taliaissmart's reviews
2260 reviews

Meh. Book 6 of the series, and it this point there's not much overarching plot, just one-off cons featuring the same cast of characters.

Honestly, mess. It felt like a Britney instagram post, which probably means that she did write it, but not in a good way. The train of thought is off the rails, girl!

I feel for Britney, though. She's been through intense, horrible shit--and this book is a testament to her resilience.

My first Shirley Jackson! Way more of an eerie vibe than proper horror--an incisive primer on all the little ways life can be scary.

A classic tale of not understanding how reflections work. The story didn't really do it for me, but I thought the vertical flip style was a clever way of denoting a mirrored surface!

Lonely Bird is a paper creature who lives, unobserved, in the home of a human family. She's an artist, and one day she makes something incredible: a friend. Then her friend gets eaten by the vacuum cleaner. Lonely Bird must summon all her tenacity to mount a rescue mission.

An intensely original story, told across beautiful painted illustrations that serve as a foil to Lonely Bird's visual simplicity.

A precious picture book about a "spiky" kid and a feral kitten who find mutual understanding & companionship in each other. Kinetic illustrations and resonant, emotionally vibrant prose.

 A narrative of the early decades in the life of Amory Blaine, a young man born into wealth, but insecure as a member of the post-WWI American aristocracy.

The beginning had me laughing out loud (absurd child getting up to bizarre hijinks) but the rest of the book was way less fun. A lot of it centers around Amory's time at Princeton, which is so specific to the setting & time period that I struggled to find my footing.

An interesting exploration of class & varied experiences of romantic love, nonetheless.

When Conejo's house is blown away by a storm, they embark on a search that takes them past many friends. They're ultimately unable to find their original home, but the support, kindness, and gifts from their friends give them the strength to rebuild.

A winning exploration of displacement and the power of community.