mcgbreads's reviews
1125 reviews

I'm dropping this at 60% cause I just can't do it anymore. It started SO WELL, I was very intrigued and into it, but then it crashed and I kept going, but I just can't force myself to continue. I don't care about this at all. For a book that has so many action scenes and stuff, it's so boring. The characters are so... flat. I have no idea what the plot is supposed to be and I'm so confused about the timelines being 1000 years apart. I'm sorry I bought this book tbh, but I'm glad it wasn't expensive cause I would be PISSED if it was. 

"It is a story about someone stuck between conflicting existences realizing that empire never holds place for the conquered." I think that line summarizes this graphic novel perfectly.

This is a lovely YA fantasy about finding your own way and making up your own mind about the kind of causes you want to be a part of, what you want to fight for and why. It explores what it's like to "unlearn the justifications of colonialism" upheld by history, which is shaped and manipulated by the victors. It's also about identity, friendship, and found family. 

The art is beautiful and I loved the style very much. Overall, it was a delightful read. Simple yet powerful. 

This is such a fun and reflective little graphic novel, perfect for middle grade and, honestly, any age. I'm reading this in my late 20s and I still enjoyed it very much. It's very relatable cause no matter what your age, ethnicity, or religion is, we have all gone through an identity crisis, we have all felt like we don't fit in one way or another, and we have all experienced self-esteem issues. Also, it provides much-needed Muslim representation.

Okay, so this is a collection and it's split into two parts. Part 1 is the entire Lovesickness story and part 2 has a few different stories. I didn't know that, so the sudden switch from the Lovesickness arc to a different story was a bit jarring to me. Other than that, this was good. 

I really liked the Lovesickness stories though I agree they're repetitive. Still, they're atmospheric and quite creepy. Not the most satisfying ending, but that's just Junji Ito. 

The rest of the stories were okay. I think I had already read The Strange Hikizuri Siblings and it's a good one. The Mansion of Phantom Pain was okay and the last one was... nonsensical. Also, for some reason, Junji Ito decided to close this collection with a pointless story about the time he bought fake poop as a kid. Like...? So random. 

Exploring almost all of Junji Ito's work by this point has made something very clear: the man has the craziest imagination for horror and absurd horror, and his art is always great nightmare fuel, but he's not the best writer. He can't always develop his ideas well or give them a good conclusion. 

So, once again, I'm saying this about one of his mangas: the idea was interesting, the art was great, but the execution wasn't good all the way through and the storytelling didn't fully grip me. 

INTENSE!

Another super fun volume. The Chainsaw Man church stuff is so funny. Poor Denji!

This is easily one of the best, most heart-breaking yet beautiful, and perspective-widening historical fiction I've read. I tabbed and highlighted this book so much, from page one. 

I've read a few nonfiction books about Palestine and the Palestinian experience, so I feel I have a little bit of knowledge to say that this book, which combines the author's personal experience as a Palestinian, research, and fiction, is a good entryway into learning a little about their history, culture, the way they think, and understanding something about what Palestinians have been experiencing for decades. 

All of this is learned through Nahr, our main character and narrator, who's writing a sort of memoir from prison. It felt very personal because she speaks to the reader, so it's like sitting down with her as she bares herself and her life fully open. I loved her and she felt like a very real person to me. 

It's not always an easy read because the protagonist hasn't had an easy life, so of course there's a lot of trauma and it can get bleak, but it's beautifully written, insightful, incredibly moving, and also hopeful. There's so much substance in these pages! It's about displacement, resistance, endurance, survival, love, and family. 

I feel like the story explains the experience of displacement, of being unwanted in the world and being unable to just have a normal life very well. I felt the anger and the sadness of it through the character. It also explains the experience of solitary confinement so well, I felt claustrophobic sometimes. And it provides a lot of insight into Palestinian culture and history. 

For example, I appreciate their connection to the land so much, it was beautiful to read about and it stood out to me. I loved learning about family traditions like planting a tree every time someone is born, and other traditions like olive harvesting in the fall, and how connected they feel to their olive trees, etc.

I don't think I can fully express how much this book touched me or make it justice, I think everyone should read it. 

There are beautiful lines here and there, but otherwise, this was mostly nonsensical to me. The metaphors were atrocious most of the time in my opinion and I got nothing out of this. It was trying so hard to be philosophical, it got low-key obnoxious. And for what? This all will fall out of my head in the next few days, that's how unimpactful it was to me. 

I ate this book UP. I cried, I laughed. So many schemes, so many twists. This was a really fun ride. SJM got me again. Fuck.

It's not perfect, a few things still stand out to me as cheesy or convenient, clearly meant to move the plot forward rather than to make sense in the moment, but I honestly don't care about those things here and there. I'm all in, I love these characters so much. This is my favorite book in the series so far.

I had the rockiest start with this series, it's actually surprising to me how invested I am in it now. Those novellas really turned things around for me. Or I should say, Sam and Aelin's story really turned things around for me. I went from reading the books cause I felt like I had to cause I bought the first 3, to being very excited to get to them and now I'm pacing myself because I don't want to be done with it too quickly. I'll start the tandem read next month and I'm so hyped.