the climax a little better, but it really felt like watching a Tinker Bell movie again. If you grew up with the Disney Fairies franchise, you’ll be pleased with Saft’s go at it - and also I’m gonna go rewatch Secret of the Wings now. 
Bibliophobia: A Memoir by Sarah Chihaya

Go to review page

challenging hopeful inspiring slow-paced

4.0

Chihaya is pretentious in the same way I am pretentious, talks about her mental illness the way I talk about mine in my own journals. The idea of her having pre-conceived narratives for herself and her life’s trajectory hit incredibly close to home. Which I also understand is what this memoir is about undoing - a lesson I also need to hear. It’s a slow and dense read with lots of literary analysis but it rings true and feels true. 
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Go to review page

hopeful inspiring fast-paced

4.0

I wanted to buy and read this after hearing how it’s one of, if not THE most challenged book in the US right now. And hot girls read banned books!!!!!! It was a very wonderful lil graphic memoir, definitely one of the best queer memoirs I’ve read. Neopronouns are something that I still struggle with (mostly because I don’t know anyone who uses them, so I never have practice with them) and Kobabe’s memoir really does a beautiful job showing thought processes behind choosing to use neopronouns, as well as the journey to build confidence to ask to use them. I want to be more knowledgeable about gender identity and neopronouns and this is really a great lil toe-dip into the pool of information and experiences out there!
People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins

Go to review page

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

2.75

I loved the concept of this one more than the execution. There’s this thing Ellen Hopkins does, both here and in the other book I’ve read by her, where her word choice can get so juvenile that it undermines the heavy narrative (
like using the word “weiner” in a scene depicting the rape of a child
). I think the ending was a cop out, and that the epilogue felt cheesy. Actually most of it felt cheesy. I wanted to like this one more than I did - the second person POV and the interludes narrated by violence were so interesting conceptually, but it just felt so flat. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Go to review page

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

3.75

Laurie Halse Anderson writes such heavy hitters oh my gOd. This was a  triggering book, but ultimately a very hopeful one. It is hard watching someone fall apart like this & hard to be in the head of someone falling apart like this but I think what Laurie Halse Anderson does in books like this one or Speak is really interesting - we watch the entire breakdown in gruesome detail, but the recovery is left in ambiguity. We build our own happy endings, y’know?