queenfury's reviews
110 reviews

Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin

Go to review page

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

2.0

I'm conflicted in how I feel about this one. I went into it expecting a powerful, painful but necessary read. But after a while, it seems like it turned into trauma porn. Absolutely nothing goes Max's way, and he is stripped of all autonomy in every decision in his life, both due to being "a pushover" who doesn't want to rock his already fragile family and as a "scientific interest." At first, I recognized this as a reflection of his intersexuality and how it didn't feel like it belonged to him, but even after
the characters went, "Gee, maybe we should let Max have control of his own body," after his mother tells the surgeons to proceed with an abortion after Max withdraws his consent, his choices in not wanting to be around his mother anymore and not reporting his rapist to the police or his parents are taken away from him yet again.


I also found the writing itself to be quite bad. The POV shifts are frequent and often unnecessary. Aside from the literal child narrator, who is overly intelligent for his age due to autism (which is never remarked upon by any character), each character has the same narrative voice with almost no distinguishing features. The characters besides Max felt bland and two-dimensional. 

Ultimately, I feel like this is a book with important themes that it misses the mark on.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

"You can make your life, or life can make you. Was it really that simple of a choice? As I hit the dock's end and jumped, I wanted to see it, that change from passenger to driver, Emma to Saylor, watching to doing. So when I hit the cold lake and went under, I kept my eyes open."
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Once and for All by Sarah Dessen

Go to review page

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

2.5

"You can't measure love by time put in, but the weight of those moments. Some in life are light, like a touch. Others, you can't help but stagger beneath."
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Go to review page

Did not finish book. Stopped at 52%.
Every single character is unlikable, but I don't believe they were written in an Arrested Development-style way where I was meant to dislike them. After months of putting this book to the side, I've finally decided to give up on it today.
Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

Go to review page

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

3.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-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

3.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Go to review page

Did not finish book. Stopped at 53%.
I was excited to read this because people have such a high opinion of Murakami, but this might be the worst book I've ever attempted to read. I just... yikes, this was a mess.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Go to review page

emotional hopeful 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

"But a good life is knowing people care about you, knowing you can take care of the people that count on you, knowing you're doing a little something in your community."
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
You Will Get Through This Night by Daniel Howell

Go to review page

hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson

Go to review page

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

1.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings