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jaina8851's reviews
534 reviews
Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.5
Time traveling Stranger Things but with girl heroes and amazing art? This series is like candy for me, inject it into my veins.
Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
NK Jemisin's stories always have such a fascinating hook and this was no exception. I felt like this was a well scoped short story that was a take on post-apocalyptic Earth that I haven't read before.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? No
4.5
I don't think I've ever read a book like this. The descriptions were somehow sparse and visceral at the same time, I kept yearning for answers but trying to find acceptance in the creeping realization that I, like the characters, would never get them. Haunting, beautiful, sad, heartwarming. I don't entirely know how to describe it but this book was so good.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I read this book when I was about thirteen and remember really enjoying it, and didn't recall all of the so-called scandalous scenes that everyone on the internet has been crowing about since the hype for the Wicked movie began. My hot take after this re-read: this is a book "not for kids" in the same way that literally any book written for adults is "not for kids". It has an adult reading level and is much more overtly about politics and anti-fascism and racism than the musical. But the pearl clutching about "tHe OrGiEs" is extremely overblown since there actually is barely any sex at all in this book. If you've got a kid who sticks with it to make it through this book, I say power to them honestly. I was hoping to be engaged enough with the story to want to read the sequels but I feel kind of meh about that. I found the beginning of the book to be really interesting and compelling, the middle to sort of drag, and the end to be engaging but also a little head-scratch-y because it seemed like Elphaba was not really behaving consistently to how she had been in the first 4/5 of the book in order for her to match the characterization and plot beats of the Wizard of Oz. Even with that though, I did enjoy the book and am glad I re-read it for the first time probably in almost 25 years.
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
What a ride this book was. I was completely hooked in the beginning, but as the book went on, it just got a bit repetitive and started to drag. I loved how dark and twisty the main character was, the gruesome descriptions of the food and the murders and the sex (love me some not-at-all-titillating sex descriptions in books), and the overwrought similes. I saw a lot of reviews complaining about the similes and metaphors but I unironically loved them. I also really thought the audiobook narrator did a great job, it is interesting to me that this book actually started out as an Audible Original and *then* got published into a text book. I can't really imagine having read it any other way.
To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
My sentiment about this book throughout the whole thing was basically "this book is pretty great, and I'm extremely glad it exists, but it just isn't for me." I am absolutely not the target audience for "magic school" books anymore and so there were aspects of this book that were pretty grating for me.
I found the extreme amount of jargony world building at the beginning of the book to be pretty frustrating. I felt like I couldn't get a good handle on the time period or setting as a result. As the book progressed, I realized that it was actually a pretty clever intentional narrative device on the author's part to make me as the reader feel as unsettled as Anequs having to figure out the language and customs that she found herself thrust into, but it still made the reading experience more challenging than I find enjoyable.
My other big criticism for this book was the pacing. Things felt very slow for a lot of the book, and then all of a sudden things literally happened bang-bang-bang at the end and suddenly the book was over. I think this could have been handled a lot more smoothly.
All of that said though, I did really enjoy this book. I felt like the characters all had good unique voices and I enjoyed the relationships that developed between them. Someone in my book club mentioned that she felt like Anequs was a little bit "I'm not like other girls" but I countered that actually ALL of the girls in the book were "not like other girls"!! Liberty, Marta, and Lisbet each went against their society's expectations in various ways and I thought it was really cool.
I also really loved the richness of the Indigenous culture and stories that were woven throughout the book. The descriptions of all of the food and life on Anequs' island were so beautifully and lovingly described and I felt like that added such depth to the story.
Overall I would strongly recommend this book. I don't currently plan on continuing the series when the sequels come out, but I'd be interested to read potentially other stories or series by this author in the future.
I found the extreme amount of jargony world building at the beginning of the book to be pretty frustrating. I felt like I couldn't get a good handle on the time period or setting as a result. As the book progressed, I realized that it was actually a pretty clever intentional narrative device on the author's part to make me as the reader feel as unsettled as Anequs having to figure out the language and customs that she found herself thrust into, but it still made the reading experience more challenging than I find enjoyable.
My other big criticism for this book was the pacing. Things felt very slow for a lot of the book, and then all of a sudden things literally happened bang-bang-bang at the end and suddenly the book was over. I think this could have been handled a lot more smoothly.
All of that said though, I did really enjoy this book. I felt like the characters all had good unique voices and I enjoyed the relationships that developed between them. Someone in my book club mentioned that she felt like Anequs was a little bit "I'm not like other girls" but I countered that actually ALL of the girls in the book were "not like other girls"!! Liberty, Marta, and Lisbet each went against their society's expectations in various ways and I thought it was really cool.
I also really loved the richness of the Indigenous culture and stories that were woven throughout the book. The descriptions of all of the food and life on Anequs' island were so beautifully and lovingly described and I felt like that added such depth to the story.
Overall I would strongly recommend this book. I don't currently plan on continuing the series when the sequels come out, but I'd be interested to read potentially other stories or series by this author in the future.
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Absolutely phenomenal! I can't believe I've never read this before or even heard of it. The prose of this book is so lush I wanted to sink my teeth into it. I found myself reading a few of the short stories aloud to my partner and loved the way the words felt in my mouth. I read this in a physical copy and joyfully found myself wishing it were on an e-reader so I could more easily look up the surprising number of new-to-me words. I just loved everything about this, I can't wait to read it again and again.
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Deeply unsettling and engrossing! I had seen the movie of this a few years ago, so some parts of it were familiar, but it also was long enough ago that it didn't really impact my enjoyment of the story. So many unanswered questions; I look forward to reading the sequels.
Butter Honey Pig Bread by francesca ekwuyasi
emotional
reflective
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 absolutely adored so much about this book. Slow moving character studies are my absolute jam and this one was peak. All of the characters were so real and gorgeously rendered that I felt like I could reach out and touch them. I loved the non-linear aspect of the storytelling, how it seamlessly blended the present day and several different periods of the past to give a fully rendered picture of the inner worlds of each of the characters. The actual prose of this story was so beautiful, and the audiobook narrator did a phenomenal job. This is one of those instances where the amount that I have to say about the book doesn't really match up with how I enjoyed it; I don't know what else to say beyond "I loved it, I loved it, I loved it."
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.5
I feel like I'm alone in thinking that the first book of this series is the best one. Don't get me wrong, I love all the books individually and together; this is one of my favorite ever series. But the pacing and narrative structure of the first one, in my opinion, is genuine perfection, and I found myself chasing the high a little bit in both of these sequels. I do absolutely adore the way everything comes together at the end of this book though. Even though this was a re-read for me, and I did kind of remember how the final climax plays out, it still had that feeling of "but how will this all resolve???" I did find Hoa's backstory a little harder to follow in audiobook format for some reason, I found myself less hooked in during those sections even though I very much wanted to hear about what happened and the origin of the stone eaters. All in all, I'm delighted to have re-read this series and I know it will not be the last time.