pertiwi6's reviews
280 reviews

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

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

4.5

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

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

4.0

All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews

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challenging emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

A coming of age story - but for your twenties. Such fabulous characters development! The writing is simple and real and beautiful. It wonderfully illustrates the huge shifts in what we value and what we believe that happens in our twenties. These characters are figuring who they are and how to deal with all that world has and is throwing at them. They are trying, failing and learning to better. A slow pace but I really enjoyed living with these characters for a while  - I know it will stay with me. 
Dancing Barefoot by Alice Boyle

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

Spring by Ali Smith

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challenging dark emotional reflective slow-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

4.75

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

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emotional funny reflective sad 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

3.5

I loved the premise of this book. A friendship begun in childhood and continued - on and off again- long into adulthood. Forged in playing games and fuelled by making them together - it is a fraught and incredibly close and unique friendship. 

I found the writing and character - rendering and development - wonderful. The sense place, time and atmosphere was beautifully drawn. I found myself finding the characters frustrating and unlikable often, but this was part of their journey and for many people unlikable characters are a staple - so not necessarily a bad thing. Not being a gamer myself it was also more of a window into another world rather than a relatable one, which may have effected my connection and patience with the characters. 

The one thing however I found a little hard to swallow was the depiction of the character Dov - a teacher turned lover of one of the main characters, Sadie. He is most definitely abusive but his behaviour is only ever talked about as ‘a bit of an asshole’. While the characters may believably brush the abusive behaviour off in this way, the fact is the story and writing supports the brush off is a bit ichey. I’m not saying this had to be a teachable moment but that it tacitly accepted the behaviour by not cali g it what it was and I found that problematic.


That’s all to say I did enjoy the book and there were some absolutely wonderful moments in it and I’d admire the writing. 
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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 creation of characters in this book is sublime. I will miss Tookie so much! The story has great breadth - books, identity, systemic racism, poverty, drug addiction, incarceration, Covid, BLM protests of 2020, ghosts, trauma  … books again - but it is the characters that hold all this together and propel you forward. Highly recommend! 
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa

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informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

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dark emotional funny informative 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

4.75

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You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here by Frances Macken

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2.75