michaelion's reviews
288 reviews

Every Rising Sun by Jamila Ahmed

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adventurous informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Not a single one of the woman in this book is a girl's girl. (The sister's don't count.) Negative points!

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Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

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challenging informative reflective tense slow-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? Yes

3.75

Normally I don't like when stories turn randomly anti communist but I like it here because I get it. White people have always been like that, white commies are still like that!

Loved the whole thought process. It made me think about people who are crazy or who are considered crazy and their perception of reality. Like you see everything that happens to him, his reality doesn't care about him so surely he must be invisible and you really get it. I love the raw untamed thought process. Very real.

I heard the voice actor for the audiobook version I was listening to flip the page at least three times which is kinda funny but unrelated to the book. He was really good. 5 stars for Joe Morton.

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Skyward, Vol. 3: Fix the World by Joe Henderson

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adventurous 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? Yes

3.75

I liked it better than the second one and less than the first one. That's all I gotta say. Already pretty much forgot about it. Not a life changing series but I had a good time so I can't complain.

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Skyward, Vol. 2: Here There Be Dragonflies by Joe Henderson

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emotional funny tense 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

3.5

No one knows how to write anarchists and I’m sick of it!

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

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

5.0

Moral of the story? Don't have kids in your early 20s.

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The 100 Best African American Poems [With CD (Audio)] by Nikki Giovanni

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adventurous emotional inspiring relaxing slow-paced

4.0

Years ago I saw a poet say read your poems out loud, so I try to do it when I write my own and with the poetry books I buy or rent, but it doesn’t have the same ring or energy when I’m by myself. I really liked these poems being read to me. I get it now. Plus I found several bangers in the book. I love my people!

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Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

bestie was a bully. it's played as lighthearted but she was bullying mamita!

the book just barely scratches the surface of colonialism, slavery, and racism, which is interesting. more could've been done about that but i still liked it. i liked the little bit of florida history, just a sprinkling. i was also surprised there would be actual places named like the cemetery. that just reinforced my idea that more couldve been done with some of the elements. but i still liked it!

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Mother Country by Etaf Rum

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Etaf Rum you will always be famous. So far I’ve read both her novels and now this and she writes the same thing every time, but she writes it very well. I like seeing her process through her trauma and I’ll be sat for the next story! For the culture!

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Skyward, Vol. 1: My Low-G Life by Joe Henderson

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

very fun very cute very sad very sweet. love a black girl. icon! classism will be the death of all of us.

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Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

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dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I see the sequel potential but I won’t be reading it. It's pretty good, I like the story well enough, but I'm at a point where I think the evils of humanity shouldn't be equated(?) with the evils of fictional monsters. This is the second story I've read where white people evil is because of monsters. And its acknowledged in story that white people evil is its own thing, which was also in the other story I read too, but it's just a genre or type of story that's not for me anymore. It's really short so thats a plus for some and a minus for others. Overall just right in the middle for me.

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