krystalicia_'s reviews
177 reviews

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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inspiring mysterious sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This was cuties. A nice, quick, introspective read to get me out of a reading slump was honestly just what I needed and this delivered. I’m not really a magic kind of girl, but I feel like this was just the perfect amount of magic to keep me interested without it being over bearing or too out of this world.

I actually really enjoyed the concept of the book, the knowing that even if you travel in time, the present remains the same but the actual change that takes place is internal. It was a really great message and done well. It was kind of refreshing to see all of these characters reframe their mindsets and do what they can to be more present and positive to those around them and more importantly, themselves.

While I liked it, it’s not one of my favorite books. I’m not sure if there were just some things lost in the literal translation that made me not love it as much as I thought I would, but some parts just felt a little ehh to me. I will still definitely be reading the second book as I’d love to explore more of the stories from this charming little cafe.
Black Child to Black Woman: An African-American Woman Coming-of-Age Story by Cheryl Bannerman

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reflective

2.0

I love a book that deviates from a traditional reading experience and this book was just that! In “Black Child to Black Woman”, you follow Tara finding her old diary that chronicles her life from being a 9 year old child to a grown adult with her own child. I really enjoyed seeing her voice grow and develop over time as she had more experiences and watching as her understanding of her familial relationships shifted as time went on. 

There were some parts I was confused about, because it seemed that some of the journal entries included present day knowledge which leads me to believe she is actively inserting her thoughts as she was reading. Nonetheless, it was a fairly quick read that touched on some interesting relationship dynamics, whether they be familial or romantic.
Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

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challenging emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book. I’ve been diving more into historical fiction and it’s kind of hitting but it’s because of the beautiful writing and storytelling I’m getting! This book follows 3 generations of North women, all at different points in their lives and all with different demons they’re dealing with. Without getting too deep into the story itself (because you need to read this book, like right now), I think what I really appreciated about the book is this message of you don’t always have control over what happens to you or your circumstances, but you do have control over how you react and what you do next. I think this was especially clear with both Miriam and Joan, Miriam who had to take control of her life after leaving an abusive relationship and her daughter, Joan, who now needs to share the same space as the person who sexually assaulted her. One of the most beautiful things about this book is that each of the women are revolutionary in their own, and each do their part in breaking generational curses that they inherited. 
Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, Vol. 4 by Yuhki Kamatani

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

I just finished this and I. Am. Not. Ok.
This volume, we get more insight into Tchaiko’s backstory and if you would have told me it would have left me an emotional wreck….I guess I would have believed you because ugh did it take me out. His love story with his partner was so gentle and kind and I truly wanted nothing but the best for either of them.

I also appreciated getting to know Someone-san’s story since they’ve largely been a mystical person. One thing I truly appreciate about this entire series was the wide array of representation far, and that’s further than just gender identity and sexuality, but also have characters that are children to to older characters so that you’re able to truly get the full breadth of facets in the queer experience. 

I usually don’t care for ambiguous endings, but I really loved it here. Loved this series and wish I could read more!
Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare Vol. 3 by Yuhki Kamatani

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This volume was soooo good! Utsumi is officially my favorite character and his dialogue and the way he handles himself and his thought process are just *chef’s kiss*. So I’m this volume, we get Utsumi’s backstory and it’s revealed he’s a trans man when he runs into an old, volleyball teammate. I genuinely like the way he handled things because he was just always so sure of himself and felt empowered to live his life. It was interesting to see him grapple with how to deal with someone who had good international but is just so completely overbearing to the point of disrespect and being able to challenge them. Anyways, great story, by far my favorite volume, and excited for the last one.
Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare Vol. 2 by Yuhki Kamatani

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inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Really enjoying this series the more I read. In this volume, we’re introduced to Misora and get more background on Tsubaki, Tasuku’s crush. I loved the exploration of Misora’s character and the beginning of what I imagine is going to be a bigger conversation on gender identity and expression. You can see Misora struggling with whether he is trans and is actually a girl or if he just likes how he feels when he dresses up. It’s also great to get the perspective of Tasuku, someone who is still learning what all of this means and his working on educating himself so he can be a better friend. Still digging the vibes and can’t wait to keep reading?
Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare Vol. 1 by Yuhki Kamatani

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emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Absolutely loved this. It’s pitched as a realistic and heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters and I gotta say, my heart is felt. I loved the introduction of the characters and how they are already spanning different experiences and levels of comfort of being out while also recognizing that it’s ok to be choosy as to who knows about you sexuality. Beautiful start to a series and excited to read the other three volumes!
No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“Everyone wants America because everything is better here. Everyone always has, and before America, somewhere else, because everything is always better elsewhere. That’s why people crouch, freezing in meat trucks, cram onto rubber dinghies they know may capsize in the middle of the ocean. That’s why we came, isn’t it? (Page 229)”

Literary gold! This was by far the most beautiful book I’ve read this year and really and truly, this hurt so good. The story follows a Syrian couple separated by the travel ban enacted in January 2017 under Trump’s presidency and the chaos that follows. Let me start by saying, I was not following the news at this time in an effort to protect my own mental health and suppressed a lot of what was happening at the world, so reading this really opened up my eyes to a lot of the experiences that I hadn’t fully understood. It was a painful, yet incredibly necessary read for me.

Some things I loved about this book are the reflection of the American dream and what that looks like for different people. Additionally, I appreciated the commentary that just because you were born in a space, doesn’t mean you need to die there too. We follow two characters with vastly different ideologies of what freedom looked like and how the path they got to America impacted their long-term experience with the country. It was a deeply tragic story that the author managed to put on paper and I’ll be thinking about it for a while.
How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

A quick read that really packs a punch. I’ve never really dived into books of short stories, and I’m really glad this was my first. This books has 14 different short stories, each serving as a small glimpse into the lives of people from Laos or direct descendents of Laos at different points in their lives. 

My favorite stories were the title story, “How to Pronounce Knife”, as well as “Edge of the World”. I think these two hit me the most because both followed the child of immigrants and had two very different relationships with their parents. In the first, you’re seeing the difficulty in learning the English language while understanding the delegate nature of parental pride. The second story follows a child watching their mother fall into obsession as a distraction from the life she was currently experiencing as her new normal in the US. All of the stories were extremely well written, emotional, and honestly if you’re the child of an immigrant, it hits different. This is definitely a book I want to buy for my permanent book collection so like if you’re thinking of getting me an early birthday gift….. 👀
The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help You Deserve by Rheeda Walker

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informative medium-paced

4.0

Not for nothing, but I love a book that does exactly what it says it is. I picked this up initially for a few reasons:
  1. a lot of the popular mental health/psychology books I’ve seen are written by white authors which means there’s a lot of cultural context missing
  2. As a people, the experience may not be the same, but the implications and stigma  around it are still fairly similar in the Latine community so I knew there would be helpful context in there that still felt relatable
  3. Why would I not won’t to be better at supporting the people in my life?
My favorite thing about this was the accessible language. It’s written to speak to someone who is not even remotely in touch with their own mental health and give them the tools to help themselves help themselves. I like this because this also gives you the language to explain to someone why it’s important to care about their mental health, the hidden reasons it’s impacted, and the risk of what can happen if you don’t. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the books as well as the chapter ‘How to Make “Therapy” Work, When You Need It.’ Definitely recommend!