lauraleafromthelibrary's reviews
165 reviews

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

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

2.0

Nope.
Saga, Volume 11 by Brian K. Vaughan

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dark emotional 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

The Lily of Ludgate Hill by Mimi Matthews

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

3.0

My least favourite of the series — still enjoyable.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

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challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Perfection.
The Fortunes of Jaded Women: A Novel by Carolyn Huynh

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emotional funny reflective 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? Yes

3.0

Family is messy af — this book did a great job of portraying that.
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King

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challenging funny reflective slow-paced

2.0

  • Page xvi — the Canadian vs American debate
  • Focus on American history
  • Page 34 — fought the cavalry
  • Page 41 — Indians on the Hollywood walk of fame
  • Page 45 — white actors playing POC
    • Cultural appropriation — dressing up as indigenous people
  • Page 60 — too heavy to lift. WOW
  • Page 94 — insanity or policy?
  • Page 97 — moving Indians around like you’re moving house
  • Chapter 5 — the genocide of a people / residential schools
    • We have no history of colonialism (124)
  • Page 136 — Indians from India
    • You mean like cowboys and Indians??
  • Page 179 — the new buffalo — Indian Gaming.
  • Page 188 — “racism is endemic in North America. And it’s also systematic. While it affects the general population at large, it’s also buried in the institutions that are supposed to protect us from such abuses.”
    • Talking about racism in Alberta.
  • Page 192 — “1985 — you see my problem. The history I offered to forget, the past I offered to burn, turns out to be our present. It may well be our future.”
  • Chapter 8 — sovereignty argument — gaming profits, landfills, and coal mining? WOW *heavy chapter
  • Chapter 9 — whites want land.
    • Using Alberta is a bad example.
  • Page 225 — “Of course, no one in Canada or the United States is going to support a holiday that isn’t a celebration of national power and generosity, so we’d have to disguise it, much the way we do Thanksgiving.”
    • Victoria Day reference
  • Page 236 — salmon people

  • This book has not aged well. Environmental discussions did not age well. Race relations did not age well. Ethnic titles and language did not age well. Not my favourite. I want to learn about Canadian First Nations — not cowboys and Indians.
Unfamiliar, Vol. 2 by Haley Newsome

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dark emotional funny 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? No

5.0

AMAZING. I need like 10 more volumes ASAP. 
The Gentleman's Gambit by Evie Dunmore

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emotional reflective 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

4.0

Not my fave out of the series but still very good -- spicy meatball, as always.
I Am C-3po: The Inside Story: Foreword by J.J. Abrams by Anthony Daniels

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emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.0

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Tough tough tough. The saddest of stories. I’m glad to have finally read it.