jaduhluhdabooks's reviews
299 reviews

The Playboy by Marni Mann

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1.5

The Dixon Rule by Elle Kennedy

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Did not finish book.

I just didn’t care about these characters … and I think this series and world has run its course for me.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

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challenging dark emotional sad 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

It has taken me many years to finally sit down and sit in the words from Alice Walker. Following Celie and Nettie's story was heart breaking and healing. A rich and vulnerably articulated artistry woven through tendrils of friendship, first loves, heart breaks, and restorations.

There's so much in this text. So much to unpack. To sit with. Being raised in the church in unpacking so much of my own journey of discovering the ways in which white supremacy manipulated my views of God and the church and the idolatry of man over woman.

Listening to Nettie journey through this deconstruction felt healing to know that it was an art being indulged in long before me and that Black women then and now continue to sit at the pinnacle of change radicalizing the religious world in a signicant and necessary way. There's also the deep rooted connected I feel to Celie.

A dark skinned, big boned woman, with attraction to women, but an obligation to men. It's such a beautiful tribute to finding ways to love yourself as you are and not me ashamed of the blemishes and the scarring that so many of those deemed beautiful continuously point out or find a way to highlight outside of your other

enchanting qualities. There is so much beauty is Celie's character that I can't put it into words, but I feel them. And I appreciate them. And my heart both breaks and soars for her. Her journey.

Her life. Her survival. Her care and her love. For people, for

community, and later for herself.

So grateful for this read.

Content Warnings

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

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challenging emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Such a powerful book. Wrecked me and reminded me in not alone in this life lived with mental illness and finding stability in the everyday. John. You’ve done it again.

What a novel. So critical. Timely. Painfully acute to the totality that comes with chronic illness. The complexity of Aza's character is so well flushed out because it's not complex in the ways that sometimes characters and morality or choice shows up. It's complex because it's so human.

As someone who just now learning language for the invasive thoughts that creep and tuck and cause so many different compulsions in my every day, this book both struck a cord of discomfort and of knowness. John rarely fails to miss the mark with how retrospective his characters can be and what they represent far beyond that their circumstances. I thought a lot about friendship in this book and how I'm still learning how to be a good friends with boundaries as these new diagnoses and life changes happen.

Aza and Daisy are such a real and raw portrayal of what every friendship with invasives looks like. And I feel so incredibly seen by their portrayal in this book. I've owned this book since I was 17 and started to acknowldge that maybe just maybe I was an anxious person. It has taken be 7 years to finally read it and I'm grateful that I did. It's been such a walk and this portrayal of not getting better but learning to adapt and live with these thoughts and compulsions is the authentic reality and I'm grateful that it's ok in this book and in real life.

Redeemed by Lauren Asher

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challenging dark emotional funny fast-paced